Harvey

For about the first thirty minutes, I was thinking of some way to politely inform those who recommended this film that it wasn't my cup of tea, but the more I stayed, the more captivated I became. Based on a stage play that opened six years earlier, Harvey, the 1950 film directed by Henry Koster, is a delight. If this Jimmy Stewart classic doesn't make you feel good, you must be related to Mr. Henry F. Potter of Bedford Falls. Harvey is a 6' 3'' Pooka who has befriended a certain Mr. Elwood P. Dowd and this causes all sorts of complications for those around him. In case you didn't know, in Celtic mythology a Pooka is a fearsome spirit that usually takes the form of a sleek dark horse that roams the countryside at night, creating harm and mischief. Well, Harvey is not like that at all.

In fact, Harvey is a very gentle spirit who is always helping people out and can make everybody around him feel relaxed and in a good mood. Now Dowd needs all the help he can get. He likes to take a nip once in a while and is always talking to that danged rabbit to the chagrin of his sister Veta Louise (Josephine Hull) whose social life takes a nosedive when brother Elwood is around. Elwood's shenanigans also interfere with her plans to marry off her daughter Myrtle Mae (Victoria Home). When Veta decides that she has had enough and tries to commit Elwood to a psychiatric institution, the tables are turned and she ends up being committed in a hilarious case of mistaken identity. When Elwood leaves the hospital after being released, the medical staff in the hospital (a bit eccentric themselves) realize their mistake and all try to find him.

The madcap beginning soon turns into a gentle and moving drama. Jimmy Stewart is flawless as the decent man who never loses his temper and always has a smile on his face, giving everyone his card and inviting strangers home for dinner. The supporting cast is top notch as well including the unpleasant Dr. Chumley (Cecil Kellaway), the egotistical psychiatrist Dr. Sanderson (Charles Drake), his love struck assistant Miss Kelley (Peggy Dow) and the overwrought orderly (Jesse White, later known as the Maytag repairman).

Eventually some that ridiculed Elwood and his rabbit privately admit that they could see Harvey themselves and by the end we are gradually convinced that the so-called normal people may be stranger than Mr. Dowd. Harvey is considered a classic and with good reason. It works because of its good-natured humor and its gentle slap at those who automatically condemn ideas that are outside socially acceptable norms without thinking for themselves.

To tell you the truth, I had no idea HARVEY would be this good, but it was. It's not an incredibly deep film, just good-natured.

I'm not sure if these next comments will throw a lot of people off, but I wonder about the controversial nature of the story as well, particularly for a movie made in the 1950's. I mean, after all, this is a movie that does touch on topics of alcoholism, mental illness, spirits, Celtic mythology, and magic. C'mon, we live in a society where Harry Potter cannot exist without receiving a light pounding.

I was also impressed with the development of the Elwood P. Dowd character as portrayed by James Stewart. I just love how the movie shows how he touches the lives of everyone around him. In an age of cinema where supporting characters are immediately cast off after being introduced, I don't think there is a single supporting actor whose character is not developed in this film. I particularly liked the relationship between the doctor and Elwood. I can honestly say that Elwood P. Dowd is one of the most memorable characters I have come across in film along with Molly the Gangster in Charley Varrick and Hal the Computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I also think this movie does an excellent job highlighting those who do represent the salt of the earth in our society, even if they do exhibit behavior that is outside social norms. This is a very good film. See it with a pooka!

A wonderful comedy-drama starring the immensely talented James Stuart as kind hearted Elwood P. Dowd, a man who has refused to be ruled by life. The brilliance of this film is the subtlety of the story and the layers of the character. Under the polite veneer of fifties Hollywood conventions, Harvey has a decidedly dark undercurrent, one that deals with alcoholism, loneliness and rejection. Not that this should deter you from enjoying the many comic scenarios that Harvey throws at the viewer during the course of the film, as this is definitely a comedy gem. But the truth and beauty behind what Elwood is saying only make the entire package all the more exquisite, like putting chocolate on a donut.

The most beautiful scene I've seen in any film is the scene in which Elwood explains how Harvey has enriched his life, though the people who are listening to the story doubt Harvey's existence, thus doubting Elwood's sanity, the words of his speech, coupled with the delivery of Stuart's performance are so touching and true that even the most jaded audience will be won over into believing Harvey to be real. The enjoyment that Elwood now gets from life, the wonderful times he has, wherever he is, whoever he's with, is the kind of enjoyment everyone strives to achiever from life. This is bygone film-making at it's best; Stuart is such a joy to watch that you'll remember this film for a long time after viewing. With fine support from all the actors, this is one film that truly deserves its classic status.

