Harvey
(http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/02/025192033636f.jpg)
(http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1479/fivestar.jpg)
Year: 1950
Film Studio: Universal International
Genre: Comedy, Classic
Length: 104 Min.
Director
Henry Koster (1905)
Writing
Mary Chase (1907)...Play
Mary Chase (1907)...Screenplay
Oscar Brodney (1907)...Screenplay
Producer
John Beck (1909)
Cinematographer
William H. Daniels (1901)
Music
Frank Skinner (1897)...Composer
Stars
James Stewart (1908) as Elwood P. Dowd
Josephine Hull (1886) as Veta Louise Simmons
Peggy Dow (1928) as Miss Kelly - Nurse
Charles Drake (1917) as Dr. Sanderson
Cecil Kellaway (1893) as Dr. Chumley
Victoria Horne (1911) as Myrtle Mae Simmons
Jesse White (1917) as Wilson - sanitarium orderly
William H. Lynn (1888) as Judge Gaffney
Review
Elwood P. Dowd: “Years ago my mother used to say to me, "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant."
Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me”.
And so I have. I’ve started my review with this quote from the film Harvey, because it best describes the feeling you get from watching it. A sublime sense of pleasantness, that is oh so lacking in most of the films today. What also separates it from the vast majority of the cookie cutter type films and actors, who star in them today, is the ensemble cast surrounding Jimmy Stewart. Stewart may have been the lead actor, but it is Josephine Hull who steals the show. Every moment she is onscreen is a pure joy to behold. Her mannerisms, reactions and speech inflections help to create a sense of not only hilarity, but whimsy and pathos. For once, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences got it right, when it bestowed upon her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her incredible performance. Peggy Dow, Cecil Kellaway and Jesse White round out the stellar troupe of character actors, each visually unique and essential to the subtle comedic timing of the film.
Elwood P. Dowd: Well, anyway, I was walking down along the street and I heard this voice saying, "Good evening, Mr. Dowd." Well, I turned around and here was this big six-foot rabbit leaning up against a lamp-post. Well, I thought nothing of that because when you've lived in a town as long as I've lived in this one, you get used to the fact that everybody knows your name. And naturally I went over to chat with him. Well, we talked for awhile and then I said to him, I said, "You have the advantage on me. You know my name and I don't know yours." And, and right back at me he said, "What name do you like?" Well, I didn't even have to think twice about that. Harvey's always been my favorite name. So I said to him, I said, "Harvey." And, uh, this is the interesting thing about the whole thing: He said, "What a coincidence. My name happens to be Harvey."
Elwood P. Dowd is an oddity; not only to his sister and niece, but to everyone that he meets. You see, Elwood has a mysterious friend, a six foot, three and a half inch tall friend named Harvey. Now this wouldn’t seem strange to most people, but you see, Harvey is only visible to Elwood, and did I mention he’s a white rabbit? You’re probably thinking that Elwood isn’t playing with a full deck. That’s what his sister Veta and her daughter Myrtle Mae think. And to that end, after suffering the embarrassment of Elwood’s and Harvey’s intrusion into a social event for Myrtle Mae, have decided to have Elwood committed to the Chumley Rest Home. And in the beginning, you too, will believe that Elwood’s choo-choo is off the track. He meanders through life in a most nonchalant way. The hustle & bustle of everday life hardly puts a dent into his day’s proceedings. He’s a contented man, who only sees the good in every person he meets or the positive in any situation that arises. Oh, and before I forget to tell you, Elwood likes to drink, and he spends most of his day at local taverns.
The first third of the film dwells upon Veta’s attempt to get him situated at the Chumley home. When she relates to Dr. Sanderson (Charles Drake) at the sanitarium, the trauma she has endured with Elwood’s imaginary accomplice, he mistakenly diagnoses her as the one in need of medical treatment, and has her admitted instead of Elwood. When he finally meets Elwood, he is taken by the calming influence of his subdued nature, and lets him leave the grounds. When the mistake is revealed to him, a frantic search is conducted, not only on the grounds, but in all of Elwood’s favorite hangouts in town. While Mr. Chumley (Cecil Kellaway), who is now afraid that Veta is going to sue him for false internment, is searching for Elwood along with the sanitarium’s heavy-handed orderly Wilson (Jesse White), Sanderson releases Veta.
Elwood P. Dowd: Harvey and I sit in the bars... have a drink or two... play the juke box. And soon the faces of all the other people they turn toward mine and they smile. And they're saying, "We don't know your name, mister, but you're a very nice fella." Harvey and I warm ourselves in all these golden moments. We've entered as strangers - soon we have friends. And they come over... and they sit with us... and they drink with us... and they talk to us. They tell about the big terrible things they've done and the big wonderful things they'll do. Their hopes, and their regrets, and their loves, and their hates. All very large, because nobody ever brings anything small into a bar. And then I introduce them to Harvey... and he's bigger and grander than anything they offer me. And when they leave, they leave impressed. The same people seldom come back; but that's envy, my dear. There's a little bit of envy in the best of us.
Throughout the rest of the film, the charming, somnambular nature of Elwood’s personality subdues anyone who tries to ensnare him. As they realize that he is a peaceful, contented man, who could not and would not hurt himself, or anyone for that matter, a longing for the kind of detached life he lives, settles in to each person. And when the outside chance of Harvey’s existence becomes a possibility at the end of the film, the viewer too becomes a little envious, and eternally hopeful that he is not an illusion. For if Harvey can bring such joy to those he touches, maybe the rat race we all participate in, in our lives, will diminish into a peaceful bunny hop. See this film, it's a tonic for the soul.
Review Criterion
5 Stars - The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.
4 ½ Stars - Not quite an immortal film, yet a masterpiece in its own right.
4 Stars - Historically important film, considered a classic.
3 ½ Stars - An entertaining film that’s fun or engaging to watch.
3 Stars – A good film that’s worth a Netflix venture.
2 ½ Stars - Borderline viewable.
2 Stars – A bad film that may have a moment of interest.
1 ½ Stars – Insipid, trite and sophomoric, and that's its good points.
1 Star – A film so vacuous, it will suck 2 hours from the remainder of your life.
½ Star - A gangrenous and festering pustule in the chronicles of celluloid.