{"id":4447,"date":"2007-10-02T11:18:35","date_gmt":"2007-10-02T18:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4447"},"modified":"2021-01-27T10:50:14","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T17:50:14","slug":"harvey-1950","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4447","title":{"rendered":"Harvey (1950)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;ve wrestled with reality for 35 years, doctor, and I&#8217;m happy to state I finally won out over it.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Harvey-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Harvey-Poster-202x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-56117\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Harvey-Poster-202x300.png 202w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Harvey-Poster-690x1024.png 690w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Harvey-Poster-86x128.png 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Harvey-Poster-182x270.png 182w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Harvey-Poster.png 757w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nNoncomformist Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart) spends his days drinking in bars and chatting with his invisible rabbit friend, Harvey. When Elwood&#8217;s sister (Josephine Hull) becomes convinced that his quirky behavior is preventing her grown daughter (Victoria Horne) from finding a suitable husband, she takes him to Chumley&#8217;s Rest Home, where a well-meaning young doctor (Charles Drake) targets her as the delusional one instead; meanwhile, Elwood befriends the asylum&#8217;s founder (Cecil Kellaway), who soon believes that Harvey is real.\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cecil Kellaway Films<\/li>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Friendship<\/li>\n<li>Jimmy Stewart Films<\/li>\n<li>Mental Illness<\/li>\n<li>Nonconformists<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nMary Chase&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.answers.com\/topic\/harvey-american-theater\">Pulitzer Prize-winning play<\/a> was an enormous hit with post-war audiences, opening in 1944 and running for 5 years before finally closing and re-emerging as a feature film. It&#8217;s an unusual, whimsical fable which poses the enduring philosophical question of who&#8217;s <em>really<\/em> crazy in this world &#8212; those who live life peacefully while talking to an imaginary 6&#8217;3&#8243; rabbit, or those who care more about social status than inner happiness? Because Elwood is ultimately <u>not<\/u> the only person who &#8220;sees&#8221; Harvey, it&#8217;s difficult to know just what to make of him; he should perhaps be viewed as simply a fantastic reminder that <em>attitude<\/em> is the essential key to happiness. Elwood, for instance, likes to invite anyone and everyone he meets to &#8220;come have a drink&#8221; with him, and this open-minded acceptance of all humans &#8212; rich (the asylum owner&#8217;s wife) or poor (the asylum&#8217;s gate-keeper) &#8212; is a poignant, important lesson. <\/p>\n<p>With that said, despite its cult status, I don&#8217;t find <em>Harvey<\/em> all that compelling as a film; considering that it&#8217;s a comedy, there aren&#8217;t nearly enough laugh-out-loud moments or lines. The central dilemma of whether or not Elwood will get committed to Chumley&#8217;s is self-evident (how can we <em>not<\/em> know the outcome ahead of time?); and the unrequited &#8220;love affair&#8221; between stodgy Dr. Sanderson (Charles Drake) and loopy Nurse Kelly (Peggy Dow) &#8212; which supplements the central story &#8212; is amusing but ultimately beside the point. It&#8217;s the performers rather than the story who make <em>Harvey<\/em> worth watching: Jimmy Stewart &#8212; who lobbied for the role, and reprised it again years later &#8212; is perfectly cast as the nonconforming, good-natured Elwood; Josephine Hull, who won an Oscar playing Elwood&#8217;s frantic sister, is appropriately ditzy (though I prefer her more subdued performance in Frank Capra&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2543\"><em>Arsenic and Old Lace<\/em><\/a>, where <em>she&#8217;s<\/em> the &#8220;crazy&#8221; one); and the remaining supporting actors &#8212; particularly Dow, Kelloway, and Horne &#8212; are all fun to watch. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jimmy Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/harvey-stewart.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/harvey-stewart.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4442\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Josephine Hull as Veta Louise<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/harvey-hull.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/harvey-hull.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4443\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Peggy Dow as pining Nurse Kelly<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/harvey-doctor-nurse.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/harvey-doctor-nurse.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4444\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Cecil Kellaway as &#8220;Harvey convert&#8221; Dr. Chumley<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/harvey-dr-chumley.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/harvey-dr-chumley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4445\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>An intriguing premise for a comedic fantasy<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/harvey-painting.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/harvey-painting.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1200\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4446\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for its status as an Oscar-nominated crowd pleaser. Listed as a cult movie in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0042546\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1950\/12\/22\/archives\/the-screen-in-review-a-fine-production-of-harvey-with-josephine.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/stinkylulu.blogspot.com\/2007\/05\/josephine-hull-in-harvey-1950.html\">Stinky Lulu: Josephine Hull in <em>Harvey<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve wrestled with reality for 35 years, doctor, and I&#8217;m happy to state I finally won out over it.&#8221; Synopsis: Noncomformist Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart) spends his days drinking in bars and chatting with his invisible rabbit friend, Harvey. When Elwood&#8217;s sister (Josephine Hull) becomes convinced that his quirky behavior is preventing her grown daughter (Victoria Horne) from finding a suitable husband, she takes him to Chumley&#8217;s Rest Home, where a well-meaning young doctor (Charles Drake) targets her as&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4447\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4447"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66352,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4447\/revisions\/66352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}