Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart) is a mild-mannered but slightly unusual man. Elwood’s best friend is a six-foot-tall invisible white rabbit named Harvey. Everywhere Elwood goes, so goes Harvey. They especially like to go to one of the local watering holes for a drink or two. The local bartenders are well aware of Harvey and welcome both man and rabbit into their establishments. Elwood’s sister, Veta (Josephine Hull) and niece, Myrtle Mae (Victoria Horne), however, are embarrassed by Elwood’s idiosyncrasies. In addition, Myrtle Mae is concerned that she will never get married since everyone would be wondering if Elwood’s mental issue might run in the family. With urging by the family friend, Judge Omar Gaffney (William H. Lynn), Veta decides that Elwood should be institutionalized.
Veta takes Elwood to Chumley’s Rest, a local sanitarium, and speaks to the nurse, Miss Kelly (Peggy Dow) and the attending physician, Dr. Raymond Sanderson (Charles Drake). Veta has gotten so accustomed to Elwood’s strange obsession that she admits to Dr. Sanderson that she has seen the giant rabbit herself. From her statements Dr. Sanderson believes that Veta is really the patient. Sanderson has Elwood released and has the orderly, Martin Wilson (Jesse White), lock up Veta.
The owner of the sanitarium, Dr. William Chumley (Cecil Kellaway) eventually realizes that they screwed up bad. He has Veta released and with Wilson begins searching for Elwood. Wilson meets Myrtle Mae. The two are attracted to each other but Veta is appalled at Wilson being around her daughter. Meanwhile, Dr. Chumley finds Elwood. In trying to analyze Elwood, Chumley ends up beginning to believe that Harvey actually exists. Nurse Kelly is totally captivated by Elwood and Dr. Sanderson, although fully believing that Elwood is mentally incompetent, is also charmed by the quiet and good-natured man. Veta finally manages to get Elwood back to the sanitarium, but her decision could end up changing Elwood, and not for the better.
“Harvey” was released in 1950 and was directed by Henry Koster. It is an American fantasy comedy. The film was based on the 1944 play by Mary Chase.
It is a charming feel-good movie. Jimmy Stewart is as laid back as ever. It has low-key humor with some homespun wisdom. The themes of the movie center on the exploration of uniqueness and that friends can come in all types, including six-foot rabbits. The question of normalcy is posed as “What is normal” and is it better than being abnormal?
The movie hints that Jimmy Stewart’s character is an alcoholic suffering from a breakdown whose family is trying to steal his property, and many take that synopsis on face value. I somewhat disagree. In the movie Stewart’s character is usually found in a bar buying drinks but it’s mostly for others. He drinks very little in the film. Most of the time he waxes poetic and spouts some really good advice. He is jovial and really good at observing people and making friends along the way. It is a nice little fantasy film that has a satisfying storybook ending.
Harvey is described as a puca or pookah, as well as other spellings of the name. A pookah is mythical creature believed to be of Celtic or Nordic origin. Sometimes they are nice and sometimes they play tricks and can bring either good or bad luck. They are sometimes shape changers that can take on the appearance of various animals, including large rabbits.