I realized watching these two films that I have not watched many Paul Newman films. These are not his best but they are accurate representations of my enjoyment of Newman and are not motivating me to watch more. Before watching the film, or many films, I took a sneak peak at the Wikipedia page and while it didn’t spoil the “plot” it did spoil the experience.
Harper
Director: Jack Smight
Screenplay: William Goldman
Minutes: 121
Year: 1966
Score: 6.13
Release: Warner Archive
A neo-noir in which only the main character is aware that it is a neo-noir.
From WBShop.com:
Paul Newman memorably plays the title role in this box-office hit based on Ross MacDonald’s The Moving Target. The first detective film in Newman’s then 23-film career, Harper revitalized the genre. Newman’s sleuth chews gum fast.and slips out of jams ever faster as he unravels a twisted case of kidnapping and murder. William Goldman’s clever script throws quips and a parade of LA-LA-Land characters Harper’s way. There’s a woman of means (Lauren Bacall), a gun-toting attorney (Arthur Hill), a poolside gigolo (Robert Wagner), a boozy ex-starlet (Shelley Winters), a jazz junkie (Julie Harris), Harper’s estranged wife (Janet Leigh) and the unholy order of the Temple of the Clouds (led by Strother Martin). Each may possess a clue. Or a bullet for Harper.
I cannot say that I badly wanted to enjoy this film. I hadn’t heard too much about it but when I referenced the previously mentioned wiki my expectations were through the roof. A roof I quickly slipped from and landed in the maw of cooking dinner.
It seems like Paul Newman really wanted to play a hard-boiled, Phillip Marlowe, detective but walked onto a Pink Panther set. It wasn’t goofy, per se, but Robert Wagner’s inclusion kept my mind jumping back and forth to his roll in Blake Edwards comedic masterpiece. Being a student of the muddy black and white crime dramas I could not find a thread to connect the two.
The performances were fine, I love seeing Janet Leigh in anything, but I ended up cooking dinner, looking up to see generally disjointed plot points leading to an uninspired conclusion.
Director: 6 – Cinematography: 6 – Edit: 5 – Parity: 3 – Main performance: 9 – Else performance: 6 – Score: 7 – Sound: 5 – Story: 6 – Script: 8 – Effects: 5 – Design: 6 – Costumes: 8 – Keeps interest: 7 – Lasting: 5
The Drowning Pool
Screenplay: Tracy Keenan Wynn, Lorenzo Semple Jr, and Walter Hill
Minutes: 108
Year: 1975
Score: 5.53
Release: Warner Archive
At least this time the other actors knew what kind of movie they were in, but it was not strong enough to alter my opinion.
From WBShop.com:
Private eye Lew Harper is in deep this time. Hired by an old flame to unravel a seemingly routine blackmail case, he’s so far down he may never come up for air. Paul Newman returns as the quick-witted detective he first played nine years before in Harper. A cast to reckon with joins him in this mystery based on Ross MacDonald’s novel and directed by Stuart Rosenberg (Cool Hand Luke). Joanne Woodward plays the New Orleans oil heiress who turns to Harper for help. Young Melanie Griffith is her kittenish daughter. And Tony Franciosa, Coral Browne, Andy Robinson, Murray Hamilton and more keep The Drowning Pool’s intrigue as thick as gumbo.
The first time Killing Me Softly played I was transfixed. It was nice to hear a orchestrated pop song used as a love theme. The second time I thought, okay, maybe back it down a little. It happened about thirty more times.
The movie was well made, definitely well shot, and the last, titular scene, is masterful. The rest is there, almost as if they wanted to make that final scene and felt that they should write a movie specifically to engineer that outcome.
Director: 7 – Cinematography: 9 – Edit: 6 – Parity: 2 – Main performance: 7 – Else performance: 6 – Score: 3 – Sound: 6 – Story: 7 – Script: 7 – Effects: 7 – Design: 5 – Costumes: 4 – Keeps interest: 7 – Lasting: 0