dowd_elwood_p

The Wisdom of Harvey

If you're a classic movie buff, you will likely recognize Elwood P. Dowd as the name of Jimmy Stewart's character in the movie "Harvey" (Universal Pictures, 1950). Here are some philosophical excerpts from that classic film:

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Dr. Chumley:
"This sister of yours is at the bottom of a conspiracy against you. She's trying to persuade me to lock you up. Today, she had commitment papers drawn up. She has your power of attorney and the key to your safety deposit box, and she brought you here."

Elwood:
"My sister did that all in one afternoon. That Vida certainly is a whirlwind, isn't she?"

Dr. Chumley:
"Good heavens, man! Haven't you any righteous indignation?"

Elwood:
"Oh, doctor. You know, years ago, my mother used to say to me, 'In this world, Elwood..., you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.'

"Well for years, I was smart. I recommend pleasant."

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Wilson:
"Who's Harvey?"

Nurse Kelly:
"A white rabbit, six feet tall."

Wilson:
"Six feet?!!"

Elwood:
"Six feet, three-and-a-half inches. Now let's stick to the facts."

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Dr. Sanderson:
"How did you happen to call him Harvey?"

Elwood:
"Well, Harvey's his name."

Dr. Sanderson:
"How do you know that?"

Elwood:
"Well, there's a rather interesting coincidence on that, doctor. One night several years ago, I was walking early in the evening. I just put Ed Hickey into a taxi. Ed had been mixing his rye with his gin, and I just felt that he needed conveying. Well anyway, I was walking down along the street, and I heard this voice saying, 'Good evening, Mr Dowd.'

"Well, I turned around, and here was this big six-foot rabbit leaning up against a lamp post. Well, 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. And naturally, I went over to chat with him, and he said to me, he said, 'Ed Hickey was a little spiffed this evening, or could I be mistaken?'

"Well, of course, he was not mistaken. I think the world of Ed, but he was spiffed. Well, we talked like that for a while, and then I said to him, I said, 'You have the advantage on me. You know my name, and I don't know yours.'

"And right back at me, he said, 'What name do you like?'

"Well, I didn't even have to think twice about that. Harvey has always been my favourite name, so I said to him, I said, 'Harvey.'

"And this is the interesting thing about the whole thing, he said, 'What a coincidence? My name happens to be Harvey.' "

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Dr. Sanderson:
"Think carefully, Dowd. Didn't you know somebody, sometime, someplace by the name of Harvey? Didn't you ever know anybody by that name?"

Elwood:
"No, no, not one, Doctor. Maybe that's why I always had such hopes for it."

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Nurse Kelly:
"What is it that you do, Mr Dowd?"

Elwood:
"Well, Harvey and I sit in the bars, have a drink or two, play the jukebox, and soon the faces of all the other people turn to mine and they smile. And they're saying, 'We don't know your name, mister, but you're a very nice fella.'

"Harvey and I warm ourselves in all these golden moments. We've entered as strangers, and soon we have friends. And they come over, and they sit with us, and they drink with us, and they talk to us, and they tell us about the big, terrible things they have done and the big wonderful things they'll do---their hopes and their regrets, their loves and their hates---all very large, because nobody ever brings anything small into a bar.

"And then I introduce them to Harvey, and he's bigger and grander than anything they offer me. And when they leave, they leave impressed. The same people seldom come back."

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Dr. Sanderson:
"You know, we all must face reality, Dowd, sooner or later."

Elwood:
"Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state that I finally won out over it."