James Stewart has said that he was more satisfied with his performance as Elwood P. Dowd in this film than he was in the more famous 1950 screen version.
Both James Stewart and Jesse White played the same roles in the original Broadway production, the 1970 Broadway revival, and the 1950 film version as well as this television production. White created the role of Duane Wilson in the Broadway premiere, while Stewart took over for Frank Fay as Elwood P. Dowd later in the run of the play.
The original Broadway production of "Harvey" by Mary Chase opened on November 1, 1944 at the 48th Street Theatre, ran for 1775 performances and won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1945.
Martin Gabel and Arlene Francis were husband and wife in real life.