Evening star., 1950-12-25

In truth, more than laughte
Stewart also bring warmth and
these are not too common not
to make their appearance uncom-
monty delightful.
Quite wise it was of the wise
men at Universal-International
Pictures to save their Harvey"
for Christmas release. They could
not have thought Of a better gift.
nor found way to make them
selves more worthy of a prosperous
New Year. Here, then. are at
least two things that work to-
gether for good and who knows
that they are not precursors of
others?
There will be inevitable COM
parsons between the stage and
screen versions of the story of
the century's most beguiling char
acter, Elwood P. Dowd, as played
by several actors on the stage and
now on the screen by Stewart.
Among the comparers will be
those who say that Harvey" has
lost tinge of reality in the screen
adoption. 1t may even be that
this is correct. but since the whole
tale is that of a man fleeing from
reality, the movie version may
have something there.
1t has too much in other re-
spects to find this cause for
worry.
Stewart finds his richest comedy
role in Harvey" Mrs. Chase
made it for him when she created
the hilarious and touching figure
of Elwood P. Dowd, a man who
persisted in staying squiffed and
running around with a rabbit pal,
Harvey" who is invisible to
every one else.
In the original version the job
Of creating Elwood and Harvey
was too perfect to justify any
serious tampering. Millions who
roared at the play would be ready
to roar at Universal for any such
sacrilege. They will get no chance
for beyond the logical opening up
of the setting to include others
Of Elwood's and Harvey's affable
haunts, the letter and the spirit
Of the work are kept intact.
They are the same great pair,
saying and doing the same laugh
able and poignant things and to
miss them would be a melancholy
error of judgment of which no one
should be guilty, Not even those
who were lucky enough to have
seen Harvey" in its first form.
The chief change these latter
will find is a scene in which FL
wood. sitting in an alley behind
his favorite saloon, explains how
he and Harvey managed to be-
come such inseparable pals. It
is singularly good scene in which
Stewart does one of the finest
spots of acting in Keith's Christ
mas comedy. Even the most in
tense Of Stewart's fans will for
get here that this is Stewart. He
is, instead, Elwood P. Dowd, an
even more charming human.
Even this may not be the best
acting in Harvey" however. That
distinction may we'll belong to !
Josephine Hull, who plays again .
the role of Veta Louise Simmons, +
the hilarously harrassed sister.
Her portrait of woman trying to
cure an alcoholic brother whom
she subconsciously envies is
comedy as wonderfully acted as
any one ever will see it acted.
The incident of Harvey" is the
same as it always has been. It's
principal settings are the living
room of Elwood's home and
Chumley's rest, the sanitarium
selected for "the cure" that will
separate the half-lit hero from
his invisible rabbit chum.
In each of these, Stewards un-
shakeable convictionthat he is the /
sane one and that every one else
Is foolish achieves the havoc to be
expected of man proving point |
like that. AS always, his flight |
from reality seems so convincingly
the way to happines that audi
enceS, like the characters in the
play, are left to wonder that nor
mality is all it is cracked up to
be.
There have been additions to
the dialogue of Harvey" but not |
at the expense of the famously
funny lines which stand up Won
derfully. Elwood still has that !
disconcerting question when any
one asks if he needs anything,
What did you have in mind?"
He also retains all those quietly
spoken words of the man COM
pletely sure of himself in a circle |