Elwood P. Dowd is happy to share a drink with anybody he meets, and he likes to give them his card and invite them to have dinner at his home. His charm is disarming. People will tell their troubles over a drink, he says. Then he introduces them to his friend, Harvey, and Harvey is sooo much bigger than anything they've got... Harvey is an invisible (usually), six-foot tall white rabbit. Harvey is also too big for Elwood's society-conscious sister, Veta, and her unattached daughter, Myrtle Mae, to cope with. Veta makes a mistake, however, when she tries to get Elwood committed to a sanatorium.Jimmy Stewart is superb as Elwood P. Dowd, but Josephine Hull steals the show as his totally flustered sister. She is, quite simply, at her wits' end. This is one of only two movies that I know of that feature Hull (the other is "Arsenic and Old Lace"). Both are personal favorites, and Hull is excellent in both. The rest of the cast is also outstanding in this adaptation from a classic Broadway play. Many moments are hilarious, some are touching, and it all adds up to a terrific movie. This witty romp will be welcome in almost anyone's video library.
Summary; Harvey is a whimsical story about a fun loving inebriate millionaire Elwood P. Dowd (Stewart he is perfectly cast in an Oscar Nomination Role for Best Actor) & his very large white invisible rabbit (6 foot 8 inches), Harvey. Through his eccentric behavior with his friend Harvey, aggravates & is a constant embarressment to his family, especially his sister Vera Louise (Josephine Hull she came from the original Broadway cast in an Oscar Winning performance Best Supporting Actress). Vera tries everyway to have Elwood addmitted to a mental hospital. A wonderous journey & many funny turn of events occur. And how everyones lives are effected by this unusual pair.
The DVD is a Black & White Full Screen (before WideScreen) presentation. The video transfer is outstanding. The extras/bonus materials include a 1990 Jimmy Stewart "Special introduction with photographic montage", production notes, mini bios & trailer. A great family film. Enjoy.
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"Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." That cheerful comment sets the tone for "Harvey," a movie about a lovable guy whose way of dealing with the harshness of reality is simple: Make his own.Veta Louise Simmons (Josephine Hull) hopes to arrange a wonderful marriage for daughter Myrtle May (Victoria Horne) in the upper echelons of society. There's one problem: her wealthy brother Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart) has an imaginary pal, a six-foot-three rabbit called Harvey. After Elwood accidently wrecks a party by introducing Harvey to everyone, Veta decides to have him committed.
Unfortunately, when Veta takes Elwood to the sanatorium, the staff come to think that the fluttery socialite is crazy, and is trying to get her sunny brother out of the way. So they lock her up, and let him go. After that mistake is straightened out, the psychiatric staff and Elwood's long-suffering family try to find him.... and Harvey.
If we ever saw Elwood P. Dowd ("Here, let me give you one of my cards") in a car, the bumper sticker would probably say, "Reality is highly overrated." The big theme of the movie is that reality can be harsh, and that it's not necessarily a bad thing to lapse out of it into the fantasies of our own minds. If Elwood isn't dangerous and is otherwise normal, who cares if he has an imaginary friend?
Is Harvey real? The film leaves that up to our imaginations. And in the end, it doesn't matter if Harvey is a figment of Elwood's imagination, or a friendly spirit. It's the effect he has on Elwood that is important. His presence makes Elwood happy and relaxed, and Elwood makes others happy and relaxed -even the hard-boiled head of the psychiatric ward, who lies down on his own couch and tells his secrets to Elwood.
This actually isn't too screwballish a comedy -sure, there's the running joke where Elwood politely introduces Harvey to people he meets. And the scene where Veta is committed is hilarious. But it's more of a heartwarmer than a comedy, from Elwood softening the lead shrink to Myrtle May finding love with a lovable blue-collar worker from the sanatorium.
