Elwood P. Dowd is an amiable but eccentric man whose best friend is an invisible, 6 ft 3+1⁄2 in-tall (1.92 m) white rabbit named Harvey. As described by Elwood, Harvey is a púca, a benign but mischievous creature from Celtic mythology. Elwood spends most of his time taking Harvey around town, drinking at various bars and introducing Harvey to almost everyone he meets, much to the puzzlement of strangers although Elwood's friends have accepted Harvey's (supposed) existence. His older sister Veta and his niece Myrtle Mae live with him in his large estate, but have become social outcasts along with Elwood due to his obsession with Harvey.
After Elwood ruins a party Veta and Myrtle Mae arranged in secret, Veta finally tries to have him committed to a local sanatorium. In exasperation she admits to the attending psychiatrist, Dr. Sanderson, that she sees Harvey once in a while herself. Mistaking Veta for the real mental case, Sanderson has Elwood released and Veta locked up. Dr. Chumley, head of the sanatorium, discovers the mistake and realizes he must bring Elwood back, searching the town with Wilson, an orderly. With Veta's help, Chumley eventually tracks Elwood to his favorite bar, "Charlie's", and decides to confront him.
Four hours later, Wilson returns to the sanatorium and learns from Sanderson and nurse Kelly that Chumley and Elwood had not returned. They all go to Charlie's and find Elwood alone; he explains that Chumley wandered off with Harvey after several rounds of drinks. As they converse, Elwood encourages Sanderson and Kelly to dance, rekindling their romantic relationship. Elwood eventually explains that he met Harvey one night several years ago after escorting a drunk friend to a taxi, and they had since enjoyed going to bars and socializing with other patrons to hear their grand life stories and aspirations. Convinced Elwood is insane and may have harmed Chumley, Wilson calls the police and has Elwood escorted back to the sanatorium.
Chumley returns to the sanatorium disheveled and paranoid, and is followed by an invisible presence. When the others arrive, Chumley invites Elwood to his office. In private, Chumley says that he now knows Harvey is real, and Elwood explains Harvey's various powers, including his ability to stop time, send anyone to any destination for as long as they like, and then bring them back without a minute passing. Chumley expresses his fantasy to go to Akron with a beautiful woman for two weeks. Veta arrives with Judge Gaffney and Myrtle Mae, prepared to commit Elwood, but are convinced by Sanderson that an injection of a serum called Formula 977 will stop Elwood from "seeing the rabbit".
As they prepare the injection, Veta tries to pay the cab driver but, emptying her purse, is unable to find her smaller coin purse. She interrupts the injection procedure and asks Elwood to pay the driver. Warmed by Elwood's kindness, the cab driver explains how he has driven many people to the sanatorium to receive the same formula, warning Veta that Elwood will soon become "a perfectly normal human being, and you know what stinkers they are." Veta is upset by this, and halts the injection; she then finds her coin purse, and realizes that Harvey had intervened to save her brother. Wilson and Myrtle Mae, who had met at Elwood's house, reveal that they have become a couple, and Elwood invites Wilson over for tomorrow night's dinner.
Leaving the institute, Elwood sees Harvey on the porch swing. Harvey tells him that he has decided to stay and take Chumley on his fantasy trip to Akron. Dejected, Elwood walks out the gate, but when it is closed he sees Harvey coming back. The gate lever is then moved to the open position by an unseen force. Elwood happily says "Well, thank you, Harvey; I prefer you too", and they follow Veta and Myrtle Mae along the road and into the sunrise.
In addition, "Harvey as Himself" is shown in an on-screen credit as the final shot of the film.
