Best Actress in a Supporting Role 1950: Josephine Hull in Harvey

Josephine Hull won the Oscar from her only nomination for her performance as Veta Louise Simmons in Harvey.

Harvey is a wonderful comedy about an eccentric but good-hearted man who claims that his best friend is a six-feet-tall white rabbit named Harvey and is therefore believed to be crazy by his family. It's a charming, entertaining movie that benefits from a screenplay that is beautifully lighthearted without being stupid or shallow and a very nice cast, in which all members are perfect for the roles they play and add something to the movie. The cinematography is also quite remarkable. 

Josephine Hull's Oscar win is extremely divisive: some people think that her performance is a masterpiece of comedy and that hers is one of the best winners of this category; others think that her performance is jarring, annoying and extremely over-the-top. I don't quite fall into either of those sides - I don't think that her performance is quite up there with the very best winners of the category and there are a few moments in which I believe she could have afforded to tone it down a little: sometimes she overdoes the facial expressions, stretching her face a little bit too much, and there are just a few individual lines that feel a little exaggerated (her "Harvey!" moment might be the most iconic scene of her performance but in my opinion it's one of the few parts of her performance that don't convince entirely). But if I have to pick a side, I'm definitely with the more positive one: her performance might not be perfect, but it's nonetheless a lot of fun and except for those few little moments in which she falls into the hammy side of things her work is absolutely gold. 

It's true that her performance is far from subtlety but for the most part she manages to be over-the-top in the best way possible and her loud approach pays off wonderfully James Stewart's more restrained one. What I particularly appreciate about her performance is that, even if her role is mostly comedic, she also give proper depth to the character: she perfectly shows the reason why she is exhausted by Elwood's eccentric behavior but at the same time she conveys perfectly the sincere affection and tenderness she feels for her brother. And, of course, she couldn't be funnier in portraying her emotional state: her first scene in which she organizes a party while thinking of a way of keeping Elwood far away from it is comedic gold - "Oh Myrtle, it's a wonderful feeling to have your relatives out of the house before the company comes" or "You said that name! You promised you wouldn't say that name and you said it!" are excellently delivered by Hull, and her high-pitched voice alone makes her lines sound even more funny (also because she never becomes a truly shrill presence). Her later breakdown at the psychiatrist's office is hilarious (even if a couple of times she slightly overdoes it) and again her line-deliveries couldn't be more winning - and while the moment in which she herself is committed to the sanatorium to which she wanted to commit Elwood is priceless, her previous conversation with the male nurse is even better. I have seen many comedic performances that are extremely funny in the beginning and then not so much during the rest of the movie: this is clearly not the case for Hull who made me laugh throughout the whole running time. The scene at her house where she sees that the painting of her mother has been replaced by painting of Elwood and Harvey ("That is NOT my mother!"), or when she climbs the stairs screaming "Knock him down, judge, kick him, kick him!" after she sees the nurse again, her line-delivery of "Myrtle, you have a lot to learn and I hope you'll never learn it"... these are all wonderful moments that are impeccably acted by Josephine Hull. 

As I previously said, Hull never makes Veta a caricature and she does a great job in making you see the reason of her actions even when she might seem a little despicable. I particularly love the scene in the end in which she realizes she loves Elwood just as he is and that she'd rather live with his eccentricities instead of changing him. Hull gives a surprising amount of emotional weight to the moment and I thought she actually managed to make the ending of the movie surprisingly touching and powerful.

In the end, this is a fantastic performance by Josephine Hull who might have a few shaky moments but ultimately delivers impeccably. She is hilarious troughout the whole movie without ever becoming a one-note joke while still bringing the needed weight to the more serious moments. It's a great performance, and a great winner. 

4.5/5