Elwood P. Dowd, a gentle man whose best friend is a six-foot rabbit named Harvey, is the sanest person in a world that insists he is mad.
In Harvey (1950), based on Mary Chase’s play, James Stewart plays Elwood P. Dowd, a kind and courteous man who introduces his friends to Harvey, a pooka in the form of a tall white rabbit whom only Elwood can see. His sister Veta, embarrassed by Elwood, tries to have him committed to a sanatorium, but the plan goes wrong, and the doctors begin to wonder who is really in need of help.
Stewart plays Elwood with complete sincerity. He never winks at the audience, and he never suggests that Elwood is a joke. That honesty is why the film works: we believe in Elwood’s kindness, and we begin to see Harvey not as a delusion but as a symbol of imagination and friendship.
Harvey is one of Stewart’s most beloved performances, a gentle comedy that asks whether it is better to be clever and unhappy or kind and content — and answers with Elwood’s quiet smile.