Review of Harper (1966) by Steve S — 20 Jun 2014

Terrific 1960s update of the Chandler/Hammett hard boiled detective story. Paul Newman plays Lew Harper, a hip PI hired by wealthy lady Lauren Bacall (a nice callback to her role in "The Big Sleep") to find her missing husband.

In the classic tradition of the detective novel, there is is rogues gallery of characters, including Shelley Winters as an alcoholic has-been actress, Julie Harris as a woman with a secret, the gorgeous Pamela Tiffin as a society girl, Robert Wagner as something of a playboy and Strother Martin as a new age cult leader.

Competently, though not spectacularly, by Jack Smight, who's mostly remembered for his "Airport" films, but the film's real behind the scenes star is screenwriter William Goldman, who adapted his screenplay from a Ross Macdonald novel.

It's a complex story that's told with precision and with flair. Goldman's dialogue is a particular standout, with loads of great moments that seem like throwaway like that I love, like when Newman dismisses the gorgeous Tiffin's flirtatiousness by saying, "You need a tail on your kite - something to slow you down.

So you'll stop acting like a bitch in heat every time something pretty in pants wanders by." Johnny Mandel provides a good score, though it seemed a bit more glib and comedy oriented that I would have liked.

Conrad Hall also provided the excellent photography of the bright LA setting, which is quite a contrast dark moody noirs. There was a sequel about ten years later, and Newman played a detective again about twenty years later in the underrated "Twilight", which I always like to think was an unofficial sequel to these films.

Overall, this is a must see for fans of detective films, and although it's not quite a genre breaking as something like "Chinatown" it's still a great ride.