Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Harvey Blu-ray Movie Review

Even some adults have imaginary friends Unless, of course, they're not imaginary.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 25, 2012

Many children have imaginary friends with whom they play, occasionally fight, and who become convenient scapegoats should any accident like a broken household item be found by a parent. Typically these imaginary friends fade into nothingness as a child matures. The conceit of Harvey, Mary Chase’s ebullient farce which was a rare comedy to win the Pulitzer Prize (not to mention a rare comedy written by a woman to win the Pulitzer Prize), is that adults can have imaginary friends, too—unless the unseen friends aren’t imaginary. Oh, and of course one added bit of information: in this particular case, the imaginary friend (or, conversely, invisible real friend) is a giant rabbit named Harvey. Harvey’s gimmick sounds crazy, but that of course is part and parcel of the piece’s treatment of lead character Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart), a usually inebriated but kindly gentleman who insists he’s always being accompanied by a giant invisible bunny. Is Elwood off his rocker or just slightly—or more than slightly—eccentric? Harvey often plays like a traditional farce, especially once Elwood’s social climbing sister, Veta (Josephine Hull, who won an Academy Award for her delightful performance reprising her original Broadway role), decides she can’t stand the continual embarrassment of Elwood introducing the unseen Harvey to all the uppity matrons of the town and that institutionalization is the best solution. While there aren’t the slamming doors and misconstrued identities of traditional farce, there is another kind of confusion that presents copious fodder for hilarity in the central section of the film, as first Veta herself is deigned insane, and then slowly but surely various employees of the sanitarium where Elwood is supposed to be committed start thinking that Harvey may in fact be real. But underlying Harvey’s comedic exterior is a rather heartfelt little piece that has some cogent musings about what’s preferable in life—to be safely “sane” or to follow the whimsical influences of something unseen and ineffable.

Harvey is an unabashedly old fashioned piece of entertainment, but it’s also surprisingly modern in its prescient view of cynicism and conformity. Josephine Hull’s Veta is the archetype of society “normalcy”, albeit with a decided gaze toward bettering her lot, at least insofar as the company she keeps. She’s also out to land her daughter, Myrtle Mae (Victoria Horne), and neither goal is made easy by Elwood’s not very subtle interactions with the maybe, maybe-not imaginary rabbit. Elwood on the other hand stands as a symbol of a freethinker, although it might be better termed free feeler, as Elwood celebrates the triumph of the heart over the head. All of this said, Elwood is a frighteningly philosophical drunk (there’s absolutely no hiding the fact that he is a problem drinker, something that may strike some in the politically correct crowd as being a tad unseemly). Several monologues scattered throughout the film reveal Elwood’s rather deep and abiding philosophy, including several salient pieces of wisdom passed on to him by his beloved Harvey.

As funny as Harvey unquestionably is, it isn’t the raucous, gross out humor that has become so standard in present day comedies. While there are laugh out loud moments and some fantastic slapstick (the sight gag of the minion who has been sent by the Judge—who has eyes for Veta—to keep an eye on Elwood early in the film, and who collides with a slippery floor is a classic), a lot of Harvey’s humor is decidedly low key and some gags in fact are almost subliminal. Watch, for example, when Veta has transported Elwood to the Chumley Rest Home in a taxi, and leaves Elwood with the taxi driver as she goes inside to get the intake forms taken care of. The taxi driver slowly becomes more and more aware that something is “not quite right” with Elwood. Without spoiling the gag, just keep an eye on the driver’s hands as the scene fades to black—it’s a very quiet little moment, but it’s incredibly funny.

Parts of Harvey haven’t aged particularly well, notably the romantic subplot concerning one of the Chumley doctors (Charles Drake) and a comely nurse (Peggy Dow). However, this very subplot allows for a particularly moving little sequence with Elwood where the always slightly inebriated man recounts his first meeting with Harvey. The film also might be hinting at the then supposedly “revolutionary” techniques, including lobotomy, that were au courant in the arsenal of mental institutions as it wends its way toward its conclusion with Elwood about to be injected with a special serum which will make him “normal” again. Veta has to come to terms with what she really wants: a life of comfortable conformity, or something that others may in fact term crazy, but which at least has some spiritual integrity to it. It’s a question that is perhaps even more meaningful in today’s cookie cutter world of mass production, where even souls are seemingly forged via pre-cast molds.

Harvey Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Harvey is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.35:1. Harvey underwent a full scale restoration for this release, which may lead some to cry out, "Oh, no! Anything but that!", given Universal's spotty record with regard to its catalog on Blu-ray. The results here, however, are mostly outstanding. The one exception might be an element which Universal has recently talked about, namely "grain averaging", whereby digital noise reduction is supposedly mitigated. There's certainly grain throughout this presentation, but in scenes with an abundance of white, as in the credits sequence, the grain does have an odd, slightly unnatural look which may in fact speak to this so-called "grain averaging". The bulk of the film looks excellent, however, with a sharp, clear image, solid contrast and expressive blacks and well modulated gray scale. There are some slight problems with shadow detail, which were probably endemic to the elements, most of which crop up in the dimly lit interior scenes in Chumley's rest home. While this still probably won't completely satisfy those who are prone to dismiss Universal's catalog releases wholesale, I personally rate this at or near the top of Universal's recent glut of centenary releases. And, no, that is not damning this release with faint praise.

Harvey Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Harvey's fairly modest original soundtrack is delivered with good fidelity via a DTS-HD Master Audio mono mix (in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0). Aside from Frank Skinner's playful score, there's really not a lot of sonic "information" in this track, other than nonstop dialogue. The track does have a certain boxiness, especially in the midrange, but there's no real damage to report, and this lossless audio track faithfully reproduces the original mono charm that audience experienced during the film's theatrical exhibition.

Harvey Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Special Introduction by Film Star James Stewart with Photographic Montage (SD; 7:10). Recorded in 1990, this is a sweet reminiscence by Stewart on what the film meant to him.


• Theatrical Trailer (SD; 1:27)


• 100 Years of Universal: The Carl Laemmle Era (HD; 8:41). This is the same featurette included on several of the other centenary Blu-rays (and DVDs), tracing the early history of the studio.


• 100 Years of Universal: The Lew Wasserman Era (HD; 8:50). This is a really interesting piece tracing the connection between MCA and Universal as well as Wasserman's driving force behind both institutions. Wasserman also started the vaunted "points" system where stars took a lower salary in exchange for a piece of the profits. He was also a prescient force behind the move to television, ancillary products like theme parks and the summer blockbuster.

Harvey Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Harvey is a sweet and charming film that will probably strike younger audiences as hopelessly old fashioned. Those younger folk should really give the film a closer look, however, for Mary Chase's writing rather smartly looks at attitudes of conformity and creativity from a decidedly skewed perspective. Stewart has never been more winning than he is as Elwood P. Dowd, and he manages to convey the slightly tipsy world of the story's hero without lapsing into parody. Hull is simply a delight in one of her two best known roles (she was one of the elderly sisters in Arsenic and Old Lace, another film it would be fantastic to see released on Blu-ray). This is a film full of quiet, gentle humor, a far cry from the in your face "comedies" that currently reside at multiplexes everywhere. Maybe that's why I love it so much. This Blu-ray could have used some more film-centric supplements, but the video is generally excellent and the audio acceptably decent within reasonable expectations. Highly recommended.