Classic Revival … ‘Harvey’ (1950)

Travis:

Written by Mary Chase (and based on her Pulitzer Prize winning play) and directed by Henry Koster, ‘Harvey’ is one of my all-time favorite comedies. The movie won Josephine Hull a Best Supporting Actress Oscar and James Stewart was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. This classic comedy of errors stars James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd, an average guy who loves life and is befriended by a spirit that has manifested itself as a giant man-sized rabbit named Harvey that only Elwood can see. Others are completely unaware of Harvey, until he begins to interact with him without any inhibitions regarding how it must look to others. Elwood’s sister believes him to be insane and is attempting to have him committed as to avoid humiliation to the family. As a result, things get complicated around Elwood and Harvey, but the antics end up bringing the family closer together and Elwood even finds an unexpected relationship that develops from the unlikeliest of situations.

James Stewart is great and to be completely honest, ‘Harvey’ would not have been the same without him. Stewart was made for this role, or vice-versa, displaying the natural persona and charm necessary to convincingly portray the character of Elwood, a sort of example of the type of attitude towards life we all would like to achieve. The supporting cast however, does an excellent job rounding out the atmosphere, even if today’s audiences only recognize Stewart. I rarely see this film get any credit or attention anymore and would love to see it revived for newer, younger audiences. ‘Harvey’ truly does stand the test of time and holds up very well in today’s society. It’s a great conversation piece that’s funny, but family-friendly and delivers an important but often lost message about how we live and interact with each other without getting preachy. I highly recommend ‘Harvey’ to everyone, including and especially for children.