Publicity stills were specially-posed photos, usually taken off the set, for purposes of publicity or reference for promotional artwork. But, while it was nominated for seven Oscars, it failed to win any, as Mrs Miniver went home with six. Here is a series of publicity stills taken for MGM's Random Harvest (1942), starring Ronald Colman and Greer Garson. Ever keen to ensure that only the purest message was purveyed, the Breen Office insisted on removing all mention of Smithy's first wife (to avoid any implications of bigamy) and suggested that it was made clear that he and Paula had not consummated their relationship before marriage.ĭoubtless the lingering hint of illicit passion persuaded punters to part with $4.5 million at the US box-office. Yet, while the production values may now seem cloyingly MGM, they gave American wartime audiences a greater sense of what they were fighting for at a time when they had still to come to terms with how conflict could impact upon the Home Front. The ever-mellifluent Colman is also genially effective, although the 51 year-old always feels a little too old for the role, even after he's been restored to his previous life, where Susan Peters provides a spark of modernity that ruptures the patronising patina of English pastoral perfection imposed by art directors Cedric Gibbons and Randall Duell. Garson is, if anything, more appealing than she was as Mrs Miniver, as she's not constrained by the need to be permanently in control of her emotions. However, neither could have had any complaints after Mervyn LeRoy's effortlessly smooth tearjerker boosted both of their careers. Chips (1939) Garson had almost given up on a career in Hollywood, refusing all minor parts, when she won the role of Kathy in this acclaimed film. However, Colman's career had never quite recovered from the setback it received following the critical mauling accorded Frank Capra's inexorably naive take on Hilton’s Lost Horizon. Although she wrote in one of her memoirs that the great and gracious Hollywood hosts were the David Selznicks, the Joseph Cottens, and the Ronald Colmans, she seldom, if ever, attended any of the. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Random Harvest 1942 VHS Ronald Colman Greer Garson WW1 Academy Award EXCELLENT at the best. His classic school story, Goodbye, Mr Chips, had afforded Garson her screen debut and he had also contributed to the screenplay of Mrs Miniver that was shortly to being her an Academy Award. Overall, the performances and the basic outline of the story buoy the film, which could have taken more time to develop its characters.Ronald Colman and Greer Garson probably had very different opinions of James Hilton when they signed up for this adaptation of his sentimental 1940 novel. The performances by Greer Garson and Ronald Colman are strong, and Garson's charms are on display both in her role as alluring dancer/singer, as efficient secretary, and as notable society wife. A good opportunity for a compelling scene is ignored, and the film suffers for it. Ronald Colman and Greer Garson probably had very different opinions of James Hilton when they signed up for this adaptation of his sentimental 1940 novel. What is more, the final resolution comes about solipsistically rather than spurred by the "secretary's" work. This is the "old movies" courtship that involves women and men speaking about marriage after the first or second meeting, but here it is more ridiculous considering the uncertainty of the man's position. The initial courtship between "Smithy" and Paula is so quick and seemingly insubstantial that it defies believability that she should so quickly give up her life for him. The plot of this film is excellent in its construction, but its execution lacks. A WWI amnesiac falls for a dancer, but their marriage fails when he loses his new memories and regains his old ones.
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