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Harvey

15 Ratings: 4.1
1950 motion picture starring James Stewart

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   Harvey Directed by Henry Koster Produced by John Beck Written by Mary Chase   Oscar Brodney   Myles Connolly (Uncredited) Starring James Stewart   Josephine Hull   … see full wiki

Genre: Comedy
Release Date: October 13, 1950
MPAA Rating: Unrated
1 review about Harvey
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James Stewart was made for this part

  • Jun 3, 2009
  • by
Rating:
+5
This is my all time favorite movie.  It's based on a play, and I could see a stage play being very effective, but the ability to shift from scene to scene and set to set in a film does make it much more effective.  James Stewart, of course, IS Elwood P. Dowd, a very pleasant fellow, much addicted to his drinks, with his own personal Pooka, a 6'8" tall white rabbit.  What really makes this story, though, is the wonderful script.  There are so many little "one liners" and observations here, and they seem to hit you while you are laughing, and they seem so wonderfully reasonable.  I especially love Elwood's line as he is about to take the elixer that will make him a "normal" person again.  He says "Mother always told me that to make it in this life, you had to be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant.  For years, I was oh so smart.  I recommend pleasant".  That pretty much sums up all of life, doesn't it?  As for Harvey, I keep looking under lampposts just to see if I can find my own Pooka.  They are wonderful creatures, you know.  Just ask Mr Wilson after he read what the encyclopedia said. 

On a side note, there is a later film, made for TV, that stars Harry Anderson.  This is also available on DVD.  Harry is an excellent actor, and does a really good job, but he is NOT James Stewart.  Still, I think the supporting cast is somewhat better, except perhaps for Jesse White as Mr Wilson.

If you have not seen Harvey, please go find it and watch it.  You will learn so very much about life and being pleasant instead of being smart.   Oh yeah, make certain that you find out who is in the bathtub, since Harvey is at Charlie's.

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June 24, 2009
Great Review! I LOVE Harvey!  It is such a great film.  As far as oldies go, my favorite oldie has to be The Court Jester.  I'll have to watch that again and review it :)  Good stuff Ukedude!
June 24, 2009
Thanks, Husher. I honestly think that HARVEY is my all time favorite movie.
 
June 19, 2009
Such a great and touching movie. I wish they'd show movies like this on TV these days, instead of the same old junk. Excellent review, Ukedude.
June 19, 2009
Thanks. I do love this movie, both with Stewart and with Anderson.
 
June 04, 2009
I could see casting Harry Anderson in this part if you don't happen to have a Jimmy Stewart handy. It makes a lot of sense.
June 04, 2009
Anderson is very nearly as good as Stewart, and the supporting cast for Anderson is actually better than the one for Stewart. Both films are very well done, but then, both films are movies of a stage play so both use the same scenes and dialog. I have both and watch both often. I just think that Jimmy Stewart was the perfect Elwood P. Dowd. That part fit him so well.
June 04, 2009
Stewart did set the standard.
June 04, 2009
Yeah, he did. Anderson is really good, though. For a period of time, there were rumors that they were going to remake it with Jim Carey. That would have been horrible!!!!
June 05, 2009
I can see why they would think of him but it wouldn't be a good idea.
June 05, 2009
Elwood has to be laid back. He is a drunk (that was before we became politically correct and called them alcoholics). Carey would have been too manic for that part
June 05, 2009
He'd be a manic drunk.
 
June 03, 2009
This film is a favorite all throughout the country. Folks seem to be liking the other classics that James Stewart was part of like It's A Wonderful Life and The Philadelphia Story, glad you shared your thought on this particular film that he was such a big part of.
June 03, 2009
Thanks. My Irish heart loves this movie, probably more than I should. Stewart was brilliant, as usual.
 
June 03, 2009
I added to the "wiki" to the right to include photos and plotline. Beware of spoilers.
June 03, 2009
Thanks.
 
June 03, 2009
I was at a Jimmy Stewart film festival many years ago and got to see this on the screen, along with the double-billed Vertigo and Rear Window. Thanks for this review, I may pick this up. I had planned to do several Jimmy Stewart reviews, thanks for the reminder.
June 03, 2009
I have both versions (Stewart and Anderson) on DVD. Obviously, James Stewart is a much better Elwood P. Dowd, but some of the other actors are much better in the newer version. They are the same screenplay, though, including the same dialog as well. I am still looking for my own "Harvey"
June 03, 2009
Wow, news to me, re: a remake! I thought "Rope" was a fairly strong film as well.
June 03, 2009
Did Stewart ever make a bad film. Do you recall his last film?
June 04, 2009
I'm not sure. He did cartoon voice-overs and some TV in the 1990s.
June 04, 2009
His last actual film was also John Wayne's last film. The Shootist, which also had Richard Boone, Hugh O'Brien and Ron Howard as well as a whole bunch of really fine older actors.
June 04, 2009
Good to know, thanks. I didn't know that.
 
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