Most adults have long since stopped believing in the Easter Bunny. For better or for worse, they've come to find imaginary rabbits absurd and uncalled for. In "Harvey," however, you will find a very pleasant man who would beg to differ.
Elwood P. Dowd is best friends with a pooka named Harvey. A pooka, by definition, is a `fairy spirit that appears in animal form, always very large.' In Harvey's case, this means a 6-foot-3.5-inch rabbit.
Harvey is also invisible to the general populace, but this does not stop Elwood from talking to him, holding doors for him, and cheerfully introducing him to anyone and everyone they meet.
Most other characters who are witnesses to this behavior -- and the viewer as well -- are skeptical at best of Elwood's sanity. The occasional act of mischief, though, as well as Stewart's unfailing faithfulness, are grounds enough to keep you wondering.
The skillful blurring of the line between delusion and reality are testament to the skill of both Mary Chase and those who made her play into a movie.
Elwood and Harvey tend to frequent the local bars, where meeting Harvey tends to brighten a person's heavy spirits since, as Elwood puts it, `nobody brings small things into a bar.' (One will note that Harvey is no exception to this rule.)
His sister Veta, however, becomes determined to have Elwood committed after he and Harvey ruin the social gathering she so diligently arranged. They take a trip to the Chumley's Rest sanatorium for this purpose, but the particularly analytic psychologist Dr. Sanderson (Charles Drake) decides that it is Veta who's the crazy one and has her admitted instead. Josephine Hull expertly portrays Veta's quirks and anxieties about both her brother's sanity and her own.
In one of the one of the movie's memorable scenes, Mr. Wilson, an orderly at the sanitarium, decides to look up what a `pooka' is. He discovers it is described as a `mischievous creature, very fond of rum-pots, crack-pots, and how are you Mr. Wilson?" That he is irritated rather than mystified only enhances the comedic effect.
When the mix-up is revealed, a manhunt for Elwood commences. He is found at Charlie's (which is just where he'd said he was going) and brought back to the sanitarium, but not before impressing his apprehendors with his incredible good nature and altruistic attitude.
Then, when Dr. Chumley, the owner of the sanitarium, informs Elwood about Veta's plans, him he is amazed when Elwood seems untroubled by this revelation.
"Harvey" has many memorable lines, many of which are notable for their ring of candor and elemental wisdom. Elwood's explanation is one of them, as he tells the doctor, `In this world, you must be oh-so-smart or oh-so-pleasant.' Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.'
It is, in a large part, this attitude that makes both Elwood and "Harvey" so endearing. Such an overwhelming agreeable nature cannot help but infect the hearts and minds of those it touches.
Furthermore, the occasional acts of mischief perhaps the work of Harvey? are both humorous and intriguing. Most importantly, the movie does an excellent job of questioning the value of conventional sanity.
Inspired by Elwood, who states, `Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it,' the viewer is almost tempted to check the dictionary for `pooka' by the time the movie's over. Or, perhaps, to check for an Easter basket. Just in case.