Reception
Reviews from critics were mostly positive. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that "so freely flowing is the screenplay which Mrs. Chase and Oscar Brodney have prepared, so vivid and droll is the direction which Henry Koster has given it and, particularly, so darling is the acting of James Stewart, Josephine Hull and all the rest that a virtually brand new experience is still in store for even those who saw the play."[3]Variety wrote that the play "loses little of its whimsical comedy charm in the screen translation", and that Stewart "would seem the perfect casting for the character so well does he convey the idea that escape from life into a pleasant half-world existence has many points in its favor."[4]Harrison's Reports wrote, "A brief synopsis cannot do justice to the humor in the story, much of it delightful and some of it hilarious. Stewart is excellent in the leading role; his casual ease and amiability, and the quiet manner in which he explains his relationship with 'Harvey,' are fascinating."[5]Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post called it "one of the most beguiling comedies possible ... I'm certain you'll admire the able playing of Stewart and the marvelous out-of-this-world perplexity of the superb Mrs. Hull. Both are Academy Award performances."[6]
John McCarten of The New Yorker called it "a movie that only a case-hardened wowser would fail to find beguiling. Even if you saw the play, I don't think your familiarity with the alcoholic hallucinations of Elwood P. Dowd, the hero, will diminish your enjoyment of the film, and though James Stewart, who plays Dowd in the picture, doesn't bring to his part all the battered authority of Frank Fay, the originator of the role, he nevertheless succeeds in making plausible the notion that Harvey, the rabbit, would accept him as a pal."[7]The Monthly Film Bulletin was less positive, writing that "Harvey himself scarcely begins to exist for the audience until the last few minutes. In his absence, the humours that can be extracted from the more obvious aspects of lunacy or suspected lunacy are wrung rather dry."[8]
TV Guide says James Stewart gave "one of his finest performances in this lighthearted film", and it currently has five out of five stars on their site.[9] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 87% of 30 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10.[10]
Stewart took a percentage of the profits. In 1953, William Goetz estimated that Stewart had earned $200,000 from the film,[11] equivalent to $2.28 million in 2023.
Home media
In March 1990, Stewart recorded a special narrative introduction, which was combined with many of the film's still photos and added to the film's original release on VHS. MCA Home Video released Harvey on VHS in 1990. The special narrative introduction also appears on at least one DVD release of the film.
James Stewart later declared in an interview that Josephine Hull had the most difficult role in the film, since she had to believe and not believe in the invisible rabbit... at the same time.
Producer Don Gregory purchased the merchandising and film rights to Harvey from the Mary Chase estate in 1996. In April 1999, Gregory sold the rights to Miramax Films, who beat out several high-profile bidders, including Walt Disney Pictures (represented by the producing team Barry Sonnenfeld and Barry Josephson), Universal Pictures and New Line Cinema. However, Miramax still intended to have Gregory produce Harvey. Universal was interested in having Harvey with Jim Carrey starring and Tom Shadyac directing, while New Line saw it as an Adam Sandler movie. Harvey Weinstein of Miramax was also considering Carrey and Sandler, as well as Tom Hanks. Weinstein wanted Harvey to be set in a modern setting.[15] Weinstein eventually took the project to Dimension Films, who partnered with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to co-finance. Craig Mazin was hired by Dimension in November 2001 to adapt the screenplay.[16]John Travolta entered negotiations to star in March 2003,[17] but the rights for Dimension and MGM lapsed,[18] which were picked up by 20th Century Fox in 2008.[19]Jonathan Tropper was hired to write the script, which, in August 2009, drew interest from Steven Spielberg as director. As a result, Spielberg pushed back development for an Abraham Lincolnbiopic (which was released in 2012); a remake of Oldboy and an adaptation of The 39 Clues. It was then announced that Harvey would be a joint 50/50 production between 20th Century Fox and Spielberg's DreamWorks, with Spielberg and Gregory also set to produce the film. Tom Hanks, who previously worked with Spielberg on Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal, was considered for the lead role.[19] Spielberg had also approached Robert Downey Jr., but in December 2009 Spielberg opted out after a dispute over his vision for the project.[20][21]
In December 2018, it was reported that streaming service Netflix had started developing a version of Harvey.[22]
In the 1957 comedy film Desk Set starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Hepburn's character is given a large stuffed pink bunny rabbit by her boyfriend as a Christmas present. Pointing at the gift, she asks “Aren’t you going to introduce me to Harvey?”
A 1971 children's film, Mr. Horatio Knibbles,[23] also starred a giant talking rabbit, visible only to one person.
