Harper (1966)

One of my all time favorites.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Absolutely Fantastic

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Paul Newman exudes much of his trademark cool in the role of private eye Lew Harper, in this adaptation (by screenwriter William Goldman and director Jack Smight) of the novel "The Moving Target" by Ross MacDonald. Harper is hired by Mrs. Sampson (Lauren Bacall) to find her missing husband, and discovers quite a few things. One of the most telling is that nobody really liked her husband, described by some as a cruel s.o.b. It would seem that Sampson got kidnapped, and there's no shortage of characters who wanted to be in on the action.The filmmakers here did their part in keeping private eye fiction alive and well in the sunny California of the 1960s. It's an intricately plotted story that keeps its audience on its toes. Among those dubious types encountered by Harper are Sampsons' seductive daughter Miranda (sexy Pamela Tiffin), jazz singer Betty Fraley (Julie Harris), bored gigolo Allan Taggert (Robert Wagner), and drunken former actress Fay Estabrook (Shelley Winters). The excellent collection of actors also includes Arthur Hill, as Harpers' gun-toting attorney friend, Janet Leigh as his estranged wife, Robert Webber as smooth criminal Dwight Troy, Harold Gould as a sheriff, Roy Jenson as a muscleman, and a memorable Strother Martin as a religious cult head.This film is a lot of fun to watch, and is an effective vehicle for Newman, whose Lew Harper is a very calm professional, a man who takes everything in stride. He'll do what has to be done to solve the case, and that extends to playing up to Ms. Estabrook. The screenplay has a respectable amount of witty and snappy dialogue, delivered breathlessly by this cast. In fact, on the whole "Harper" has an appreciable sense of humour.Newman had realized that his films that had started with the letter "H" had been lucrative ("The Hustler", "Hud") and it was his idea to change the name of his character from Lew Archer to Lew Harper, and to name the movie after this person. Almost a decade later, he returned to this part for the sequel "The Drowning Pool".Eight out of 10.

Falling smack in the Middle of the Old Hollywood and the New Hollywood, 1966 was not the Ideal Year for a Neo-Noir featuring a Private Detective in the Hunt among the Upper and Lower Crust of Society.This reeks of a Place in No Man's Land with Sprinklings of the Cultural Revolution raining down on the Plastic Environment of Mid Sixties L.A.Paul Newman is Inconsistent in His Characterization of the Cynical "Gum" Shoe. He Spits it out with Defiance or Sticks it Under the Table, but this "New" form of "Smoking" is just a Prop. In Fact a lot of the Movie looks like Props.From the Spiritual Temple to the various Apartments it seems Staged. As do some of the Characters. Robert Wagner, Shelley Winters, Janet Leigh and Arthur Hill manage to have some Fun with Their Characters, but Julie Harris, Strother Martin, and Lauren Bacall are Miscast and can't rise Above the Misstep.The Awful Generic Music is that what was quickly Found in Elevators Relegating some kind of Hipness to those who didn't have a Clue. The Plot goes here and there Never Settling on a Style. Lighthearted Goofiness is mixed with Torture and Beatings and it doesn't Blend well. There is an Offbeat Ending but even that Surprise, for 1966, can't Forgive all of the Stiffness that has come Before.Added Together it is Average at Best and a Disappointing Failure at Worst. It is a Film Lost in the Time that it was made and resurfaces Today as a bit of an Embarrassment, especially for Newman whose Acting Range is Small, and it is Stretched here Beyond its Boundaries, but so is the Production and Direction.

Paul Newman, who was very popular in the 1960s, had a series run of successful "H" movies: "The Hustler" (1961), "Hud" (1963), "Harper" (1966), and "Hombre" (1967). "Harper" is based upon a Ross MacDonald book ("The Moving Target") about fictional private investigator Lew Archer of southern California. The movie cast is impressive enough, with old pros like Lauren Bacall, Janet Leigh, Julie Harris, Shelley Winters, Strother Martin, and others working with Paul Newman's Lew Harper. It was said that the last name of Lew Archer was changed to Harper to satisfy Newman's insistence on another "H" movie. Lew Harper is a quite unorthodox private eye. Acerbically witty with one-liners, cynical, laid back, and friendless (except for the acquiescent Albert Graves = Arthur Hill) we find comedy as Harper struggles arising in the morning and going through the motions to get his body cranked up. Harper is estranged from wife Susan (Janet Leigh). Through lawyer Graves he is hired by jaded and invalid Elaine Samson (Lauren Bacall) to find her millionaire husband who has been missing for one day. But is the unlikeable (as we will learn) Ralph Samson worth the effort? Harper takes the job as he can use the cash. His California journeys take him across almost every eccentric personality that one can think of in a movie: a gigolo type (Robert Wagner), obese alcoholic actress well past her prime (Winters), spoiled teeny-bopper who likes to dance while standing on a pool diving board avec transistor radio – and with limited acting skills (Pam Tiffin), phony religious cult leader (Martin), drug addict lounge lizard (Harris), and enforcer/strong men (Robert Webber and Roy Jenson). There are also illegal aliens and just about the most clueless state police force ever seen on the silver screen. Now Harper has to discover just what each of these characters knows and to piece the puzzle together. The plot, though, is ultimately rather thin. The most interesting scene occurs when Elaine Harper spears the sunny-side eggs.Newman plays the cocky character well. And he has many funny lines, like the following scenarios: At a bar he tells the bartender, "Keep the change." The bartender replies that there isn't any. Harper retorts, "Keep it anyway." Another line, to his lawyer: "The bottom is loaded with nice people, Albert. Only cream and bastards rise." And at the end: "Aw, hell!" Newman would reprise the Harper role nine years later in "The Drowning Pool."

Jack Smight directed this stylish mystery that stars Paul Newman as Lew Harper, a small-time but smart private detective about to get a big case when he is hired by a Mrs. Sampson(played by Lauren Bacall) to find her missing husband. Harper was recommended to her by her lawyer and his best friend Albert Graves(played by Arthur Hill) who is in love with her stepdaughter Miranda(played by Pamela Tiffin) who doesn't take him seriously, but instead has her eyes set on a playboy named Taggart(played by Robert Wagner) who offers his assistance to Harper, which will be needed as it turns into a complicated kidnapping case in which everyone turns out to be a suspect... Entertaining film with an intriguing mystery and good cast that also includes Janet Leigh, Robert Webber, Julie Harris, Shelley Winters, and Strother Martin.