User reviews

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.

"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.

I have read that James Stewart considered Elwood P. Dowd his most personally significant role. In a career that spanned decades and included such great works at It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, choosing Harvey's friend, Elwood, as his personal favorite says something about rather powerful about Mr. Stewart and Mr. Dowd.

James Stewart was a down to earth, decent man whose personal life was as honorable as the lives of George Bailey and Jefferson Smith - but he admired Elwood P. Dowd, an alcoholic dreamer with an invisible giant white rabbit as his best friend. Not what you would expect of a man who piloted B-17's and led giant raids over Germany in WWII.

Elwood's attraction for us is perhaps what attracted him so much to James Stewart. Elwood is happy with himself and his life and even more importantly, he makes others happy with their lives. That is the great magic of Elwood and Harvey: they make others happy and they bring peace and a measure of contentment to almost everyone who know them.

I have seen another version of Harvey with Art Carney and it was quite good, but lacked the sense of magic that is a benediction in this version of Harvey. In the Carney version, you can see Harvey - he is a giant white rabbit - and seeing Harvey takes much of the magic away. When you watch Jimmy Stewart, you never really know if Harvey is real or not. You know that Elwood thinks he is real and you know that Elwood's family thinks Elwood is crazy. After watching for a while, you don't really care if Harvey is real. Elwood is real and it is his belief in Harvey and what Harvey represents to him that endows him with such sweet and gentle charm. Harvey is his rejection of the harshness and materialism of the world.

Harvey is a charming, magical masterpiece of kindness and goodness that somehow never becomes maudlin. Elwood and Harvey do not feel sorry for themselves and they most certainly do not expect you to feel sorry for them either. If anything, Elwood feels sorry for the rest of the world and he does not understand how everyone can't see as clearly as he does. For in his world, we are all brothers who should love as generously and kindly as Mr. Stewart's Elwood P. Dowd.

"Years ago, my mother used to say to me, she'd say: 'In this world, Elwood,' she always used to call me Elwood. 'In this world, Elwood, you must be oh, so smart or oh, so pleasant.' Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. And you can quote me." - Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart)

And, though you suspect James Stewart was never anything less than thoroughly pleasant, that quote from this completely bewitching movie, sums up perfectly the career of James Stewart and this movie in particular. It is one of those rare, rare movies that, when one has watched it, makes you want to try harder to be a nicer, better person. I recommend 'pleasant,' also. And I recommend this movie.

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.

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.

A film is like a recipe, you need the right ingredients.

Start with a Pulitzer Prize willing play.

Cast the perfect screen ensemble.

Mix well, bake at 350 degrees, and serve hot.

Never mind the B&W. Never mind that young people of the current era (whenever you read this review) will think the look is dated or the actors are of a bygone age.

This version of Harvey will never be surpassed. Stewart owns this role the way Eastwood owns the Man with No Name, or Harrison owns Indiana Jones.

Have seen this six or seven times and each time I catch some nuance in the script I missed before.

Roger Ebert used to say that the mark of a fine film was inverse to the number of times you looked at your watch. I never look at my watch when I watch Harvey.

In the grand tradition of Pooka magic, time stops.

((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167 Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

When I first saw this movie I didn't think I would like it. I didn't think it was my "type" of movie. I was wrong. HARVEY will make you laugh and at the same time show you the power of kindness. JAMES STEWART makes you believe someone is there even know his friend is an invisible 6-foot tall rabbit. It is easily one of the best movies ever made! If you don't know what this movie is or haven't seen it for any reason all I have to say is "GO SEE IT!" Even if you don't like black and white movies, there is something in this movie for everyone. If you like drama, comedy, or just films that make you feel good inside this movie is for you.

"If ELWOOD P. DOWD is crazy I don't want to be sane."

Being a practical person, I find comedies like HARVEY a bit of a stretch to swallow--however, I must admit that JAMES STEWART plays Elwood C. Dowd so perfectly that I almost expected to see Harvey myself by the time the film was over.

And whether you accept the simple platitudes offered here by screenwriter Mary Chase (as in her play), or not, the gentle fantasy is played for humor by a brilliant cast which makes the whole thin story easy to take. I suspect many will not succumb to the charming portrait of a mild-mannered alcoholic and his 6'3" rabbit friend that JAMES STEWART offers unless they can appreciate that this screwball comedy is really pleading for tolerance and understanding among all of us.

The performances make the film, in my opinion, and I can't express anything but admiration for the smooth ensemble work of Stewart, Josephine Hull (priceless in her Oscar-winning role as his scatter-brained sister), Peggy Dow, Charles Drake, Cecil Kellaway, Jesse White and Victoria Horne.

