Friday Movie Review - Harvey

In honor of both Saint Patrick's Day and Easter being within the same week this year (which is a super rare occurence) I am reviewing a movie that can encompass both holidays: Harvey!

Harvey (1950)

Directed By: Henry Koster

Written By: Mary Chase

In this film Jimmy Stewart plays Elwood P. Dowd, a sweet and friendly man who occasionally likes to enjoy some mother's milk, and has a best friend who happens to be an invisible 6 foot tall rabbit named Harvey. (Elwood later explains that Harvey is a Pooka, a mischevious Irish spirit! Diamond introduced them to us not long ago.) In this quote, Elwood tells how he met Harvey:

"I'd just put Ed Hickey into a taxi. Ed had been mixing his rye with his gin, and I just felt that he needed conveying. Well, anyway, I was walking down along the street and I heard this voice saying, "Good evening, Mr. Dowd." Well, I turned around and here was this big six-foot rabbit leaning up against a lamp-post. Well, I thought nothing of that because when you've lived in a town as long as I've lived in this one, you get used to the fact that everybody knows your name. And naturally I went over to chat with him. And he said to me... he said, "Ed Hickey was a little spiffed this evening, or could I be mistaken?" Well, of course, he was not mistaken. I think the world and all of Ed, but he was spiffed. Well, we talked like that for awhile and then I said to him, I said, "You have the advantage on me. You know my name and I don't know yours." And, and right back at me he said, "What name do you like?" Well, I didn't even have to think twice about that. Harvey's always been my favorite name. So I said to him, I said, "Harvey." And, uh, this is the interesting thing about the whole thing: He said, "What a coincidence. My name happens to be Harvey."

Elwood's sister, Veta, becomes tired of living with Harvey, as both her and her
daughter fear becoming socially ostracized due to Elwood's strange friendship.
Everyone considers Elwood a drunkard or insane, and Veta is embarrassed by this.
In an effort to rid herself of Harvey forever, Veta attempts to get Elwood
committed to a mental institution.

However, things don't go as smoothly as Veta hopes, and a comedy of errors ensues. Also, it becomes more and more apparent that Harvey does perhaps exist!


This movie is the film adaptiation of Mary Chase's Pulitzer Prize winning play - an award well-deserved. It is funny, touching, and whimsical! In honor of our bun friends, I give this film two binkies and a whisker twitch!