Harvey [1950]
Director : Henry Koster
Cast : James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Peggy Dow, Charles Drake, Cecil Kellaway
Based on a very popular play, Harvey is of the fantasy comedy genre. The fantasy in this movie is a 6 feet 3 and a half inches tall rabbit(Harvey) of Celtic mythology who can be seen only by a selected few. The protagonist Elwood P. Dowd (Stewart) is one of the selected ones who not only can see this rabbit but also accompanies him everywhere and introduces him to all the town inhabitants. Obviously, whoever meets Elwood considers him a mentally inbalanced case which also becomes a thing of embarrassment for his family members which includes his sister and his niece. They think of getting rid of Elwood by transporting him to the mental sanatorium. Elwood, by nature is a very well-mannered, polite and pleasant gentleman. Anyone who meets him at the first instance is obviously charmed by his nature until he introduces his gigantic friend. The funny moments in the movie are not forced, but arise completely due to the out of hand situations. I will call this movie a fantasy comedy
with a human touch. There are situations when one feels pity for Elwood and consider his state of mind way better than the so called 'normal' humans who don't care for fellow humans, let alone animals.
Stewart has done a fine, fine job. He is my favorite actor of the B/W era. He has a certain cinematic charm which attracts the viewer. In this movie, I thought he had a very tough role to play, talking to an invisible object and giving the proper expressions is not an easy job. Josephine Hull plays the neurotic and eccentric middle aged sister to perfection. A very feel good movie which will surely leave a positive impression.
Rating : 8/10
Like it on Facebook, Tweet it or share this article on other bookmarking websites.