James Stewart gives a wonderfully dreamy performance, slightly smelling of booze and flowers -his Elwood P. Dowd is mild-mannered, sweet, gallant, courteous, and oh-so-pleasant. And he's learned the value of just enjoying the little things in life, like a flower, a beer or a talk with a friend. And Josephine Hull brings up a brilliant performance as his frazzled sister, with several other good actors rounding off the supporting cast.
Who is crazier -the happy man with the imaginary rabbit, or the people who want him to be 100% sane and less happy? You make the call. With a sweet, surreal story and a flawless cast "Harvey" is one of those rare movies that does an unspecifiable number on your heartstrings.
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Harvey is one of my favorite black and white classic movies.Jimmy Stewart is Elwood P. Dowd, an ever so tipsy gentleman, that introduces his friend, Harvey, to almost everyone he meets.
Harvey happens to be a six foot invisible rabbit, a pooka! A pooka, according to Irish folklore, is a mischievous spirit, especially one that takes on the form of an animal. In this instance the pooka is a rabbit, one that only Elwood P. Dowd can see. A pooka can enter through locked doors and windows and is said to be here and there, there and here, everywhere and anywhere.
Elwood P. lives with his easily flustered sister, Veta Louise, superbly played by Josphine Hull, and her daughter, Myrtle Mae (Victoria Horne). Myrtle Mae desperately wants to get married and, Uncle Elwood, because of Harvey, stands in the way. Elwood will do anything to keep Veta Louise happy even if it means being sent to a sanitarium. This is where everything literally goes crazy!
Poor Veta Louise is mistaken as the one being commited! Enter in the man of Myrtle Mae's dreams in the form of Wilson, a male nurse played by Jesse White, the first Maytag repairman. Myrtle Mae's romance with Wilson gets off to a rocky start when he is the one who must forcefully keep Veta Louise locked in the sanitarium. Every time she sees him she screams and says, "Stay away from that man, Myrtle Mae, and keep him away from me"!
Complicating matters further at the sanitarium, is the relationship, or lack of one, between Dr. Sanderson, (Charles Drake) and Nurse Kelly, (Peggy Dow). They are in charge when the mixup happens and find themselves having to find Elwood P. and bring him back.
Dr. Chumley, played by the talented Cecil Kellaway, is the head of the sanitarium. He encounters Elwood P. Dowd and Harvey and soon develops a bond with Harvey. Dr. Chumley wants Harvey to stay with him and Elwood, who wants what's best for Harvey, reluctantly leaves without his best friend.
The bewildered, impatient taxi driver, played by talented Wallace Ford, (I know you will recognize him) drives the family back and forth to the sanitarium. He and Veta Louise's friend and, not so secret admirer, Judge Gaffney, played by the scraggly voiced William Lynn, add wonderful color to the story. If you have never seen this movie, now in DVD, you will be in for a treat! ~ Mrs. B.
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"I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it."Jimmy Stewart, in one of his personal favorite film and stage roles, portrays Elwood P. Dowd, a gentle philosopher and harmless alcoholic who, after his mother's death, befriends an imaginary or is he? 6'3.5" white rabbit; a "Pooka" who goes by the name of Harvey. Unfortunately, it seems that Harvey is invisible to everyone but Elwood. Elwood wanders through life perfectly happy, harming no one, but alienating his family and many of the townspeople with his "friend".
Josephine Hull, (who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in the film; she also played the part on stage) portrays his sister Veta Louise Simmons, and she steals the film, IMO; her facial expressions and gestures are priceless (she also played one of the aunts in "Arsenic and Old Lace", 1944).
The pacing is fast and furious, and the dialogue alternately hilarious and touching in this whimsical, bittersweet tale of illusions and realities. Jimmy Stewart found himself personally identified with the role for many years, much to his delight, remarking in interviews how strangers would sometimes stop him in the street and seriously ask him if Harvey were with him, only to be kindly told, "No, he's at home today, with a slight cold" or some other humoring excuse for the lack of his invisible friend.
Of course the movie is dated and implausible today in several respects; however it still holds a gentle, childlike appeal that transcends time. It's a great, simply-told "feel-good" movie to start off the holiday season.
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