It passes the time pleasantly but you have to be in the mood for its quaint charm and whimsical situations.

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!

James Stewart became so identified with the role of Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey that few today are aware that he did not introduce the part. It was originally done on Broadway by Frank Fay. Whereas Stewart emphasized the whimsical in Dowd, Fay purportedly leaned towards the alcoholic of which he had enough personal experience.

Fay left the play and Stewart was brought in and it literally rejuvenated the play. I'm sure it helped to have a big movie name go on Broadway to help sales, but when word of mouth and the rave reviews of the critics got out, the play turned from a hit to a classic.

Only two players from the original Broadway cast made it to the big screen version, Josephine Hull as Elvetia Simmons, Stewart's sister and Jesse White as Wilson the attendant from the mental sanitarium with the 'dynamic personality'. Jesse White was in Hollywood to stay after that and entertained us for decades.

Josephine Hull got to do two of her stage roles for the screen, this one and one of the Brewster sisters in Arsenic and Old Lace. Diametrically opposite parts too. She's a crazy Brewster who poisons lonely old men in one film. And in the other she's the normal sister with an eccentric brother who sees and talks to a six foot white rabbit. Is she losing her marbles also? Well she does confess that at times Elwood makes Harvey so real to her that she's seen him herself.

But it's a big burden on Ms. Hull having Stewart around. She's a widow with a young daughter. Victoria Horne, who she'd like to get into society and meet some eligible and propertied young men. Not likely to happen if she has a crazy uncle around. It's time to take Elwood off to the Mental Institution for a little reality shock.

Of course in his own way and with each of them differently Stewart deceptively works his charm on the staff. He intrigues Cecil Kellaway the head of the institution, he baffles Charles Drake another psychiatrist, and he totally charms Nurse Peggy Dow.

After a while you start to wonder just who is the crazy one in this film. But then again that's what author Mary Chase was trying to convey. Stewart even brings Jesse White somewhat around, no easy task as you will find out in viewing the film.

Stewart revived Harvey in the early seventies with Helen Hayes playing his sister. The revival was a great success. In the post sixties age of the hippies, Stewart was the original drop out from society. And he did it without any cannabis or other narcotic.

Of course it's nice to be somewhat financially secure to be able to do this. We'd all like to though and that is the secret of Harvey's enduring appeal.

A lot of old classic films haven't aged all that well (Caine Mutiny as an example), but "Harvey" is just as much fun to watch now as it must have been then. First off, Jimmy Stewart as the hero, Elwood P. Dowd, is amazing. Stewart with his lanky good looks and aw-shucks manner was often typecast as the all-American good guy, but his true range as an actor was huge. (Think of his creepy, obsessed detective in Vertigo, or his conflicted and cynical banker in It's a Wonderful Life). Here, he absolutely nails the role of a seemingly vacuous, terminally pleasant middle-aged man with an invisible six-foot-three rabbit for a friend. He plays the part of a blithely happy, unrelentingly optimistic man who tried being smart and opted instead for pleasant, down to the smallest expression.

After it's over, with happy resolutions all around, the depths start sinking in. There's a sly theological component to all this. His family and friends think Elwood is cheerfully crazy. Not a danger to anyone, in fact just the opposite -- but crazy. But how many people in the real world believe, or claim to believe, in an invisible spirit who talks with them? Elwood is kind of like a prophet, for the Church of Unreasonable Niceness. He's practically a walking advertisement for "blessed are the meek". He treats everyone as either a friend or someone who's going to be a friend. He describes everyone he knows as "a wonderful person" and the thing is, he means it. He invites anyone he meets over to the house for dinner (to the despair of his almost equally batty sister Veta, played energetically by Josephine Hull). And the thing is that he wins them over. The people around him end up happier and behaving better.

Not that "Harvey" himself is angelic. He's more of an Old-World style of spirit, a trickster like Loki or Coyote. He comes and goes when he pleases, walks through closed doors, and puts cryptic messages in books. And I like the fact that we never do 'see' him, right to the end. Imagination is a powerful force and this movie lets it work. Elwood constantly chides us into imagining a better world.

A perfect film, overwhelmingly loved. I would like to point out the lighting in the film is wonderful. The best scene to look for is as Mr Dowd is sitting in the alley behind the bar speaking to the Doctor & nurse and the use of shadows and indirect lighting bring a strength to the scene that is usually only noted for Citizen Kane.

Stewart is so great in so many films and this is among his best roles.

