Harvey (1950 film)

Elwood P. Dowd is an amiable but eccentric man whose best friend is an invisible, 6 ft 3+1⁄2 in-tall (1.92 m) white rabbit named Harvey. As described by Elwood, Harvey is a puca, a benign but mischievous creature from Celtic mythology. Elwood spends most of his time taking Harvey around town, drinking at various bars and introducing Harvey to almost every person he meets, much to the puzzlement of strangers, though Elwood's friends have accepted Harvey's (supposed) existence. His older sister Veta and his niece Myrtle Mae live with him in his large estate, but have become social outcasts along with Elwood due to his obsession with Harvey.

After Elwood ruins a party Veta and Myrtle Mae had arranged in secret, Veta finally tries to have him committed to a local sanatorium. In exasperation she admits to the attending psychiatrist, Dr. Sanderson, that she sees Harvey every once in a while herself. Mistaking Veta as the real mental case, Sanderson has Elwood released and Veta locked up. Dr. Chumley, head of the sanatorium, discovers the mistake and realizes he must bring Elwood back, searching the town with Wilson, an orderly. With Veta's help, Chumley eventually tracks Elwood to his favorite bar, "Charlie's", and decides to confront him alone.

Four hours later, Wilson returns to the sanatorium, but learns from Sanderson and nurse Kelly that Chumley has not returned with Elwood. They arrive at Charlie's and find Elwood alone; he explains that Chumley had wandered off with Harvey after several rounds of drinks. When asked, Elwood explains that he met Harvey one night several years ago after escorting a drunk friend to a taxi, and they had since enjoyed going to bars and socializing with other patrons to hear their grand life stories and aspirations. Convinced Elwood is insane and may have harmed Chumley, Wilson calls the police and has Elwood escorted back to the sanatorium.

Chumley returns to the sanatorium disheveled and paranoid, and is followed by an invisible presence. When the others arrive, Chumley invites Elwood to his office. In private, Chumley says that he now knows Harvey is real, and Elwood explains Harvey's various powers, including his ability to stop time, send anyone to any destination for as long as they like, and then bring them back without a minute passing. Chumley expresses his fantasy to go to Akron with a beautiful woman for two weeks. Veta arrives with Judge Gaffney and Myrtle Mae, prepared to commit Elwood, but are convinced by Sanderson that an injection of a serum called Formula 977 will stop Elwood from "seeing the rabbit".

As they prepare the injection, Veta tries to pay the cab driver but, emptying her purse, is unable to find her smaller coin purse. She interrupts the injection procedure and asks Elwood to pay the driver. Warmed by Elwood's kindness, the cab driver explains how he has driven many people to the sanatorium to receive the same medicine, warning Veta that Elwood will soon become "a perfectly normal human being, and you know what stinkers they are." Veta is upset by this, and halts the injection; she then finds her coin purse, and realizes that Harvey had intervened to save her brother.

Leaving the institute, Elwood sees Harvey on the porch swing. Harvey tells him that he's decided to stay and take Chumley on his fantasy trip to Akron. Elwood walks out the gates dejected, but after they close he sees Harvey coming back, and the gate lever is moved to the open position by an unseen force. Elwood happily says "I prefer you too, Harvey", and they follow Veta and Myrtle Mae into the sunrise.

In addition, "Harvey as Himself" is shown in an on-screen credit as the final shot of the film.

Reviews from critics were mostly positive. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that "so freely flowing is the screenplay which Mrs. Chase and Oscar Brodney have prepared, so vivid and droll is the direction which Henry Koster has given it and, particularly, so darling is the acting of James Stewart, Josephine Hull and all the rest that a virtually brand new experience is still in store for even those who saw the play."[3] Variety wrote that the play "loses little of its whimsical comedy charm in the screen translation", and that Stewart "would seem the perfect casting for the character so well does he convey the idea that escape from life into a pleasant half-world existence has many points in its favor."[4] Harrison's Reports wrote, "A brief synopsis cannot do justice to the humor in the story, much of it delightful and some of it hilarious. Stewart is excellent in the leading role; his casual ease and amiability, and the quiet manner in which he explains his relationship with 'Harvey,' are fascinating."[5] Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post called it "one of the most beguiling comedies possible ... I'm certain you'll admire the able playing of Stewart and the marvelous out-of-this-world perplexity of the superb Mrs. Hull. Both are Academy Award performances."[6]

John McCarten of The New Yorker called it "a movie that only a case-hardened wowser would fail to find beguiling. Even if you saw the play, I don't think your familiarity with the alcoholic hallucinations of Elwood P. Dowd, the hero, will diminish your enjoyment of the film, and though James Stewart, who plays Dowd in the picture, doesn't bring to his part all the battered authority of Frank Fay, the originator of the role, he nevertheless succeeds in making plausible the notion that Harvey, the rabbit, would accept him as a pal."[7] The Monthly Film Bulletin was less positive, writing that "Harvey himself scarcely begins to exist for the audience until the last few minutes. In his absence, the humours that can be extracted from the more obvious aspects of lunacy or suspected lunacy are wrung rather dry."[8]

TV Guide says James Stewart gave "one of his finest performances in this lighthearted film", and it currently has five out of five stars on their site.[9] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 29 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10.[10]

Stewart took a percentage of the profits. In 1953, William Goetz estimated that Stewart had earned $200,000 from the film[11] which is equivalent to $2.5 million today.[12]

In March 1990, James Stewart recorded a special narrative introduction, that would be combined with many of the film's still photos, which would be added to the film's original release on VHS. MCA Home Video released Harvey on VHS in 1990. This also appears on at least one DVD release of the film.

James Stewart later declared in an interview that Josephine Hull had the most difficult role in the film, since she had to believe and not believe in the invisible rabbit... at the same time.

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

• 2000: AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #35[13]
• 2005: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
  • Elwood P. Dowd: "Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it." – Nominated[14]
• 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:
  • #7 Fantasy Film[15]

• The Unicorn in the Garden, a 1939 short story to which the film alludes.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harvey.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Harvey (film).

• Full film, Harvey at Internet Archive
• Harvey at IMDb 
• Harvey at the TCM Movie Database
• Harvey at Letterboxd
• Harvey at AllMovie
• Harvey at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Transcript of a July 1997 memorial for Stewart from The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, which includes scenes from and commentary on Harvey
• Joe Dante on Harvey at Trailers from Hell
• Voices of Oklahoma interview with Peggy Dow Helmerich. First person interview conducted with Peggy Dow Helmerich, actress in Harvey. Original audio and transcript archived with Voices of Oklahoma oral history project.