Harvey (1950)

Director:

Henry Koster

Writers:

Mary Chase (play)
Mary Chase (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 October 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

The Wonderful Pulitzer Prize Play... becomes one of the Great Motion Pictures of our Time!

Plot:

Elwood P. Dowd is a mild-mannered, pleasant man, who just happens (he says) to have an invisible friend resembling a 6-foot rabbit.

Plot Keywords:

Rabbit | Mental Institution | Judge | Telephone | Eccentric

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

James Stewart	...	Elwood P. Dowd
Josephine Hull	...	Veta Louise Simmons
Peggy Dow	...	Miss Kelly - Nurse
Charles Drake	...	Dr. Sanderson
Cecil Kellaway	...	Dr. Chumley
Victoria Horne	...	Myrtle Mae Simmons
Jesse White	...	Wilson - sanitarium orderly
William H. Lynn	...	Judge Gaffney (as William Lynn)
Wallace Ford	...	Cabbie Lofgren
Nana Bryant	...	Mrs. Hazel Chumley
Grayce Mills	...	Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet (as Grace Mills)
Clem Bevans	...	Herman - Sanitarium gatekeeper
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gino Corrado	...	Eccentric Man (scenes deleted)
Jack Curtis	...	(scenes deleted)
Ida Moore	...	Mrs. McGiff (scenes deleted)
Billy Wayne	...	Man in Car (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:G (Ontario) | Australia:G | South Korea:All (2003) | Argentina:13 | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (certificate #14694) | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Universal-International paid $750,000 for the film rights.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At the end of the movie when Harvey is supposed to be in the porch swing, you can see that someone is pulling a string on the arm of the swing to make the swing change its motion.

Quotes:

Dr. Chumley: This sister of yours is at the bottom of a conspiracy against you. She's trying to persuade me to lock you up. Today, she had commitment papers drawn up. She has your power of attorney and the key to your safety box, and she brought you here!
Elwood P. Dowd: My sister did all that in one afternoon. That Veta certainly is a whirlwind, isn't she?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bogus (1996)

A Little Fantasy Never Hurt Anyone-----Or Did It?

Another great comedy from Hollywood's Golden Age has James Stewart (Oscar-nominated) going all around town with his imaginary friend Harvey, a six-foot rabbit. Sister Josephine Hull (Oscar-winning) tries to have Stewart committed, but it seems that everyone who tries to reason with Stewart go crazy themselves. Hilarious and intelligent in every way imaginable. A fine piece of entertainment. 4.5 out of 5 stars.