The first episode of the 1975 television series The Invisible Man featured a scene with an invisible rabbit (wearing a visible collar) called "Harvey", in a cage in a laboratory.
The 1977 comic book story, "The Harvey Pekar Name Story," written by Harvey Pekar and illustrated by Robert Crumb, alludes to the play/film when Pekar describes how childhood acquaintances made fun of his name by calling him "Harvey the Rabbit."[24]
A scene in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit has a barfly confessing to Judge Doom, "I seen the rabbit" (seemingly referring to Roger, who is being wrongfully sought as a murder suspect). He puts his arm around an invisible presence and says, "Well say hello – Harvey!", as a means of both mocking Doom and protecting Roger. The movie takes place in 1947, while the play was released in 1944.
In the 1989 film Field of Dreams, farmer Ray Kinsella hears a voice in his cornfield that no one else can hear. His daughter, Karin, is later shown watching a scene from Harvey on TV.
The 1992 film Memoirs of an Invisible Man sees the recently-turned-invisible Nick Holloway, afraid to reveal his identity to a sinister government agent, answer "Harvey" when asked his name.
The character Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, released in 1994, describes "Randall Stevens" – the fake person Dufresne created to launder money – as "a phantom, an apparition, second cousin to Harvey the rabbit."
In the Farscape television series, produced by The Jim Henson Company between 1999 and 2003, the main character Crichton was often "haunted" by visual-auditory hallucinations referred to as a neural-clone of his archenemy Scorpius, produced by an interactive neurochip embedded in his brain. This character is dubbed "Harvey" and called such by Crichton in direct reference to the original film.
In the 2000 film Sexy Beast, Ray Winstone's character sometimes sees a large imaginary rabbit.[25]
In the 2001 movie A Beautiful Mind, John Nash points to an empty chair and says to his friend, "Have you met Harvey?"
The 2001 film Donnie Darko contains a six-foot tall rabbit named Frank, which haunts the titular character. Despite popular belief that this character was a reference to Harvey, Donnie Darko's writer/director Richard Kelly denies it. In an interview with Future Movies, he is quoted as saying: "I have never even seen the movie, it never occurred to me."[26] In 2002, the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica programmed Harvey and Donnie Darko as a double feature.[27]
In the series Scrubs, J.D.'s 'conscience' is his high school gym teacher with his head replaced with a rabbit's.
In 2004, the 15th-season episode of The Simpsons, "My Big Fat Geek Wedding" contained a similar imaginary rabbit acting as Barney's 'anti-sobriety' sponsor.
In the 2008 video game Edna & Harvey: The Breakout, the titular protagonist has a stuffed rabbit named Harvey whom she imagines talks to her.
A British law firm was partially named after the rabbit.[28]
In the 2015 episode "Adventures in Chinchilla-sitting" in the cartoon series Bob's Burgers, character Teddy seems to spot Louise's signature bunny ears. When he turns, the ears have disappeared and he remarks, "Thought I saw Harvey."
The British indie rock band Her's included a song named "Harvey" based on the film on their 2018 debut album Invitation to Her's. Harvey was one of lead singer Stephen Fitzpatrick's favorite films.[29][30]
In 2019, the thirteenth episode of John Green's podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed featured the film, and an essay on the film was also included in Green's book of the same title published in 2021. In the essay he describes an episode of severe clinical depression, which led to him resigning from his job, upon which his boss told him "Watch Harvey". He writes how the film helped him to get well, and that he was eventually able to return to his job at Booklist magazine.[31][32]
In the 2024 film IF, a film where a young girl discovers imaginary friends, or "IF" for short, the character Bea is watching Harvey on television before her attention is drawn to the noise of the IF Blossom outside her grandmother's apartment.
^"Richard Kelly". Future Movies. October 22, 2002. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
^Schildcrout, Jordan (2019). In the Long Run: A Cultural History of Broadway's Hit Plays. New York and London: Routledge. p. 86. ISBN978-0367210908.
