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IMDb > Harper (1966)
Harper
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Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   2,093 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 17% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
William Goldman (screenplay)
Ross Macdonald (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for Harper on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
23 February 1966 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
This is a different kind of cat named Harper... and excitement clings to him like a dame! more
Plot:
Lew Harper, a cool private investigator, is hired by a wealthy California matron to locate her kidnapped husband. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
2 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
What I Watched, What You Watched: Installment #3
 (From Rope Of Silicon. 9 August 2009, 3:21 AM, PDT)

Not So Cool Side Of Newman
 (From New York Post. 17 April 2009, 11:32 PM, PDT)

User Reviews:
The Original Post-Modern P.I.? more (41 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Paul Newman ... Lew Harper

Lauren Bacall ... Mrs. Sampson

Julie Harris ... Betty Fraley
Arthur Hill ... Albert Graves

Janet Leigh ... Susan Harper
Pamela Tiffin ... Miranda Sampson

Robert Wagner ... Allan Taggert
Robert Webber ... Dwight Troy

Shelley Winters ... Fay Estabrook

Harold Gould ... Sheriff
Roy Jenson ... Puddler
Strother Martin ... Claude
Martin West ... Deputy
Jacqueline deWit ... Mrs. Kronberg (as Jacqueline de Wit)
Eugene Iglesias ... Felix
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Moving Target (UK)
more
Runtime:
121 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Australia:PG (TV rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #21071) | Canada:PG (video rating) | UK:12 (tv rating) | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The character Lew Harper is based on novelist Ross Macdonald's character Lew Archer. The name was changed for the film supposedly because Paul Newman had recently enjoyed success with Hud (1963) and the producers wanted the movie's title to begin with "H". Also, the Macdonald estate did not want the name "Archer" used in the movie. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Allen Taggert tosses out the ransom money from Albert Graves' car, the rear projection screen is a city street with other cars on the street. When Harper watches Eddie Rossiter and Betty Fraley drive in and/or out of the money pickup area, it is a dirt road between some oil derricks. more
Quotes:
Puddler: Kill the body and the head dies. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Sting (1973) more
Soundtrack:
Livin' Alone more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
45 out of 71 people found the following review useful.
The Original Post-Modern P.I.?, 27 February 2001
Author: Hallick from Parts Unknown, California

This I don't understand-

For years I've believed in how Elliot Gould's Philip Marlowe in "The Long Goodbye" was the first effort at making a P.I. character a whacked out loser with a post-modern attitude. Yet, I'm watching "Harper" today and my jaw is bounding off the floor like a yo-yo. Because in the lead role Paul Newman gives one of the ten best performances I've ever seen, and maybe the best comedic one from a non-comedian actor ever done. Even at the two thirds mark, when 99% of the screenplays usually have nothing new to say about their characters, Lew Harper was still leaving me damn near breathless. How "Cool Hand Luke" is more famous than "Harper", which is never mentioned anywhere as the king-size sleeper it is, bewilders me entirely.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Harper (1966)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Driving tidypainter
Doesn't Shelley Winters look 'triffic' in this movie! hkjohn2001a
Ross Macdonald grubstaker58
the very end (spoilers) mbruckner
Quotable Newman quotes compsecure
Pamela Tiffin compsecure
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