Harper (1966)

Lew Harper, a cool private investigator, is hired by a wealthy California matron to locate her kidnapped husband.

Director:

Jack Smight

Writers:

William Goldman (screenplay), Ross Macdonald (novel)

Stars:

Paul Newman, Lauren Bacall, Julie Harris

1 win & 3 nominations.

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 (as Roy Jensen)
Strother Martin	...	Claude
Martin West	...	Deputy
Jacqueline deWit	...	Mrs. Kronberg (as Jacqueline de Wit)
Eugene Iglesias	...	Felix

Storyline

Lew Harper is a Los Angeles based private investigator whose marriage to Susan Harper, who he still loves, is ending in imminent divorce since she can't stand being second fiddle to his work, which is always taking him away at the most inopportune of times. His latest client is tough talking and physically disabled Elaine Sampson, who wants him to find her wealthy husband, Ralph Sampson, missing now for twenty-four hours, ever since he disappeared at Van Nuys Airport after having just arrived from Vegas. No one seems to like Ralph, Elaine included. She believes he is cavorting with some woman, which to her would be more a fact than a problem. Harper got the case on the recommendation of the Sampsons' lawyer and Harper's personal friend, milquetoast Albert Graves, who is unrequitedly in love with Sampson's seductive daughter, Miranda Sampson. Miranda, who Harper later states throws herself at anything "pretty in pants", also has a decidedly cold relationship with her stepmother, Elaine...

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Plot Keywords:

neo noir | private detective | los angeles california | kidnapping | city | 

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Taglines:

A DIFFERENT KIND OF CAT!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 1966 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Ein Fall für Harper

Filming Locations:

Moonfire Temple - 2200 Tuna Canyon Road, Topanga, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$12,000,000, 31 December 1966

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gershwin-Kastner Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie and its sequel The Drowning Pool (1975) both had a connection to Alfred Hitchcock. This movie co-starred Janet Leigh who had starred in Psycho (1960) whereas the other movie co-starred Melanie Griffith who was the daughter of Tippi Hedren who co-starred in The Birds (1963).

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Goofs

After Harper (played by a stuntman) dives through the shed window he runs between some dilapidated ship vent stacks. As the stuntman moves behind the stack, you can see Harper's (Newman) head sticking out on the other side and the stuntman's hind side out the other. The size of the combined Harper at that point is probably 10+ feet tall.

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Quotes

Lew Harper: I'm shocked, Mr. Troy. A man of your eminence... involved in something as seamy as smuggling in immigrant labor?
Dwight Troy: Yeah, well, you are right, you know. It is beneath me. But it pays so well. You know they are wonderfully cheap workers? And the point is, they pay me to smuggle them in, and the ranch owners and the farmers, they pay me, too. Disgustingly lucrative! But, as you suggest, hardly enriching to the soul.

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Alternate Versions

When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts to secure a 'A' rating. All cuts were waived in 1995 when the film was granted a '12' certificate for home video.

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Connections

Referenced in ER: Welcome Back Carter! (1995)

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Soundtracks

Livin' Alone
Words by Dory Previn
Music by André Previn
Sung by Julie Harris (uncredited)

User Reviews

Good movie version of the book

I just read "The Moving Target" by Ross Macdonald, the book upon which "Harper" is based. Given that the book was written in 1949 and "Harper" was contemporary (1966) when made, the movie follows the novel pretty darn close. Many of the scenes are done almost verbatim from the book. Harper is more acerbic than Macdonald's Lew Archer, and the novel, of course, fleshes out the characters and their motives a little better. But I think the movie stands up pretty well by itself. It has an outstanding supporting cast and, except for Pamela Tiffin, the acting is good, with high marks especially for Paul Newman and, in my opinion, Arthur Hill. The photography is gorgeous, and I can listen all night to any music by Johnny Mandel. All that and those great one-liners by Newman! I'd give it a 7 or 8 out of ten.