Harvey (1950)

Nominated for 2 Academy Awards:

Best Actor: James Stewart

Best Supporting Actress: Josephine Hull (WON)

 

A bit underrated during its time, I suspect, I think Harvey has become some kind of a classic, rediscovered over time, and it’s not the norm for a film from the 1950s to have over 50k votes on imdb. Of course, this speaks nothing about the quality of the film, just that I’ve probably waited a bit too long to see it. I didn’t know if it was gonna be just comedy or with an actual touch of drama, and it ended up being a cute movie, sweet is the better word, a bit unbalanced plot-wise, carried mostly by the two main performances.

Josephine Hull won the Oscar for playing the older sister of a man who has delusions about seeing a giant rabbit, and the film relies mostly on her to bring the humour, the hysteria, and to connect various parts of the story. She delivers what’s required, but I also kind of feel like she could’ve given us more and a deeper layer to the character. That aspect of emotional depth comes from the lead, with Jimmy Stewart delivering a rather low-key performance, soft-spoken and something different from the roles I’ve seen him do. He is not fully convincing in the character, since Dowd remains a mystery, and it’s rather difficult to empathize, but I admire his acting and he did well in the speeches and showing vulnerability.

The last act could and should have been more impactful, otherwise it’s an OK film.

 

I give it: 7/10

IMDB LINK