Harvey Script Analysis

Concept:

It is by having good friends and family that one can live a good life.

Being a good, faithful, and uncommon friend and companion to those that you love is the greatest gift you can give.

“Harvey and I warm ourselves in all these golden moments. We have entered as strangers—soon we have friends.” (p. 54)

“For years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.” (p. 64)

“Lady, after this he’ll be a perfectly normal human being and you know what bastards they are!” (p. 69)

“If we can’t do a favor for someone, why are we living?” (p. 31)

Character Analysis

Veta:

Desire: What Veta wants most in the world is for her world and her expectations

of the world to coincide. She wants to have friends, appear normal, relax, and have a place in society. She wants her brother and his friends to stop being in the way.

Will: Veta is very willful, especially when she’s angry. But she is also terribly confused, and this is hampering her will.
Moral Stance: Strong, but also misguided.
Decorum: Veta is very proud of who she is and she mostly projects this in her appearance and posture. She dresses well, speaks well, and has all of the grace and fluidity of proper society. But she is also very frazzled and undone, so there is always a little conflict in her decorum
Summary Adjectives: defensive, groping, proud, conflicted
Defining sentence/moment: “Because it’s a slap in the face to everything we’ve stood for in this community the way Elwood is acting now.” (p. 14)

Myrtle Mae

Desire: Myrtle Mae wants to live the life of a society girl, to escape the confines of her house, and live a little.
Will: Myrtle Mae is a lot of bark and not much bite.
Moral Stance: She is pretty selfish, but will do what she is told because she has been trained well.
Decorum: Myrtle Mae is trying different things out in her life. She wants to be attractive, but is under the spell of her uncle and mother. She dresses well, but not the most fashionably, she speaks well – when she remembers to. She is often in the middle of things that are just beyond her grasp. And she is sassy and smart-mouthed when she is comfortable, shy and naïve when she is not.
Summary Adjectives: hoping, following, selfish, trying.
Defining sentence/moment: “Oh, mother – people get run over by trucks every day. Why can’t something like that happen to Uncle Elwood?” (p. 9)

Mrs. Chauvenet

Desire: Confident, she is comfortable with her place in society. She is very proud.
Will: Fairly strong. She is used to getting what she wants.
Moral Stance: Very high, for it is required of the beacons of society.
Decorum: Mrs. Chauvenet is very important, and she knows it. Everything about her reflects her knowledge of her importance. She speaks deliberately and with flair, dresses very well, and moves as if she knows someone is always watching her for clues.
Summary Adjectives: confident, deserving, righteous, self-important
Defining sentence/moment: “My, but she looks ghastly. Hasn’t she failed, though.”

Dr. Sanderson

Desire: Sanderson has a crush on Kelly, but doesn’t want to appear unprofessional, because he deeply respects Dr. Chumley, who he always wants to impress. He very much wants to be a good doctor, and sometimes seems to be playing the “part.”
Will: Striving for moderate. He is a very competent and confident doctor, but he is much more tentative around Kelly and Chumley.
Moral Stance: Sanderson cares about people, he believes that he operates in their best interest. He has strong convictions, but they do have some caveats. He is sincere, and follows his own moral code.
Decorum: He is a good-looking guy, well-dressed, well-spoken, well-regarded. He is a little pompous, something he learned from Chumley perhaps? He speaks confidently and clearly, but also has a little of that patronizing doctor’s tone that so many young physicians have.
Summary adjectives: smitten, growing, caring, model
Defining sentence/moment: “And I will say that for a layman you show an unusually acute perception into psychiatric problems.” (p. 24)

Wilson

Desire: Wilson is a typical man, likes using his strength, coming on to women, not using his feelings or emotions. Thus his desires are not obvious to him. But what he desires is respect and a place in the world. He likes things in order and undisrupted.
Will: Wilson is a strong man. He is not the brightest guy out there, but he is very capable of getting what he wants by using his strength and presence. It works.
Moral Stance: He follows directions and shows great loyalty to those that he believes deserves it, often his superiors. He is heavy-handed and forceful in pursuit of his goals.
Decorum: Wilson is athletic and fine-tuned, always ready to do, but not ready to think. He doesn’t look dim, but he doesn’t convey intelligence. He is not sloppy, but posture and language and grace are not important to him. He was probably a fine football player somewhere.
Summary adjectives: manly, muscular, loyal, doing

Defining sentence/moment: ”You not only got a nice build – but, kid, you got something else too. You got the screwiest uncle that ever stuck his puss inside our nuthouse.” (p. 42)

Kelly:

