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IMDbPro

The Drowning Pool

  • 1975
  • PG
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
5.8K
YOUR RATING
Paul Newman in The Drowning Pool (1975)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:26
1 Video
76 Photos
CrimeDramaMystery

Harper's a big-city PI, who travels to Louisiana to help an old girlfriend who's worried her husband will find out she's been cheating on him.Harper's a big-city PI, who travels to Louisiana to help an old girlfriend who's worried her husband will find out she's been cheating on him.Harper's a big-city PI, who travels to Louisiana to help an old girlfriend who's worried her husband will find out she's been cheating on him.

  • Director
    • Stuart Rosenberg
  • Writers
    • Tracy Keenan Wynn
    • Lorenzo Semple Jr.
    • Walter Hill
  • Stars
    • Paul Newman
    • Joanne Woodward
    • Anthony Franciosa
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    5.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Stuart Rosenberg
    • Writers
      • Tracy Keenan Wynn
      • Lorenzo Semple Jr.
      • Walter Hill
    • Stars
      • Paul Newman
      • Joanne Woodward
      • Anthony Franciosa
    • 44User reviews
    • 29Critic reviews
    • 48Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    The Drowning Pool
    Trailer 2:26
    Watch The Drowning Pool

    Photos76

    Paul Newman and Anthony Franciosa in The Drowning Pool (1975)
    "The Drowning Pool" Paul Newman, Warner Bros. 1975. Modern silver gelatin, 14x11,signed $600 © 1978 Mel Traxel MPTV
    Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in The Drowning Pool (1975)
    Paul Newman in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
    Paul Newman and Gail Strickland in The Drowning Pool (1975)
    Gail Strickland in The Drowning Pool (1975)
    Gail Strickland in The Drowning Pool (1975)
    Linda Haynes in The Drowning Pool (1975)
    Paul Newman and Linda Haynes in The Drowning Pool (1975)
    Linda Haynes in The Drowning Pool (1975)
    Paul Newman and Andrew Robinson in The Drowning Pool (1975)
    Coral Browne in The Drowning Pool (1975)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Paul Newman
    Paul Newman
    • Lew Harper
    Joanne Woodward
    Joanne Woodward
    • Iris Devereaux
    Anthony Franciosa
    Anthony Franciosa
    • Chief Broussard
    • (as Tony Franciosa)
    Murray Hamilton
    Murray Hamilton
    • J. Hugh Kilbourne
    Gail Strickland
    Gail Strickland
    • Mavis Kilbourne
    Melanie Griffith
    Melanie Griffith
    • Schuyler Devereaux
    Linda Haynes
    Linda Haynes
    • Gretchen
    Richard Jaeckel
    Richard Jaeckel
    • Lt. Franks
    Paul Koslo
    Paul Koslo
    • Candy
    Joe Canutt
    Joe Canutt
    • Glo
    Andrew Robinson
    Andrew Robinson
    • Pat Reavis
    • (as Andy Robinson)
    Coral Browne
    Coral Browne
    • Olivia Devereaux
    Richard Derr
    Richard Derr
    • James Devereaux
    Helena Kallianiotes
    • Elaine Reavis
    Leigh French
    Leigh French
    • Red Head
    Peter Dassinger
    • Peter
    James Fontenot
    • Bartender
    Tommy McLain
    • Nightclub Band
    • (as Tommy McLain and his Mule Train Band)
    • Director
      • Stuart Rosenberg
    • Writers
      • Tracy Keenan Wynn(screenplay)
      • Lorenzo Semple Jr.(screenplay)
      • Walter Hill(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      During post-production, director Stuart Rosenberg hired composer Charles Fox to do additional scoring, integrating the composer's melody "Killing Me Softly With His Song", into the movie. The song had been a #1 hit two years prior, while Fox was scoring Rosenberg's previous film, The Laughing Policeman (1973).
    • Goofs
      At the beginning of the film, Harper struggles with Ford's then-new seat belt-ignition interlock safety system. He tried a few work-arounds, but then magically knows how to disable it by pulling wires underneath the driver's seat. Of course, this wasn't the real fix for this issue, as it actually involved a simple rewiring of a relay under the hood for most cars. Pulling wires as he did could have disabled the car completely.
    • Quotes

      Schuyler Devereaux: How do you do Mr Harper?

      Lew Harper: Oh sometimes I do better than others.

      Schuyler Devereaux: Well I hope so.

    • Connections
      Edited into La Classe américaine (1993)
    • Soundtracks
      Killing Me Softly With His Song
      By Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox

      Scored and conducted by Charles Fox

    User reviews44

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Underrated followup to Harper in a different key
    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.
    helpful•29
    1
    • fs3
    • Nov 18, 2000

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 18, 1975 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Ryan's the Name
    • Filming locations
      • Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA(beach scene)
    • Production companies
      • First Artists
      • Coleytown
      • Turman-Foster Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $2,700,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 48 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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