^Lucy Burton, "Manchester-firm JMW has acquired local specialist property and litigation firm Goodman Harvey, set up in 2004 by an ex-Halliwells partner and an imaginary rabbit", The LawyerArchived October 16, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, 30 May 2013
Questa voce o sezione sugli argomenti unità militari e Stati Uniti d'America non cita le fonti necessarie o quelle presenti sono insufficienti. Puoi migliorare questa voce aggiungendo citazioni da fonti attendibili secondo le linee guida sull'uso delle fonti. Segui i suggerimenti dei progetti di riferimento 1, 2. Confederate States Army Esercito degli Stati ConfederatiStendardo da battaglia Descrizione generaleAttiva4 febbraio 1861 - 22 giugno 1865 Nazione Stati Confederati d'Amer...
Untuk kegunaan lain, lihat Bisma (disambiguasi). Bismaभीष्मDewi Gangga menyerahkan Dewabrata (Bisma) kepada Prabu Santanu.Tokoh MahabharataNamaBismaEjaan Dewanagariभीष्मEjaan IASTBhīṣmaNama lainDewabrata, Ganggaputra, Pitamaha, Swetawira.Kitab referensiMahabharataAsalHastinapura, Kerajaan KuruKediamanHastinapuraKastakesatriaDinastiKuruSenjatapanahAyahSantanuIbuDewi Gangga Bisma (Dewanagari: भीष्म; ,IAST: Bhīṣma, भीष्म) adalah salah satu ...
Islam menurut negara Afrika Aljazair Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Kamerun Tanjung Verde Republik Afrika Tengah Chad Komoro Republik Demokratik Kongo Republik Kongo Djibouti Mesir Guinea Khatulistiwa Eritrea Eswatini Etiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Pantai Gading Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagaskar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Maroko Mozambik Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda Sao Tome dan Principe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia Somaliland Afrika Selatan ...
Free software graphics editor mtPaintmtPaint 3.40Original author(s)Mark TylerDeveloper(s)Dmitry GroshevInitial releaseSeptember 13, 2004; 19 years ago (2004-09-13)Stable release3.50[1][2] / 1 January 2021 Written inCOperating systemWindows, LinuxPlatformIA-32 and x64Size1797 kb (installed)Available in18 languagesTypeRaster graphics editorLicenseGPL-3.0-or-laterWebsitemtpaint.sourceforge.net mtPaint (short for Mark Tyler's Painting Program) is a free an...
Help the Red Cross. American poster by the U.S. Food Administration, circa 1917-1919. The home front during World War I covers the domestic, economic, social and political histories of countries involved in that conflict. It covers the mobilization of armed forces and war supplies, lives of others, but does not include the military history. For nonmilitary interactions among the major players see diplomatic history of World War I. About 10.9 million combatants and seven million civilians die...
U.S. National Championships 1929 Sport Tennis Data 7 settembre - 14 settembre (uomini)19 agosto - 24 agosto (donne) Edizione 49ª Categoria Grande Slam (ITF) Località New York e Chestnut Hill, USA Campioni Singolare maschile Bill Tilden Singolare femminile Helen Wills Moody Doppio maschile George Lott / John Doeg Doppio femminile Phoebe Holcroft Watson / Peggy Mitchell Doppio misto Betty Nuthall / George Lott 1928 1930 Gli U.S. National Championships 1929 (conosciuti oggi come US Open) sono...
Golfo de Boni Teluk Bone Océano o mar de la IHO (n.º id.: 48k) Ubicación geográficaContinente Asia / OceaníaOcéano Océano PacíficoIsla CélebesCoordenadas 4°00′S 120°45′E / -4, 120.75Ubicación administrativaPaís Indonesia IndonesiaDivisión Célebes Meridional y Célebes SurorientalCuerpo de aguaMares próximos Mar de BandaCiudades ribereñas Wawo, Malamala, Lampia, Palopo y WatamponeMapa de localización Localización del golfo de Tomini Localización del...
