Harvey (1950)

Due to his insistence that he has an invisible six foot-tall rabbit for a best friend, a whimsical middle-aged man is thought by his family to be insane - but he may be wiser than anyone knows.

Director:

Henry Koster

Writers:

Mary Chase (from the Pulitzer Prize Play by), Mary Chase (screenplay)

Stars:

James Stewart, Wallace Ford, William H. Lynn

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Wallace Ford	...	Ellis Logfren, The Taxi Driver
William H. Lynn	...	Judge Omar Gaffney (as William Lynn)
Victoria Horne	...	Myrtle Mae Simmons
Jesse White	...	Martin Wilson
Cecil Kellaway	...	Dr. William Chumley
Charles Drake	...	Dr. Raymond Sanderson
Peggy Dow	...	Miss Kelly
Josephine Hull	...	Veta Louise Dowd Simmons
James Stewart	...	Elwood P. Dowd
Nana Bryant	...	Mrs. Hazel Chumley
Grayce Mills	...	Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet (as Grace Mills)
Clem Bevans	...	Mr. Herman Shimelplatzer
Harvey	...	Harvey
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gino Corrado	...	Eccentric Man (scenes deleted)
Jack Curtis	...	Undetermined Secondary Role (scenes deleted)

Storyline

The classic stage hit gets the Hollywood treatment in the story of Elwood P. Dowd who makes friends with a spirit taking the form of a human-sized rabbit named Harvey that only he sees (and a few privileged others on occasion also.) After his sister tries to commit him to a mental institution, a comedy of errors ensues. Elwood and Harvey become the catalysts for a family mending its wounds and for romance blossoming in unexpected places.

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Plot Keywords:

rabbit | misunderstanding | giant rabbit | pooka | animal character name as title | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Henry Koster was unable to attend the U.S. premiere of the film because he was working in London on his next picture No Highway in the Sky (1951). Instead, he watched the film in a projection room at the London Universal offices along with James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich.

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Goofs

Harvey the rabbit is claimed to be 6 foot and 3 and a half inches tall. James Stewart is 6 ft 4 in, yet he keeps looking up to Harvey. This is because Stewart wanted Harvey to be 6 ft 8 in but the script of the original play wasn't changed to reflect this.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mailman: Is this 348?
Elwood P. Dowd: Yes, it is.
Mailman: I gotta special delivery here.
Elwood P. Dowd: Oh, that sounds interesting.
Mailman: It's for Dowd.
Elwood P. Dowd: Dowd. Dowd's my name. Elwood P. Let me give you one of my cards.
Mailman: That won't be necessary sir. Just, eh, sign right here. Beautiful day.
Elwood P. Dowd: Oh, every day's a beautiful day.

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Crazy Credits

At the very end Harvey opens a door and the words at the bottom of the screen say "Harvey as Himself."

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Connections

Referenced in Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2005)

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Soundtracks

My Love
(uncredited)
Written by Jack Brooks

User Reviews

"I recommend pleasant, you may quote me"

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Latin

Release Date:

21 December 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Harvey

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 111 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1