Harvey

Jimmy Stewart At His Best

Director: Henry Koster

Release Date: 1950

Rating: U

Running Time: 104 mins

Genre: Comdey

Actors: James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Charles Drake

Something I wish that I was taught when I was younger is that black and white movies are incredibly underrated by generations today. I'm not talking about the modern day noir films, though noir is an fascinating genre of film to explore. I'm talking about the old school Alfred Hitchcock/Frank Capra/Orson Wells era when cinema was first taking off and Hollywood was breaking out into the blockbuster era of epic films. The time when the big stars like James Stewart and Cary Grant were some of the big names talked about and films were lead by directors who had to come up with new and inventive ways of making the cinema as fun and exciting as it could've been in those days. I wish I could have watched more whilst growing up and I know now how much I've missed out on. The thing I find so brilliant and a key reason why they stand out for me as such great films, is the way that they are able to represent a time before we could just sit down to watch a film and expect the high end explosive blockbusters that erupt onto our screens like nowadays. There's something about black and white films that offer us that warm 'Sunday afternoon' feel and a give us a real insight into a different era of cinema that in many ways offers an originality and old school feel to films that we don't always get from those released nowadays.

When looking at 'Harvey', black and white or no black and white I feel confident in saying that it's one of the greatest films I've ever seen, at least at the moment anyway. The film showed me that movies don't have to be over complicated or over the top to gain audience approval and most importantly it showed me that films don't have to involve profanity or talk about sex to be funny which I think is something that should be admired in the modern day. 'Harvey' is a film that offers such a rich story centred around a very simple idea, James Stewart playing a man whose best friend just happens to be an 8 foot invisible rabbit named Harvey. Set in the space of only one day and layered with a group of different stories and characters, they all become intertwined by one man Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart), the audience are able to learn and see just how mischievous and intriguing his fury friend Harvey can be and maybe Elwood is in fact a much smarter man than we first thought. 'Harvey' contains so many clever comedy traits from slapstick humour to dreadful singing, from dramatic irony to fantastic performances from an entire cast of great actors, particularly Josephine Hull playing Elwood's over the top yet lovable sister Vita, it really can be seen as one of those films that comes down to such a brilliant cast, as well as just the story.

I'd say it's one of those films you have to see, even if you think 'black and white films are old and boring and nothing happens in them', because it's so humorous and entertaining. I'd especially recommend it if you're not keen on black and white films because seeing one as funny and entertaining as this and lead by the artist that is James Stewart, you may end up changing your mind. Sitting in a room full of film students I learnt just how easily everyone can relate to and understand it proving how well it has managed to age, and it's actually quite hard to believe just how old it really is. It's a film that says so much about friendship, love, family and accepting people for who they are, with a strong underlining of being happy in life, 'Harvey' is such a delightfully uplifting film that will appeal to everyone, I'd strongly recommend checking out.

8/10