Harvey (1950)
Director: Henry Koster
Starring: James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Peggy Dow
Synopsis:
Misunderstandings abound as a woman tries to have her brother committed for believing he is accompanied by an invisible six-foot rabbit.
Impressions:
This is a charming and very funny movie. Jimmy Stewart is great as Elwood Dowd, a harmless eccentric plotted against by his own sister (played ably by Josephine Hull). We also get to see the early 20th Century psychiatric system in all its glory. I know the movie's a comedy, but the practices of the sanitarium are terrifying if you think about it too much and it's not even being sensationalized for horror. Most of the comedy revolves around the pileup of misunderstandings in Veta's effort to get Elwood committed and it's good stuff. There's an element of magical realism at work. It isn't played too hard and the subtlety works well. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend giving it a watch.
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