Harper (1966)

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Excellent, a Must See

Awesome Movie

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Perfectly capturing the flavor and atmosphere of Ross McDonald's novel, "The Moving Target", this movie marks a great improvement on television director Jack Smight's first two movie efforts, namely "I'd Rather Be Rich" (1964) and "The Third Day" (1965). Of course, Smight does have a great cast here, including top-of-the- bill Paul Newman who is a brilliant selection for Lew Harper, and Lauren Bacall, making a welcome re-appearance on the big screen as Mrs. Sampson. The other acting credits are also top hat with Julie Harris, Janet Leigh, Pamela Tiffin and Shelley Winters vying for our attention.Incidentally, IMDb, Ross McDonald spells his name with a capital "D" – or at least he does just that in the British editions of his books!

. . . stinks like skunk weed. If Paul Newman had played Raymond Chandler's private eye hero instead of HARPER, Paul would have used his "pull" to rechristen him "Philip HARLOWE." Similarly, if Newman was tapped for the lead in a third remake of THE MALTESE FALCON, one "Sam HADES" would be chasing the black bird--AS THE NEW TITLE CHARACTER. During the time Paul was pushing around Hollywood writers amid his tyrannical "H Period" (HUD, HUSTLER, HOMBRE, etc.), the title of F. Scott Fitzgerald's masterwork was in danger of being shortened to HATSBY, if studios wished to do a 1960s adaptation starring "Ol' Blue Eyes." Other close escapes spared posterity from HORACE OF ARABIA as "Best Picture" of 1962, and HAMBONES for the top Oscar the following year (though the latter project might have held up better than actual winner TOM JONES does today). It was novelist Ross MacDonald who bore the brunt of Newman's Own hubris, as MacDonald's iconic "Lew Archer" was capriciously transmuted into title character "Lew HARPER" here. This film misfire pretty much killed off Archer's potential on the big screen, as all the king's men couldn't put his reputation back together again.

I'll size up the plot quickly. Private investigator Lew Harper (Paul Newman) is hired by Mrs. Sampson (Lauren Bacall) to find her husband, or rather, find out which woman he's shacked up with. Harper embarks on a 1960's California to find his man. Mr. Sampson's pilot Allan Taggert (Robert Wagner) and Sampson's lawyer, Albert Graves (Arthur Hill), aid in the search at various times.This is one Newman's "H" movies, like Hud and Hombre. "H" must have been Newman's lucky letter, because he had some of his biggest hits at this time. The movie really is Newman's. His magnetism as a leading man keeps us invested in the plot, but not burdened by it.The supporting cast here is excellent, from top to bottom. Bacall, as a bit of a homage to Bogie, is cast as the worried--as if--wife. Her "frigid" remarks and sass help us to understand the character of Mr. Sampson better. Hill plays the lawyer and an old friend of Harper's. He's a great addition to the cast as the square of the group. Wagner holds his own and gives Newman someone to sarcastically call "beauty." Pamela Tiffin as Mr. Sampson's daughter, Miranda, is gorgeous, and that's what she's there for. Then you've got Janet Leigh as the wife who wants to divorce Harper. We've even got Shelley Winters as the former starlet who's put on a few pounds.This movie isn't very well-known these days. I think it's a great private eye flick with Newman on the screen and director Jack Smight at the helm. People go back and forth about the ending, but I think it fits perfectly.

Paul Newman gives us the greatest private eye ever in this highly underrated Neo-noir that includes acting greats Shelly Winters , Lauren Becall and Julie Harris. The film has got a great story and Newman's performance is one of his best if not the best performance of his career , Harper is a well developed character who is cheeky , cynical , funny , down and out but tough as nails and it is so much fun to watch the character interact with all the suspects and villains in LA , really good film and The Drowning Pool ( Harper's sequel ) is well worth a watch as well since it has all the great qualities that this film has, check it out !