Harvey
Directed by: Henry Koster - Written by: Mary Chase (play)
Starring: Jimmy Stewart, Josephine Hull, Jesse White - Awards: Best Supporting Actress - Josephine Hull
Released: I950

It won’t do much good synopsize the story, the plot is unimportant. It’s surface theme, “what's the yardstick of sanity” has a corollary, “is it right to wake-up sleepwalkers”. Jimmy Stewart gives a near flawless performance as "Elwood P. Dowd", an unmarried, and more than eccentric bachelor who lives in a Victorian castle with his sister Vita (Josephine Hull) and Vita’s daughter Myrtle-May (Victoria Horne). Elwood is a man who seems to have no job, no responsibilities and no worries, i.e., another Candide, the wide-eyed innocent who refuses to grow up.

We’ve seen this character as a Gelsomina in La Strada or a Forrest Gump. Elwood is much closer to the latter, but his character is as rounded as Gump’s is flat. He’s uncannily effective as the mild-mannered oddball who hangs out in a small-town tavern and gives everyone he meets his business card and an invitation to dinner that evening. If he has a philosophy, it's this: "In this world you have to be so very smart - or so very pleasant - and after a long stint at being smart, I recommend pleasant". And sure enough, he's pleasant to all - in contrast to everyone else, who are locked into their own selfish designs; he seems to have no ego at all. But he’s got one other tic that puts him beyond eccentricity; his best friend, Harvey.

His sister Vita decides that everyone would be better off if Elwood and Harvey were put away in a "home" called Chumley’s Rest. Vita’s miscalculations about the strength and reach of Elwood’s friend leads to a dramatic reappraisal, but not before remarkable comedic detours. The egotistical psychiatrist Dr. Chumley and his overwrought orderly Wilson (Jesse White), try to lower the net on Elwood without success. Through it all walks the eternal innocent, Elwood, like a man in the eye of a hurricane, pausing to pick the daisies. Dr. Chumley at last meets Harvey; an the scene in which Chumley tells Harvey his innermost thoughts are priceless.

Enjoying this film is like riding a bike, once you let go of the familiar landmarks of previous comedies, you’ll enjoy – or not – it's not mass audience funny like the Marx brothers. Many come away wondering what it's all about. It's a droll, witty brand of humor, not pratfalls or manic Jerry Lewis routines. The incredible performance by Stewart and cast plus an original story idea make this film one to see if in need of unusual comedic relief. It was released in I950; it has to be remembered what a taboo subject insanity was in those days; it shows it's times in the drinking references, and some of the acting by the minor characters is hammy by modern standards.

Elwood himself can perhaps say it best, “Harvey and I have things to do... we sit in the bars... have a drink or two... and play the juke box. Very soon the faces of the other people turn towards me and they smile. They say: "We don't know your name, mister, but you're all right …all right." Harvey and I warm ourselves in these golden moments. We came as strangers …soon we have friends. They come over. They sit with us. They drink with us. They talk to us. They tell us about the great big terrible things they've done and the great big wonderful things they're going to do. Their hopes, their regrets. Their loves, their hates. All very large, because nobody ever brings anything small into a bar.”


Notes:
(a)The film originated as a play, and has had many revivals. Harvey was one of Jimmy Stewart's favorite roles, at a later date he helped to stage a Broadway version.


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