This is screwball comedy that is somehow low key and without slapstick. I cannot think of any film that is similar to this since Peter Sellers did "Being There" in 1979.

They should not remake this film, but if they did the only acceptable actor would be Tom Hanks.

Truly one of the most delightful films ever made.

My dear departed Father did not like films, but he did reminisce about watching Harvey and it was the only film he owned on VHS and DVD.

It is the tale of Elwood Dowd, beautifully portrayed by James Stewart in possibly his best performance ever (why he did not win an Oscar is a mystery). Mr Dowd is a carefree man who is polite to everyone and whose bosom companion is a 6' 3 1/2" rabbit invisible to most people. Elwood's family think he is insane so try to get him committed, which leads to all the misunderstandings in the film.

A fabulous film!

"Years ago, my mother used to say to me, she'd say: 'In this world, Elwood,' she always used to call me Elwood. 'In this world, Elwood, you must be oh, so smart or oh, so pleasant.' Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. And you can quote me."

It's rare that you can say about a film from Hollywood's golden age - further, a beloved family classic - that you have no idea what it's about. This isn't strictly true, it's just you are afraid that the film's meaning is less progressive that it appears. The hero of HARVEY, Elwood P. Dowd, is a kind of Holy Fool, a Prince Myshkin from the sticks, a man who forsakes sexual pleasure, was strangely attached to his mother, who doesn't do any conventional work, but spreads radiant joy, helping the marginalised, befriending the lonely, bringing couples together. It's not too far fetched to see the folksy farce of HARVEY as some kind of religious allegory.

This isn't, of course, a problem - people can make films about what they like, and HARVEY's pieties (if such they be) are inclusive, and full of (often risque) wit and darkness. It's just that HARVEY's reputation never suggested such Dostoevskian ambitions. If you feel a bit queasy about being lectured, the film luckily boasts other pleasures. This is James Stewart's last major performance as a (relatively) uncomplicated good guy: from here on in it would be the troubling ambiguities of Hitchcock and Mann. It is not a dominating star turn; Stewart generously enters into the ensemble spirit of the piece. Dowd's sheer goodness might be a little wearing, but Stewart subtly suggests the darker, jittery, alcoholic side of the character, whose benevolence masks a life of failure and impotence; and just as much as representing Christian fellowship, he can stand for the marginalised, the imaginative, those who refuse the bourgeois grind, even if this is easy to do when you've inherited a fortune.

Although the supporting cast needed some more compelling actors (eg William Demerest), they are amusing enough - Josephine Hull, one of the murderous aunts of ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, has the film's most difficult role, which is strongly reminiscent of Tennessee Williams: an elderly widow/spinster matron clinging desperately to respectablity, passed over her rightful inheritance, stuck with an embarrassing brother/son on whom she's dependent, and a spinster daughter she can't marry off, in a social ambition ruined by Dowd's fausses passes.

This situation, understandably, brings her teetering to madness, and if her committing Elwood seems monstrous, then so is the burden of a single mother forced to run such a household. Hull is also a practised farceur, and suffers untold indignities with much hilarity.

Other familiar faces from old-school farce include the incompetent judge ogling the wealthy widow; the security guard at the hospital, whose essential decency explodes into crude gangster-like violence, and Dr. Chumley, the wealthy doctor paralysed in a loveless marriage and his own ego, who is offered salvation by Harvey, but misses the point. Even the straight couple are less icky than most, given some splendidly barbed dialogue to fling at each other.

If I overemphasise the acting, it is because HARVEY is based on a play, and this is the film's drawback. Koster directs with brisk fluidity, but he lacks Hawks' ability to turn dramatic, theatrical dialogue into a formal element of the film's overall design, and so we're left with many grand talky set-pieces. The resolution is a little rushed, and the whole thing just needs a little air. But the dramatic framework also has its advantages, such as the expert mechanics of farce that produce some cherishable sequences, including the mix-up over which sibling is going to committed.

I finally got a chance to see this after hearing about it for years. I came in with great expectations due to all the buzz I've heard over the years. I'm also a big James Stewart fan, so I looked forward to seeing him in another of his prized roles.

I'll have to say, it didn't quite blow me away like I expected, but I did enjoy seeing it. Stewart is perfect in his role. But its not a far stretch from his usual "aw shucks" type good guy facing some type of adversity.

But the story is quite unique and kudos goes to the original author of the story.

I think what I like best about the whole thing is the spirit of optimism and kindness that exudes from Elwood P. Dowd. I wish there were more people like that in the world. I think friendliness is almost a lost art in our world today. I guess the best thing I can say about this movie is that it makes me smile! :)