Harvey

I saw this TV version many years ago and it stuck in my mind, I believe I saw it before I saw the Jimmy Stewart Movie version For my money I liked this version better, I believe Art Carney brought a little more pathos and whimsy to the role. Maybe I was presold on Carney because I was a die-hard Honeymoooners fan, even as a child Art Carney Fan. For Art Carney fans I recommend the movie Late Show with Lillie Tomlin or Harry and Tonto I believe this production of Harvey was one of the best of the Golden Age of Television productions. The entire cast was very good, and Elizabeth Montgomery was appealing in an early unbewitched role.

For starters, this version of "Harvey" IS available on dvd, through the Film Collectors Society of America, which is how I obtained it. Picture & sound-quality much-better than I expected. Imagery slightly-faded but acceptably, adequately clear. Pretty-smooth production overall, considering it was performed live, if I understand correctly. I detected no moments of flubbed-lines, uncooperative-props, or clumsy camera-shots. Despite the eccentricities of various-characters, everyone acted naturally within the context of the premise. Watching Marion Lorne can be a trial at times, i.e., her patented confused & flustered portrayals, but she's very-good at it, actually conveying sympathy & affection for her by story's-end. Carney's excellent as Elwood P. Dowd, the fanciful-fellow who's convinced that Harvey's real--and very-nearly convinces others, including the director of the sanitarium! In terms of today, the comedy's a little-strained but remains likeable & pleasantly-amusing throughout. It's fun to see Elizabeth Montgomery in a pre-Bewitched role as the pretty-nurse, who comes to empathize & even a little-infatuated with the ever-gallant Elwood. Now that I've seen this version, I think I prefer Carney in the role of the rabbit-seeing eccentric, as opposed to Jimmy Stewart's version. Stewart inhabits & is very-effective as Elwood but he's such a familiar-actor that one finds this aspect somewhat difficult to get-past. Carney seems fresh & less-mannered or studied than Stewart. One detects the latter as "playing" an eccentric, whereas Carney is completely-natural & totally-believable, usually Stewart's strong-suit. The ending to the story is both sweet & touching, along with a magical-twist. In short, this Dupont Show of the Month from 1958 holds up well & definitely is worth-seeing. In modern movie-terms, I can see Tom Hanks in the role of Elwood, an actor always-capable of conveying likeability, believability, and sincerity. This is what "Harvey" is all about.

Art Carney's Elwood P. Dowd was the quintessential portrayal of the role. I agree with other comments that Art Carney's Elwood P. Dowd had more whimsy and life than Jimmy Stewart's. After fifty years, I still remember this TV production fondly. I believe I saw it in summer re-run as well as the original air date. I, too, saw the 1950 Stewart movie after seeing Art Carney do the part. Jimmy Stewart underplayed the role, while Carney added enough subtle "Ed Norton" to make the character more sprightly. It's not that one performance is better than the other, but they showed different aspects of the character. I also remember Marion Lorne and Jack Weston as hoots. I would like to see it on DVD, also.

I had been crazy about her since her Garry Moore Show appearances, and seeing her as the ditsy sister Veta was wonderful.

She and Josephine Hull (the original Veta) were very under-utilized actresses. Josephine Hull was on Broadway a lot, but only her Harvey and Arsenic and Old Lace were captured on film. A great loss, I'm sure (though I'm too young to have seen her on Broadway).

Art Carney made a wonderful Elwood P. Dowd, too, though not quite as good as Jimmy Stewart. Perhaps Stewart and Lorne would have been too much ditsy!

After nearly 50 years, I still remember this production. I sure wish this was available on DVD!

I remember this film so well, though I was only about eleven or twelve when I saw it. I'm not sure if I had seen the Jimmy Stewart version before, but I THINK I had.

I would love to see this version again. I loved Art Carney's interpretation and would like to see how it stacks up against the "original" that i have now seen ... I dunno, maybe 25 times.

I also thoroughly enjoyed Harry Anderson's version, though to me his performance seemed .... well, rushed. I suppose he was trying to put a slightly different personality into the role, and I believe that is a good thing to do. I just liked the slower-paced, more relaxed Elwood that Jimmy Stewart showed us. That Elwood seemed happier ... or at least more contented ... than Harry's version. And that's the Elwood I would prefer to sit down and have a quiet drink with. And with Harvey, too, of course.

In many ways I preferred Swoosie Kurtz's interpretation of Veda, Elwood's sister, to the admittedly fabulous "original" one. And I did enjoy the rocking chair at the end ... definitely different from the Stewart ending, but I did like it very much. I recall the Carney ending as being similar to the "original," though I believe that we saw Harvey's shadow right before the fadeout. Not positive, though, which is one reason I'd love to see it again.

It would be nice to have Art Carney's version to see, as an adult, so I could really compare it with the others.