My friend Harvey (1950)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | My friend Harvey |
| Original title | Harvey |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1950 |
| length | 104 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Henry Koster |
| script |
Mary Chase , Oscar Brodney , Myles Connolly |
| production |
John Beck for Universal Pictures |
| music | Frank Skinner |
| camera | William H. Daniels |
| cut | Ralph Dawson |
| occupation | |
| |
Harvey is a film by Henry Koster from the year 1950. It is based on the play Harvey by Mary Chase .
action
Elwood P. Dowd is an adorable, quirky, and unshakably friendly middle-aged man. His best friend has been a puka in the shape of a 2.10 meter bunny named Harvey for several years , with whom he wanders through town for hours and invites strangers to have a drink with himself and Harvey in his favorite bar, “Charley's Bar”. The problem, however, is that even if the landlord and the other guests accept Harvey's existence, Harvey is invisible to everyone except Elwood. Therefore, living with Elwood and his rabbit is often difficult for Elwood's sister Veta and her daughter Myrtle. However, Elwood inherited the house and the not inconsiderable fortune, so the two women are dependent on his goodwill. When Veta, who was very worried about her reputation, organized a party with numerous important and respected ladies - with the aim of finally finding a husband for Myrtle among their sons - Elwood appeared with his invisible rabbit and introduced him to all guests. After the guests disappeared quickly for flimsy reasons, Veta decides to have her brother admitted to a sanatorium .
When Elwood was introduced to the sanatorium, Veta had an interview with the young psychiatrist Dr. Sanderson, citing constant drinking or a mental disorder as reasons for Harvey's supposed existence. But when Veta, who is hysterical about the circumstances, says that she occasionally sees Harvey herself, it is not Elwood but his sister who is admitted to the sanatorium. Elwood leaves the premises while his sister fights against her briefing. After Dr. Chumley, the respected head of the sanatorium, has discovered the mix-up after a short time, Veta is released again, but her brother cannot be found. Chumley sends all of his associates in search of Elwood to save his sanatorium's reputation. Veta now calls on her lawyer Gaffney, who is supposed to sue Chumley and his clinic for damages for the mix-up.
Elwood knows nothing about the decisions and intrigues of the other characters, but he can always escape his threatened return to the sanatorium with his friendliness. When Dr. Chumley Elwood and his rabbit in the pub, he tells him how he once met Harvey at a lamp post and also that Harvey can stop time with his gaze and transport people to any place imaginable. Elwood also tells Dr. Chumley explains his philosophy of life: “ There are two ways to get through life well, either you are very smart or you are very friendly. I used to be very smart, now I'm very friendly. "
Dr. Chumley has a few glasses with Elwood and his rabbit and not only believes his story, but speaks to the rabbit himself and befriends him. The renowned psychiatrist and the rabbit then roam the inns, Elwood loses them and goes in search of Harvey. He meets Dr. Sanderson and the nurse Miss Kelly, who were once lovers but are now separated. Elwood manages with his charming way to bring Sanderson and Kelly closer together again and they dance together. At the same time, Veta's daughter Myrtle falls in love with the gruff groom Wilson, who is also looking for Elwood. So in the end there are two lovers.
After Elwood is finally in the sanatorium, Dr. Sanderson was given the serum “977”, which prevents him from seeing the rabbit and brings him back to normal life. Meanwhile, Veta has to pay the taxi driver, but suddenly her wallet is missing. She asks her brother to pay the money with his wallet, who has a friendly chat with the taxi driver. After Elwood went back to the treatment room to get the injection, the taxi driver told Veta that he had already driven many people like Elwood to the sanatorium: On the way there they were happy and talked a lot, but on the return trip they were "normal" again “Like any other person and therefore sullen and ill-tempered. Veta eventually prevents Elwood from receiving the serum and agrees to continue living with her brother's rabbit and quirks. When her wallet suddenly reappears, Veta is convinced of Harvey's existence.
In front of the sanatorium, overjoyed Elwood meets his Harvey again. Dr. Chumley from Elwood so he can get to his dream place - an idyllic home under maple trees in Akron . Elwood wants to lose something and leave the sanatorium with his family without Harvey, but the latter appears next to him again (because he doesn't want to stay with Dr. Chumley). Elwood and Harvey follow Myrtle and Veta out of the sanatorium.
background
The play Harvey was in the 1940s a big Broadway -success with critics and audiences. Comedian Harold Lloyd reported interest in the role of Elwood as early as 1945 ; Director Preston Sturges was also interested in a film adaptation. In June 1947, Universal Pictures secured the film rights for one million US dollars, according to the Los Angeles Times, which was a record sum at the time. In addition, the film was only allowed to be shown in cinemas after the play was discontinued on Broadway. Josephine Hull, who had already played it on Broadway, was selected for the role of Veta. Jesse White had also played the role of the nurse Wilson in the theater, for him it was the film debut. James Stewart had also played Elwood P. Dowd on Broadway as a vacation replacement for the original actor Frank Fay . Also in discussion for the role of Elwood were Bing Crosby , Cary Grant , Rudy Vallée , Joe E. Brown (who also played the role in the theater and received a Special Tony Award ), Gary Cooper , Jack Benny , Jack Haley and James Cagney . Stewart played Elwood again in a revival on Broadway in the 1970s as well as in a television adaptation from 1972 alongside Helen Hayes as Veta.
