Harvey (1950)
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83% of critics liked it
(24 reviews) -
91% of users liked it
(37,502 ratings)
This whimsical fantasy about a local drunk's 6' 3 1/2" imaginary rabbit pal was a smash hit (and a Pulitzer Prize winner) on Broadway and was then adapted into this likeable farce that's also an allegory about tolerance. James Stewart stars as Elwood P. Dowd, a wealthy tippler whose… More This whimsical fantasy about a local drunk's 6' 3 1/2" imaginary rabbit pal was a smash hit (and a Pulitzer Prize winner) on Broadway and was then adapted into this likeable farce that's also an allegory about tolerance. James Stewart stars as Elwood P. Dowd, a wealthy tippler whose sunny philosophy and inebriated antics are tolerated by most of the citizenry. That is, until Elwood begins claiming that he sees a "pooka" (a mischievous Irish spirit), which has taken the form of a man-sized bunny named Harvey. Although everyone is certain that Elwood has finally lost his mind, Harvey's presence begins to have magically positive effects on the townsfolk, with the exception of Elwood's own sister Veta (Josephine Hull), who, ironically, can also occasionally see Harvey. A snooty socialite, Veta is determined to marry off her daughter, Myrtle (Victoria Horne), to somebody equally respectable, and Elwood's lunacy is interfering. When Veta attempts to have Elwood committed to an insane asylum, however, the result is that she is accidentally admitted instead of her brother. Then the institution's director, Dr. Chumley (Cecil Kellaway), begins seeing Harvey, too. Hull, who reprised her part from the stage production, won an Oscar and a Golden Globe. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Directed By
- Henry Koster
- Written By
- Mary Chase, Oscar Brodney
- Genres
- Drama, Classics, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Jun 1, 1951 Wide
- Studio
- MCA Universal Home Video
Critic Reviews
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, TIME Magazine
Unhappily, what the film also borrows from the play, and somehow makes more conspicuous, is a tendency to drag its feet for long stretches, especially during the virtually actionless last third of the story.
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Variety Staff, Variety
Harvey, Mary Chase's Pulitzer Prize play, loses little of its whimsical comedy charm in the screen translation.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
If you're for warm and gentle whimsey, for a charmingly fanciful farce and for a little touch of pathos anent the fateful evanescence of man's dreams, then the movie version of Harvey is definitely for you.
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Derek Adams, Time Out
Charming, lightweight stuff (from a play by Mary Chase), so long as you can take Stewart's ingenuousness, but it does wear thin.
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Matt Brunson, Creative Loafing
Stewart's Elwood P. Dowd is a soft-spoken philosopher and a friend to all -- he's quite disarming, and so is this movie.
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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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James Stewart
as Elwood P. Dowd
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Josephine Hull
as Veta Louise Simmons
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Peggy Dow
as Miss Kelly
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Charles Drake
as Mr. Sanderson
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Cecil Kellaway
as Dr. Chumley
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Victoria Horne
as Myrtle Mae Simmons
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Wallace Ford
as Lofgren
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Jesse White
as Marvin Wilson
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William Lynn
as Judge Gaffney
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Nana Bryant
as Mrs. Chumley
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Grace Mills
as Mrs. Chauvenet
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Clem Bevans
as Herman Schimmelplusser
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Ida Moore
as Mrs. McGiff
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Polly Bailey
as Mrs. Krausmeyer
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Don Brodie
as Mailman
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Aileen Carlyle
as Mrs. Tewksbury
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Sally Corner
as Mrs. Cummings
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Gino Corrado
as Eccentric Man
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Pat Flaherty
as Policeman
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Eula Guy
as Mrs. Johnson
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Grayce Hampton
as Mrs. Strickleberger
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Harry Hines
as Meegels
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Norman Leavitt
as Cab Driver
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Edwin Max
as Salesman
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Anne O'Neal
as Nurse
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Maudie Prickett
as Elvira
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Almira Sessions
as Mrs. Halsey
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Minerva Urecal
as Nurse Dunphy
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Dick Wessel
as Cracker
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Ruth Elma Stevens
as Miss LaFay

