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I was led to believe that Harvey is a movie about a drunk who sees a hallucination due to his excesses drinking. As a matter of fact that is not the case. Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart) is a carefree philanthropist. His big smile is contagious and his selflessness and generosity are adorable. To him, every day is beautiful and every fellow human is important. If you are fortunate to meet Elwood, he’d buy you a drink or two and invite you for dinner at his home. No matter what the circumstances, at least he’ll give you one of his cards (so you can always reach him) and a warm compliment, and a peace of his golden heart.
Elwood shares his home with his sister Veta Louise (Josephine Hull), her daughter and Harvey, 6-foot tall rabbit, that only he can see. Harvey is Elwood’s best friend and constant companion. Unfortunately, Elwood’s obsession with his imaginary friend interferes with Veta’s plans to marry off her daughter and she decides to put him in a mental hospital. Then a hilarious mix up occurs and Veta finds herself committed instead. It is now up to Elwood and Harvey to sort the mess out and Veta needs to make a decision -does she want her brother to change and become “normal and nasty” or does she prefer him the way he is, loving, caring and generous. And what about Harvey? Well, he is part of the dilemma.
There are twists and turns in this much loved classic. Although a comedy, there is a lot of drama and wisdom in it and an important message delivered with refreshing sense of humour. The performances are brilliant, all of the cast play their hearts out. Josephine Hull is fantastic and she rightly deserves her Oscar for this performance but the show belongs to the ever-captivating Jimmy Stewart, who in my opinion was robbed again on the Academy Awards night. Lets not forget Harvey, he is brilliant too. If you’ve had trouble seeing him throughout the show, you can’t miss him at the end. Trust me, he was there and I saw him, 6’8 foot tall, white rabbit! He will take you to a better world, where all days are beautiful and everybody is important and appreciated.
The DVD transfer is good quality with clear sound and picture in 4:3 ratio. There is a theatrical trailer and a special introduction by Jimmy Stewart, which was recorded in 1990. Harvey is a fabulous movie, one that simply cannot be made nowadays. The screen play is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Mary Chase and with one of Jimmy Stewart’s finest performances, it is a jewel to be enjoyed and treasured forever!
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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