Berlin Syndrome redirects here. For the film, see Berlin Syndrome (film). Medical conditionNijmegen breakage syndromeOther namesBerlin breakage syndrome, Ataxia telangiectasia variant 1 and Seemanova syndrome,[1]Nijmegen breakage syndrome has an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance.SpecialtyEndocrinology Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS) is a rare autosomal recessive[2] congenital disorder causing chromosomal instability, probably as a result of a defect in the doub...
Symbolic representation of a chemical reactionThis article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) A chemical equation is the symbolic representation of a chemical reaction in the form of symbols and chemical formulas. The reactant entities are given on the left-hand side and the product entities are on the...
1939 neutrality pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union German–Soviet pact redirects here. For the Weimar-era German–Soviet non-aggression pact, see Treaty of Berlin (1926). Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact[a]Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics[b]Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking hands after the signing of the pact in the KremlinSigned23 August 1939; 84 years ago (1939-08-23)LocationMoscow, Soviet UnionExpirati...
LGBT rights in the AmericasStatus of same-sex marriage and other types of same-sex partnerships in the Americas. Same-sex marriage1 Other type of registered partnership1 Limited domestic recognition1 Foreign marriages recognized for residency only Unrecognized Constitution restricts marriage to opposite-sex couples Unenforced ban on same-sex sexual activity 1May include recent laws or court decisions which ha...
2020 Russian resupply spaceflight to the ISS Progress MS-15Progress MS-15 after undocking from the ISSNamesProgress 76PMission typeISS resupplyOperatorRoscosmosCOSPAR ID2020-050A SATCAT no.45937Websitehttps://www.roscosmos.ru/Mission duration1433 days, 15 hours, 23 minutes Spacecraft propertiesSpacecraftProgress MS-15Spacecraft typeProgress MSManufacturerEnergiaLaunch mass7000 kgPayload mass2540 kg Start of missionLaunch date23 July 2020, 14:26:21 UTC[1][2][...
Pinguely Locomotive des Tramways de l'Indre Création 1881 Fondateurs Alexandre Pinguely Siège social Lyon France Activité Construction mécanique et ferroviaire modifier - modifier le code - voir Wikidata Locomotive bicabine des TDI à côté d'une automotrice à vapeur Buffaud & Robatel/Buire Locomotive Tramways de l'Indre n°9 (n° constructeur 137 de 1902) en tête d'une rame à Vierzon Locomotive Pinguely n°5 (45-1898), type 030T, des chemins de fer Départementaux de ...
Onom[1] (ᮇᮔᮧᮙ᮪) adalah sebutan untuk makhluk halus dalam mitologi Sunda. Penggunaan istilah ini dapat disepadankan dan umum diterjemahkan menjadi siluman. Makhluk ini dipercaya banyak menghuni area seperti rawa-rawa, hutan, dan sebagainya. Onom kerapkali dicirikan dengan wujud yang menyerupai manusia pada umumnya, tetapi berpakaian abnormal yaitu didominasi oleh bahan pakaian yang terbuat dari bambu dan akar-akaran di sekujur tubuhnya, mulai dari kalung yang digunakan hingga...
Period of Japanese history (1135-1141 AD) For the location in Pokémon, see Hoenn. Part of a series on theHistory of JapanShōsōin ListPaleolithicbefore 14,000 BCJōmon14,000 – 1000 BCYayoi 1000 BC – 300 ADKofun 300 AD – 538 ADAsuka 538 – 710Nara 710 – 794HeianFormer Nine Years' WarLater Three-Year WarGenpei War 794–1185KamakuraJōkyū WarMongol invasionsGenkō WarKenmu Restoration 1185–1333MuromachiNanboku-chō periodSengoku period 1336–1573Az...
Questa voce o sezione sugli argomenti insegnanti statunitensi e scrittori statunitensi non cita le fonti necessarie o quelle presenti sono insufficienti. Puoi migliorare questa voce aggiungendo citazioni da fonti attendibili secondo le linee guida sull'uso delle fonti. Segui i suggerimenti del progetto di riferimento. John McCabe nel 1967 Jonathan Charles McCabe III (Detroit, 14 novembre 1920 – Petoskey, 27 settembre 2005) è stato un biografo e docente statunitense. Fu uno studioso d...
