Blogging By Cinema-light: Don't Make a Scene: Harvey (1950)

The Story: It was pure coincidence that the same week the post for IF went up, the similarly-themed (but much better) movie Harvey would appear for today's scene.

I've wanted to do something from Harvey for a long time. The stage perennial was only brought to the screen in 1950 after the first run of the play had run its course (as was the contractual custom at the time). James Stewart—who had played the part of Elwood P. Dowd on Broadway during some of original star Frank Fay's breaks from the run—was hired to star in the film, which became a big hit.

The play has only two settings: the library of the Dowd house and an examining room of Chumley Rest sanitarium. For the movie, there was some "opening up" of locations, including this scene—which, in the play, took place in the sanitarium—which was staged in the back-alley adjacent to a bar.

In it, the recently fired examiner from Chumley Rest tries to do some basic questioning, to find the psychological underpinnings of Dowd's vision of the white rabbit named "Harvey." Of course, his attempts fail, not because Dowd is trying to put something over on him, but because he's speaking truth as he knows it. Harvey is the rabbit's name; there's no mystery to it. But, how Dowd found out his name...now that's an interesting story.

The play and film never do have an explanation for Dowd's behavior—schizophrenia, psychosis, dementia, depression (bipolar or otherwise), and DT's might all fit the bill—but he's such a honest, ingenuous person that he doesn't display any of the other symptoms of such conditions. The play would have you believe that "Harvey" is, indeed, real—a pooka (or púca in Irish) as defined by Merriam-Webster as "a mischievous or malignant goblin or specter held in Irish folklore to appear in the form of a horse and to haunt bogs and marshes" (and one supposes that "a mischievous specter" would be able to shift from horse to rabbit).

And Elwood? He's "mostly harmless." He's not a danger to himself or to anyone else. He's a condition without consequences. And maybe his greatest crime is that he's just a little inconvenient at times.

And that's hardly a crime.

You'll notice that the script is in an odd format—it's the editorial script (made after the fact) that studios used to keep track of individual shots and any script-changes made to the shooting script while filming was done. So, the action of each shot is all bunched up in the shot description, followed by the dialogue. And given star James Stewart's proclivities to stumble and stammer around the dialogue, this-this-this must have been a hard job. There are some inaccuracies in the placement of "um's" "yuh-yuh-yuh see's" and such, but I haven't made any changes. I didn't want to drive myself crazy and end up in a sanitarium.

The Set-up: "Dowd's the name. Elwood P." (James Stewart). Mr. Dowd would appear to be a perfectly normal gentleman of a certain age. However, his sister (Josephine Hull) and niece (Victoria Horne) are trying to have him committed. Dowd ("Elwood P."), you see, is causing a hitch with sister Veta's social plans and attracting any "gentleman callers" to her daughter Myrtle May. Elwood, it seems, scares them off. It's not that he's a monster or anything like that. It's just that he's a bit of a tippler—he drinks, and quite well—and seems to think he's attracted the attention of a Celtic pooka-spirit in the form of a 6' 3½" white rabbit...named "Harvey."

Well, as sanitarium visits go, this one went a little crazy. The seemingly benign and guileless Elwood got off scot-free, while his peripatetic sister got put in the rubber room, leading to the sacking of sanitarium Dr. Raymond Sanderson (Charles Drake), and to make things right, he and nurse Kelly (Peggy Dow) have tracked Dowd to a local drinking establishment only to find that he's drinking alone; his guest Dr. Chumley (Cecil Kellaway), who runs the sanitarium, has left for another taproom...in the company of...Harvey.

Action! ("When?")

24 INT. ALLEY EXT. CHARLIE'S BAR (FULL SHOT)

Elwood strolling forward as Kelly & Sanderson dash out into alley after him -

Elwood stops near f.g. - returns & stops near Kelly - talk - Elwood demonstrates dance - talks - Kelly sits on barrel at side near f.g. - Sanderson leans on railing nearby - Elwood starts to sit on bench at side of alley facing the other two -

SANDERSON - Where're you going, Mr. Dowd?

ELWOOD - I'm just looking for someone.

SANDERSON - Why don't you come back inside?

ELWOOD - Oh, all right, if you want me to. I - it seemed to be so pleasant out here.

ELWOOD - I - You know, you - you two looked very nice dancing together.

ELWOOD I - I used to know a whole lot of dances.

ELWOOD Uh - the, uh - Flea Hop - and - and let's see, uh - the - Black Bottom,

ELWOOD the - Varsity Drag --

ELWOOD I don't know - I just don't seem to have any time any more.