"In this world, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant." So says Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart), a character who combines the gentle temperament of the Dalai Lama with the martini intake of Frank Sinatra. He also seems a bit crazy, seeing as his pal is an invisible 6'3½" rabbit named Harvey, and happily introduces him to everyone he meets. While he seems harmless, his sister (Josephine Hull) wants to commit him to a sanitarium, and in a comedy of errors, gets locked up herself. From there it's a series of screwball moments, with the hospital staff trying to track down Elwood, and him oblivious to it all.

The film is a little bit of indictment of the mental health industry, with one doctor (Lyman Sanderson) jumping to harebrained conclusions and an orderly (Jesse White) aggressively putting his hands on people. He alludes to having had to take the corset off of Hull's character while stripping her, a fact that intrigues her daughter (Victoria Horne), in one creepy and awkward scene. Horne at 39 was far too old for the role (Jimmy Stewart, playing her uncle, was 42), and scenes with her and White are the low points of the film.

If it seems like just another goofball comedy in the first half, stay with it and let Elwood Dowd's benevolence sink in. He engages everyone he meets in real conversation, cares about them, and almost always invites them over to his house for dinner or for drinks. He does that not out of politeness, but actually wants and expects them to show up. The character is quite endearing, and Stewart's performance is nuanced and brilliant. In this screwball comedy, there is a real message of the importance of simple kindness, and it's delivered in a subtle way.

Most adults have long since stopped believing in the Easter Bunny. For better or for worse, they've come to find imaginary rabbits absurd and uncalled for. In "Harvey," however, you will find a very pleasant man who would beg to differ.

Elwood P. Dowd is best friends with a pooka named Harvey. A pooka, by definition, is a `fairy spirit that appears in animal form, always very large.' In Harvey's case, this means a 6-foot-3.5-inch rabbit.

Harvey is also invisible to the general populace, but this does not stop Elwood from talking to him, holding doors for him, and cheerfully introducing him to anyone and everyone they meet.

Most other characters who are witnesses to this behavior -- and the viewer as well -- are skeptical at best of Elwood's sanity. The occasional act of mischief, though, as well as Stewart's unfailing faithfulness, are grounds enough to keep you wondering.

The skillful blurring of the line between delusion and reality are testament to the skill of both Mary Chase and those who made her play into a movie.

Elwood and Harvey tend to frequent the local bars, where meeting Harvey tends to brighten a person's heavy spirits since, as Elwood puts it, `nobody brings small things into a bar.' (One will note that Harvey is no exception to this rule.)

His sister Veta, however, becomes determined to have Elwood committed after he and Harvey ruin the social gathering she so diligently arranged. They take a trip to the Chumley's Rest sanatorium for this purpose, but the particularly analytic psychologist Dr. Sanderson (Charles Drake) decides that it is Veta who's the crazy one and has her admitted instead. Josephine Hull expertly portrays Veta's quirks and anxieties about both her brother's sanity and her own.

In one of the one of the movie's memorable scenes, Mr. Wilson, an orderly at the sanitarium, decides to look up what a `pooka' is. He discovers it is described as a `mischievous creature, very fond of rum-pots, crack-pots, and how are you Mr. Wilson?" That he is irritated rather than mystified only enhances the comedic effect.

When the mix-up is revealed, a manhunt for Elwood commences. He is found at Charlie's (which is just where he'd said he was going) and brought back to the sanitarium, but not before impressing his apprehendors with his incredible good nature and altruistic attitude.

Then, when Dr. Chumley, the owner of the sanitarium, informs Elwood about Veta's plans, him he is amazed when Elwood seems untroubled by this revelation.

"Harvey" has many memorable lines, many of which are notable for their ring of candor and elemental wisdom. Elwood's explanation is one of them, as he tells the doctor, `‘In this world, you must be oh-so-smart or oh-so-pleasant.' Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.'

It is, in a large part, this attitude that makes both Elwood and "Harvey" so endearing. Such an overwhelming agreeable nature cannot help but infect the hearts and minds of those it touches.

Furthermore, the occasional acts of mischief – perhaps the work of Harvey? – are both humorous and intriguing. Most importantly, the movie does an excellent job of questioning the value of conventional sanity.

Inspired by Elwood, who states, `Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it,' the viewer is almost tempted to check the dictionary for `pooka' by the time the movie's over. Or, perhaps, to check for an Easter basket. Just in case.