Harper

1966

2 hr. 1 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

95%

22 Reviews

Tomatometer

73%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Struggling private eye Lew Harper (Paul Newman) takes a simple missing-person case that quickly spirals into something much more complex. Elaine Sampson (Lauren Bacall), recently paralyzed in a horse-riding accident, wants Harper to find her missing oil baron husband, but her tempestuous teenage stepdaughter Miranda (Pamela Tiffin) thinks Mrs. Sampson knows more than she's letting on. The film is based on Ross Macdonald's 1949 mystery "The Moving Target," featuring private eye Lew Archer.

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C

This movie apparently was suppose to be a tribute to Humphrey Bogart. I thought the storyline hard to follow and the movie was excessively violent. Harper (Newman) was not likable charactor. Sampson (Bacall) seemed to be very indifferent toward her missing husband. Bogie had a coolness that Harper (Newman) lacked. The movie ended abruptly without any conclusion. I thought the cinematography was done well depicting the Los Angeles area. Cheers.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/14/23

Full Review

CodyZamboni

Movie is an amusing detective genre spoof, with likable wisecracking anti hero, Paul Newman in one of his best roles. Convoluted plot, with multiple storylines, providing twists and turns. Lots of wacky characters, with Pamela Tiffin as a stand out. She is so beautiful. Top notch talent behind the camera, featuring a William Goldman script, from Ross MacDonald novel, cinematographer Conrad Hall, directed by Jack Smight.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/31/23

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Ravenswood R

Too long by about 30 minutes, at least. Standard private eye/mystery story, with moneyed sleazeball characters and "dangerous" types who don't seem that scary. The story should be a bit easier to follow, being secondary to the hip coolness portrayed by Paul Newman, who is reliably good throughout. Too many marginal characters ruin the flavor of this soup. Solid, standard entertainment, but nothing outstanding or particularly original.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/01/23

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Keith B

Great performance from Paul Newman as well as great performances from Shirley Winters and Janet Leigh a brilliant thriller with great atmosphere.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/23/23

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Russ

There have been better vehicles for Paul Newman and there've been lots worse. Films from this era are always interesting for us Boomers as a window of how life was back in our youth. This was a payday for an aging Miss Bacall and Shelly Winters.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/23/23

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matthew d

Paul Newman's hard boiled private detective takes on a curious case! Jack Smight's crime mystery drama Harper (1966) is everything I want in a neo-noir thriller. Sarcastic, no nonsense lead with sultry femme fatales and a complex crime narrative like no other story. Writers William Goldman and Ross Macdonald should be complimented for their intricately plotted crime story that gets seedier, more dangerous, and more fascinating as Harper goes along to its amusing finale. It's all tongue in cheek, aware of the noir genre, and pleasantly nihilistic in nature. Every line is biting and feels surprisingly modern due to Goldman and Macdonald's postmodernist deconstruction of the whole noir genre. Every kind of filmmaking trick and narrative twist that can happen does, but with even more turns than I'd expected. Harper is meticulously clever as it is brutally raw. A keen eyed and smart viewer can puzzle out this deadly mystery before Paul Newman's deft private detective Harper. Stefan Armsten's intriguing editing uses hard cuts to various settings that thrust you into the middle of a scene, so that Harper's 121 minutes feels like 61. Alfred Sweeney's art direction gives everything that 1960's mod feels like Claude E. Carpenter's cute and classy taste for the set decoration. Johnny Mandel's hazy jazz score keeps you on your toes with a dreamy atmosphere and avant-garde style. Smight's direction keeps you guessing as he helpfully hints at the suspect with visual cues and letting the camera focus on important figures. Conrad L. Hall's cinematography captures 1960's Californian seashores and hillsides beautifully alongside shady bars and wharfs with a dedication to dark noir style. All the far wide shots are impressive alongside the hard hitting close-up for the emotional interrogations. Paul Newman's bitter and smart mouth private detective Lew Harper is amazing. Newman both embodies the cool, hardened detectives in film noir, while sending them up with his easy charm, lightning charisma, and dramatic edge. Newman could act any role and Harper is one of his finest and often forgotten roles. He is simply electric as Harper. Janet Leigh's sweet and frustrated wife Susan Harper is wonderful alongside the sturdy and passive Lew Harper. She's got great natural romantic chemistry with Paul Newman. On the other hand, Shelley Winters steals every second on her screen time on the silver screen in Harper as faded out starlet Fay Estabrook. She's a riot to flirt and dance drunkenly with Paul Newman's less than happy Harper. Pamela Tiffin steals many scenes as the flirtatious and gorgeous 60's girl Miranda Sampson. She's the daughter of Lauren Bacall's Mrs. Sampson. Bacall is fiercely apathetic and extravagantly rich with a cruel streak that's quite fun to watch. You immediately suspect her wealthy lady with potentially ulterior motives. Robert Wagner's suspicious Allan Taggert the poolboy is very fun, especially as Newman relentlessly mocks him with the nickname "Beauty." Robert Webber's jerk heavy Dwight Troy is a blast to see torture Newman's Harper. Arthur Hill's pathetic loveless lawyer has much to offer as Albert Graves. He's got playful friendship chemistry alongside Paul Newman's stocky Harper. Julie Harris' frantic, nervous, and impulsive jazz singer Betty Fraley is both sympathetic and entertaining in Harper. In short, Harper is neo-noir perfection!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Jack Smight

Director

Paul Newman

Lew Harper

Lauren Bacall

Mrs. Sampson

Shelley Winters

Fay Estabrook

Julie Harris

Betty Fraley

Robert Wagner

Allan Taggert

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TIME Magazine

By combining flamboyant suspense with a sunbaked slice of life and lots of good mean fun, Director Smight makes every clue a pleasure to follow.

Sep 30, 2008

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Director Jack Smight has inserted countless touches which illuminate each character to the highest degree.

Sep 30, 2008

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Derek Adams

Time Out

Enjoyable performances throughout. Just the same, a very minor Big Sleep.

Feb 9, 2006

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Roger Moore

Movie Nation

Seen now, “Harper” feels like a transitional film, airing out the old gumshoe picture cliches one more time, and adding the cliches of all private eye movies to come — the “car with character,” among them.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 24, 2024

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Pauline Kael

McCall's

Harper sounded promising -- Paul Newman in an attempt to recapture the Bogart private-eye world of The Big Sleep, with its spoiled people and overripe Southern California civilization. But it’s a despicably incompetent attempt.

Sep 20, 2023

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Judith Crist

New York Herald Tribune

Harper can be dismissed as just another private-eye story... But we'd rather hold on to it as a return to a classic -- a triumphant return to something that's been missing from the screen, something for grown-ups by grown-ups.

Aug 15, 2022

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Synopsis

Struggling private eye Lew Harper (Paul Newman) takes a simple missing-person case that quickly spirals into something much more complex. Elaine Sampson (Lauren Bacall), recently paralyzed in a horse-riding accident, wants Harper to find her missing oil baron husband, but her tempestuous teenage stepdaughter Miranda (Pamela Tiffin) thinks Mrs. Sampson knows more than she's letting on. The film is based on Ross Macdonald's 1949 mystery "The Moving Target," featuring private eye Lew Archer.

Director: Jack Smight
Screenwriter: William Goldman
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2012

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