Movie · 1950 · Comedy, Fantasy · 1h 44m · NR · English
Curator score: 8.2/10 (98K ratings)
The Wonderful Pulitzer Prize Play … becomes one of the Great Motion Pictures of our Time!
Overview
The story of Elwood P. Dowd who makes friends with a spirit taking the form of a human-sized rabbit named Harvey that only he sees (and a few privileged others on occasion also.) After his sister tries to commit him to a mental institution, a comedy of errors ensues. Elwood and Harvey become the catalysts for a family mending its wounds and for romance blossoming in unexpected places.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.2/10
IMDb: 7.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.99/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Metacritic: 79
TMDB: 7.7/10
Director
Henry Koster
Production
Universal International Pictures
Cast
James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Peggy Dow, Charles Drake, Cecil Kellaway, Victoria Horne, Jesse White, William H. Lynn, Wallace Ford, Nana Bryant, Grayce Mills, Clem Bevans, Harvey, Don Brodie, Pat Flaherty, Eula Guy, Norman Leavitt, Fess Parker, Maudie Prickett, Dick Wessel
Curator Review
Verdict
A warm, gently surreal comedy that uses its fantasy premise to explore kindness, social conformity, and the healing power of eccentricity. James Stewart and Josephine Hull anchor it with charm and precision, making the film feel both whimsical and emotionally humane.
Best for
fans of classic Hollywood comedies
viewers who like feel-good films with a soft philosophical edge
people drawn to gentle fantasy and oddball premises
audiences interested in mid-century performances and stage-to-screen adaptations
Skip if
you want fast-paced modern comedy
you dislike theatrical, dialogue-driven storytelling
you need fantasy with strong visual effects or world-building
you prefer darker or more cynical takes on mental health and social norms
Overview
Harvey is one of those rare studio comedies that feels both airy and deeply compassionate. Its central conceit is absurd on paper, but the film commits to it with such calm confidence that the joke becomes a way of seeing the world differently. The result is less about proving whether Harvey is real than about what Elwood’s openness does to everyone around him.
Worth noting
James Stewart gives one of his most disarming performances, all easy grace and unforced sincerity, while Josephine Hull turns the family’s panic into something sharply funny and recognizably human. The film’s humor comes from social friction, but its real pleasure is in how it slowly softens the people who think they’re the most sensible in the room.
Bottom line
What lingers is the movie’s unusual tenderness. Beneath the farce is a plea for civility, patience, and the freedom to be pleasant in a world that rewards aggression. It’s whimsical, yes, but also quietly radical in the way it treats kindness as a form of wisdom.
Top Letterboxd reviews
megan (4★) · 1265 likes
what a weird prequel to donnie darko (2001)
zuzanna (4.5★) · 1256 likes
6'3" james stewart looking way up to a 6'3½" rabbit is the height of comedy
Two Cineasts (5★) · 1224 likes
"In this world, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."(James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd)
CHARMING, FULL OF HUMOR AND DEEP LIFE DEPENDING QUESTIONS
eely (4★) · 521 likes
“YOU GOT THE SCREWIEST UNCLE THAT EVER STUCK HIS PUSS INSIDE OUR NUTHOUSE”
Anna Imhof 🌸 (3.5★) · 486 likes
About the pains of being pure at heart. And how infectious it can be.