Detective Harper: acqua alla gola

Where Harper was jazzy, amped up for its day and often dark humored in its intrigue and violence, this sequel has more of a laid-back and ultimately melancholy tone. The humor is still there, but the dysfunctional family theme that produced edgy laughs in the earlier film cuts deeper here.

Newman looks great and is as effortlessly effective as ever as he prowls Cajun Country, at the behest of onetime flame Joanne Woodward, in search of a blackmail source that quickly turns into much more. Filmed all over South Louisiana, including a mansion shot here in Baton Rouge, it gets the local flavor down pretty well.

Dismissed as draggy even in its day, and certainly so in the age raised on the newspaper ad quote "A Thrill Ride!!!", it's a thoughtful, well acted addition to the private eye genre, with Melanie Griffith coming out the gate full force as a troublesome nymphet (an interesting predatory flip-side to the victimized variation seen later the same year in the superb Night Moves.)

Hopefully a widescreen DVD will one day soon afford its excellent Panavision photography to be seen for the first time in 25 years.

Ten years after Newman's success in "Harper" as the title private investigator, he reappeared in this follow-up. While the caliber of the cast can't hold a candle to the stellar first film, the acting and mystery elements are excellent. Woodward plays a wealthy Louisiana woman who once had a brief fling with Newman. She hires him to find out who's blackmailing her about her extramarital dalliances. Once he lands in the bayou, he is immersed in several confusing and complicated situations involving sex, real estate war and murder. Newman is utterly appealing as the hard knock investigator, Woodward is cool and refined, Franciosa puts his method acting to good use and Hamilton puts an enjoyably quirky spin on a villainous role. Griffith effectively plays Woodward's sexually ripe daughter and Browne adds great authority in her brief appearance as Woodward's domineering mother-in-law. The plot is extremely convoluted and risks losing all sense at times, but it all comes about in the end. The actors succeed in making the audience want to see more of what they are all about. The title refers to a climactic scene in which Newman and an exasperatingly upset cohort are trapped in an enclosed hydrotherapy room which is filled to the brim with water. This affords a rare opportunity to see the relatively modest Newman trotting around in damp boxer shorts. The film utilizes (perhaps overutilizes?) the song "Killing Me Softly" throughout. The film is like a reunion of sorts for Newman. Aside form his frequent collaborations with his wife Woodward, she and Franciosa had starred with him in "The Long Hot Summer", Hamilton had appeared in "The Hustler" and Jaeckel co-starred with him in "Sometimes a Great Notion". Director Rosenberg has also directed Newman in "WUSA", "Cool Hand Luke" and "Pocket Money". Years later, Griffith would appear with Newman in "Nobody's Fool".

Ross MacDonald's novels generally translate well to movie. This one certainly does, although I've never seen a Ross MacDonald movie that successfully captures the atmosphere that MacDonald creates in his novels. Paul Newman is the detective Lew Archer (I seem to remember that his name was changed to Harper for the movie to keep a string of "H" movies going: Hud, Hombre, and Harper). The movie moves along with a complex plot that is not difficult to track and understand. Melanie Griffith is perfection in the role of the 14-year old seductress. >

Newman reprises his role as Lew Harper for the second and final time in the long-awaited sequel to 1966's HARPER, another twisting mystery; this time set in Louisiana. Unfortunately, THE DROWNING POOL was tepidly received by both critics and audiences, most of whom seemed to think the film paled in comparison to the original. I am one viewer who disagrees strongly with the general consensus in this case. Not only is THE DROWNING POOL a first-rate mystery thriller, but it is also one of the most sorely underrated films in Newman's filmography.

The film has a completely different look and feel than the previous film, which may have been the reason that so many critics and audiences unfairly rejected it. Gone is the sixties-era go-go mania, which has been replaced with the moody elements of modern film noir which perfectly suits the intricate story of murder and blackmail. The film may not have the starpower of the previous film, but it nonetheless offers solid work from Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, and a particularly affecting turn from Linda Haynes. Best of all is the then-18 year old Melanie Griffith, who owns her role as the scheming bit of jail bait, unsubtly lusting after Newman's Harper.

Yet nothing can even come close to upstaging Newman, who is as commanding here as anywhere else in his career. In many ways this is a transitional effort for Newman, paving the way from early brutish roles (1958's THE LONG HOT SUMMER, 1963's HUD) to his latter day, more cerebral heroes (1982's THE VERDICT, 1994' NOBODY'S FOOL). Also, even at age 50, the man has rarely been sexier. To top things off, we also have one of the greatest, most original escape scenes in movie history - although I'm not giving it away; you'll have to check out this underrated thriller and see for yourself.

Paul Newman returns to his private detective role Lew Harper, following 1966's "Harper", in another murder-yarn adapted from a Ross Macdonald novel (wherein the lead character was named Archer). Transplanted from Southern California to the bayous of Louisiana, Harper is up to his aw-shucks smile in trouble while investigating a blackmail plot which involves his former lady-friend (Joanne Woodward), a Southern belle from a prominent New Orleans family living under the thumb of an oppressive matriarch. An intimidating letter soon turns to murder, and the suspects include: the woman's nubile daughter (Melanie Griffith), a wealthy fat-cat (Murray Hamilton), and even the police chief (Tony Franciosa, sporting an oddball walrus mustache). Strictly TV-detective stuff, polished by the classy cast and Gordon Willis' terrific cinematography. It looks good and goes down smoothly, but doesn't leave a trace of itself behind. ** from ****