Desire: Kelly wants the romantic attention of Sanderson.
Will: She is very willful, strong-minded, and afraid of nothing. But she is also receptive and susceptible to charm and attention, and will use these attentions to her benefit.
Moral Stance: Kelly has a very clear sense of right and wrong, and she can be harsh to those who she perceives as wrong. But she is also loyal and friendly. She believes in what she is doing, and wants to do it well.
Decorum: Kelly is a very attractive woman. She has a proud bearing, wears her uniform well, and is used to catching the roving eye of a young man. She is confident in her speech and manner, but has a quick temper that she is particularly unapologetic about.
Summary Adjectives: smitten, feminine, righteous, attractive
Defining sentence/moment: “Well, of all the-you’re wonderful, Dr. Sanderson! You’re just about the most wonderful person I’ve ever met in my life.” (Kicks chair). (p. 18)

Dr. Chumley

Desire: Dr. Chumley is very happy with the status quo. He is a renowned doctor, rests on his laurels, and is enjoying the benefits of his reputation. He is intellectually curious, but wants things to remain the same.
Will: Chumley has a strong will. He is always in control of the situation, whatever it may be. He is confident that he can accomplish whatever he needs.
Moral Stance: Chumley’s morals may be a little sketchy. His moral responsibility is primarily to himself, and he will do whatever is necessary to help himself.
Decorum: Dr. Chumley is one of the leading members of Denver society. His manner belies his status, which is considerable. He dresses, speaks, acts, projects, like a man of distinction. This also gets him into trouble, though, because he is not fully aware of the boundaries of his prowess.
Summary Adjectives: comfortable, powerful, devious, staunch
Defining moment/sentence: “I have known several men in my day named Harvey, but I have never heard of any type of animal whatsoever with that name. This case has an interesting phase, doctor.” (p, 26)

Betty Chumley

Desire: Betty desires someone to sweep her off of her feet like Chumley did, oh so, many years ago. She wants to keep the importance she ahs gained in society, but wishes things were romantic again.
Will: Her will has faded over the years. She has sacrificed a bit of herself for the good of her husband’s reputation. She will fight for what she wants, but only to a point, never to win.
Moral Stance: She is honest, caring, a bit self-important, and sincere. But not especially bright.
Decorum: Betty is also quite proper. (It seems like everyone in this show is). She has an important place in society, and lives up to being an ornament (on Dr. Chumley’s arm). She is surprisingly witty and quick, but not particularly insightful or deep-thinking. Her place in society is one of the things she can hold on to. She is very good-natured.
Summary Adjectives: wistful, good-natured, placed, decorative
Defining sentence/adjective: “This man was a very nice, polite man, and he merely asked that we give his friend a lift into town, and if we can’t do a favor someone, why are we living?” (p. 31)

Judge Gaffney

Desire: Gaffney is older and set in his ways. He doesn’t desire much other than his weekly games at the club, his nightcap, and a good conversation every now and then. He was once a good lawyer, and remembers how, but is more fluff than substance now.
Will: He has mediocre will, especially regarding work. He will work a little harder to meet his desires, but really, doesn’t want to work very hard if he doesn’t have to. He can be curmudgeonly.
Moral Stance: Actually one of Gaffney’s stronger points. He has a strong sense of what is right and wrong, and he will fight for his clients, unless it is too hard.
Decorum: Gaffney is well dressed and proper, but he is an older man and is outdated. So he sticks out a little. He is generally at ease in all situations, and doesn’t really notice if he isn’t anyway.
Summary Adjectives: codgerly, lazy, principled, old-fashioned
Defining moment/sentences: “But why was I called at the club with a lot of hysteria? Couldn’t even get what she was talking about. Carrying on something fierce.” (p. 34).

Elwood P. Dowd

Desire: Elwood wants nothing more than the happiness he gets from making other people happy. This is his primary goal in life and he is easily satisfied.
Will: Elwood is very easy-going and simple. He accedes to others wishes easily, and often consults other people before making decisions. However, he sticks to his principles and does not do wrong.
Moral Stance: Elwood is incapable of doing wrong to other people, and the idea doesn’t really occur to him. He is simple-minded and directed. He is open and sincere, and believes that “good” is for everybody. Every thing he does, only he is capable of doing, and therefore meshes with who he is.
Decorum: Elwood has a very relaxed posture, and is unflappable. He dresses in his own style, and it fits him perfectly . Others might think him unfashionable, but they somehow don’t really mind. He is very charming and polite, has impeccable manners, and is quite unassuming. All of these things endear Elwood to other people.
Summary adjectives: happy, easy-going, simple, endearing.
Defining sentence/moment: “For years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.” (p. 64)