The script took over large parts of the play, only details were changed: Harvey's height in the original play is 1.91 meters, so that most actors had to look up at him. Because Stewart was very tall himself at 1.91 meters, Harvey's height was increased to over two meters in the film (in the German version even to 2.105 meters). After the success of the film, many people on the street asked Stewart where Harvey was. He always replied that Harvey had a cold and had decided to stay at home. The production design came from Nathan Juran and Bernard Herzbrun .
The film achieved good box office earnings, but was not a financial success because of the disproportionately high production costs.
The film opened in cinemas in the Federal Republic of Germany on August 3, 1951, and in Austria on December 25, 1951. The German TV first broadcast was on December 25, 1975 at 4.15 pm on ARD .
synchronization
The German synchronization was created in 1951 at Berliner Synchron . Victor de Kowa was chosen as the voice of James Stewart because he had already played the role of Harvey in the theater. The supporting roles were also cast with well-known voice actors such as Georg Thomalla, Walter Bluhm and Ursula Krieg.
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Elwood P. Dowd | James Stewart | Viktor de Kowa |
| Veta Louise Simmons, his sister | Josephine Hull | Lene Obermeyer-Nerking |
| Nurse Miss Kelly | Peggy Dow | Bettina Schön |
| Dr. Lyman Sanderson | Charles Drake | Axel Monjé |
| Dr. William Chumley | Cecil Kellaway | Alfred Balthoff |
| Myrtle Mae Simmons, Veta's daughter | Victoria Horne | Edith Schneider |
| Nurse Marvin Wilson | Jesse White | Georg Thomalla |
| Attorney Mr. Gaffney | William H. Lynn | Hans Hessling |
| Mrs. Hazel Chumley, wife of the chief | Nana Bryant | Margarete Schön |
| Mr. Herman Shimelplatzer, sanatorium porter | Clem Bevans | Otto fee |
| Aunt Ethel Chauvenet | Grayce Mills | Ursula War |
| Mr. Miggles, criminal in "Charley's Bar" | Harry Hines | Carl Heinz Carell |
| Second taxi driver (at the end of the film) | Wallace Ford | Clemens Hasse |
| First taxi driver (if mixed up) | Norman Leavitt | Reinhard Kolldehoff |
| Mr. Minninger, Gaffney's associate | Sam Wolfe | Walter Bluhm |
Reviews
The reviews for the film are generally positive. When it was released, James Stewart and Josephine Hull received particular praise for their performances.
- “An enigmatic vacillation about the victory of poetry over gray everyday life and the power of goodness; the origin from the stage is unmistakable ”- Lexicon of international film
- “The timeless comedy about the escape from reality offered James Stewart his most beautiful role. A classic. ”- Cinema
- “Above all, James Stewart's brilliant performance in the lead role and his perfect interaction with the imaginary rabbit friend is regarded as a barely achievable role model. […] What Stewart has ahead of all other performers like Heinz Rühmann and Harald Juhnke , who showed quite memorable performances, is a matter of course and naturalness that seems to leave any acting behind. [...] Fundamental paradoxes of life have seldom been brought to the point so succinctly, the good-humored depth of the piece gives its gentle optimism a foundation. ”- Film starts
Awards
In 1951, Josephine Hull won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film , and James Stewart was nominated for Best Actor . The Golden Globes showed the same picture: Hull won in the category Best Supporting Actress , while Stewart received a nomination for Best Actor - Drama . In addition, the production film was nominated for a Golden Globe for best film - drama . Also in 1951 there was a Hugo nomination for Best Dramatic Representation.
In 2000, the American Film Institute voted My Friend Harvey # 35 of the 100 Best American Comedies of All Time. In the “AFI's 10 Top 10” of the American Film Institute, the film landed in 7th place among the best US fantasy films.
DVD release
- My friend Harvey first appeared on DVD on August 14, 2003.
literature
- Mary Chase : My friend Harvey. Comedy in three acts . (Original title: Harvey. ) German by Alfred Polgar . Felix Bloch Erben, Berlin undated , OCLC 634993020 . (Not for sale stage manuscript.)
Web links
- Harvey in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Reviews of My Friend Harvey at Moviepilot
Individual evidence
- ↑ See tcm.com
- ↑ See tcm.com
- ↑ See filmdienst.de and spiegel.de
- ↑ My friend Harvey. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 14, 2017 .
- ↑ See cinema.de
- ↑ See filmstarts.de
- ↑ My friend Harvey on mediabiz.de, accessed on February 22, 2011.