ELWOOD I have so many things to do.

KELLY - What is it you do, Mr. Dowd?

ELWOOD - Oh, Harvey and I sit in the bars and - have a drink or two - play the juke box.

ELWOOD And soon the faces of a-all the other people - they turn toward mine -

ELWOOD - and they smile.

ELWOOD And they're saying, 'We don't know your name, mister, but you're a very nice fellow.'

ELWOOD Harvey and I --

25 CLOSE SHOT ELWOOD As he sits on bench & leans against brick wall -

hugs himself as he soliloquizes -

ELWOOD -- warm ourselves in all these golden moments.

ELWOOD Uh - we've entered as strangers -- soon we have friends.

ELWOOD And they come over and they - they sit with us, and they drink with us,

ELWOOD - and they talk to us.

ELWOOD And they tell about the big terrible things they've done --

26 CLOSE UP SANDERSON & KELLY Looking off & listening - intent -

ELWOOD O.S. -- and the big wonderful things they'll do.

27 CLOSE SHOT ELWOOD Sitting on bench - talking - smiles - leans forward - sad -

ELWOOD - Their hopes and their regrets, their loves and their hates.
ELWOOD - All very large,

ELWOOD because nobody ever brings anything small into a bar.

ELWOOD And then -

ELWOOD I introduce them to Harvey.

ELWOOD And he's bigger and grander than anything they offer me.

ELWOOD And - and when they leave, they leave impressed.

ELWOOD The same people seldom come back, but -

ELWOOD that's - that's envy, my dear. There's a little bit of envy in the best of us.

ELWOOD That's too bad.

ELWOOD Isn't it?

28 PART TITLE UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL / "HARVEY" / END OF PART / 8 REEL NINE 1 PART TITLE UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL / "HARVEY" / PART / 9 2 CLOSE UP SANDERSON & KELLY Looking off - deeply touched -

SANDERSON - How did you happen to call him Harvey?

3 MED CLOSE HIGH SHOT IN ALLEY Sanderson & Kelly f.g., backs to camera, facing Elwood b.g. - talk - Elwood leans back as he explains

ELWOOD - Harvey's his name.

SANDERSON - How do you know that?

ELWOOD - Uh - there was a rather interesting coincidence on that, Doctor. One night several years ago,

ELWOOD - I was walking early in the evening down along Fairfax Street - uh - between Eighteenth and Nineteenth. I --

ELWOOD Do you know the --

4 CLOSE UP SANDERSON & KELLY Looking off - he speaks gently -

ELWOOD O.S. -- block?

SANDERSON - Yes, yes.

ELWOOD - I - I just --

5 CLOSE SHOT ELWOOD Leaning against wall - talking -

ELWOOD -- put Ed Hickey into a taxi. Ed had been mixing his rye with his gin and -

ELWOOD and he - I just felt that he needed conveying.

ELWOOD Well, anyway, I was walking down along the street and I - I heard this voice saying,

ELWOOD 'Good evening, Mister Dowd.'

ELWOOD Well, I - I turned around and here was this big six-foot rabbit leaning up against a lamp post.

ELWOOD Now, I thought nothing of that because when you've lived in a town as long as I've lived in this one, you get used to the fact that everybody knows your name.

ELWOOD And naturally, I - went over to chat with him.

6 CLOSE UP SANDERSON & KELLY Listening - sympathetic -

ELWOOD O.S. - And - and he said to me, he said, 'Ed Hick- --'

7 CLOSE SHOT ELWOOD Talking - points - smiles -

ELWOOD -- 'ey was a little spiffed this evening, or could I be mistaken?'

ELWOOD -- Well, of course, he was not mistaken. I think the world and all of Ed, but he was spiffed.

(MAKES NOISE)

ELWOOD Well, we talked like that for a while - and then - and then I said to him,

ELWOOD I said, 'You have the advantage on me. You know my name - and I don't know yours.'

ELWOOD And - and right back at me, he said, 'What name do you like?'
ELWOOD Well, I - I didn't even have to think twice about that. I - Harvey's always been my favorite name. So I said to him, I said, 'Harvey.'

ELWOOD And uh - he -

ELWOOD and - - th- th- this is - this is the - the interesting thing about the whole thing. He said,

ELWOOD 'What a coincidence. My name happens to be Harvey.'

8 CLOSE UP HIGH SHOT SANDERSON & KELLY Looking off -

camera pans on him as he crosses & stands before Elwood - questions him - gentle - camera moves in close as he puts one foot on bench near Elwood & leans close as they talk - Elwood dreamy - smiles - both look off - startled -