Harvey studied acting under Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and performed Shakespearean roles in the Lyceum Theatre in London.

[8]Harvey returned to London in October 1931,[9] but was back in Australia in 1933 to work for F. W. Thring at Efftee Productions as an actor and screenwriter.

This led to a full-time appointment as senior drama producer in 1944, directing actors such as Queenie Ashton (in early episodes of Blue Hills), Lyndall Barbour and Nigel Lovell.

That year Harvey went to work for Ken G. Hall at Cinesound Productions as a studio dialogue director and in-house screenwriter.

Starting with It Isn't Done (1937), Harvey wrote or co-wrote nine produced feature film scripts for Cinesound over four years, often playing small roles in them.

Under Hall's direction, Harvey's dialogues were simplified and images allowed to express more of the script's content; his acting too became increasingly restrained as he adjusted to the demands of the film medium.

[14] During World War II, Harvey served in the Volunteer Defence Corps until 1944, when he left the army and went under contract to ABC as a radio actor and producer.