Had a pleasant afternoon watching the film "Harvey" featuring brilliant performances from the likes of James Stewart and Josephine Hull. Stewart plays Elwood P. Dowd middle-aged who likes a drink, amiable though somewhat eccentric man whose best friend is an invisible 6' 3½" tall rabbit named Harvey while Hull plays is older sister.
Elwood’s friend "Harvey" is an invisible rabbit a pooka, a benign but mischievous creature from Celtic mythology who is especially fond of social outcasts (like Elwood). Most people see Elwood as slightly eccentric but kind hearted as he talks to his invisible rabbit. He likes to frequent bars and make conversation with whomever he meets. The film was first a Broadway play, which Stewart starred in before the film.
His sister Veta (Josephine Hull) becomes more and more embarrassed by Elwood's eccentricities to the point that she tries to have him committed to a mental hospital. When Elwood leaves the hospital after being released by mistake, the medical staff in the hospital (a bit eccentric themselves) realize their mistake and all try to find him.
The madcap beginning soon turns into a gentle and moving drama. Jimmy Stewart is flawless as the decent man who never loses his temper and always has a smile on his face, giving everyone his card and inviting strangers home for dinner. When Dr Chumley the head chief at the nut house tracks Elwood to his favourite bar “Charlies”, after a few drinks he also starts to see Harvey and they go off into the night. Soon he is joined by Dr. Sanderson (Charles Drake), his love struck assistant Miss Kelley (Peggy Dow) and the overwrought orderly (Jesse White) looking for Elwood and Dr Chumley at ”Charlies”.
In the end everyone is happy and even Veta reconsiders letting Elwood take a drug that could cure him, when she does not want him to change. On leaving the sanatorium Elwood find Harvey outside but Dr Chumley asks could he stay with him. He chooses to stay but he is soon chasing Elwood and the friends are reunited.
It works because of its good-natured humor and its gentle slap at those who automatically condemn ideas that are outside socially acceptable norms without thinking for themselves. . There are a couple of brilliant scenes where Elwood is describing how he met "Harvey" or how "Harvey" has changed his life
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