Harper (1966)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Jack Smight

Writers:

William Goldman (screenplay)
Ross Macdonald (novel)

Release Date:

23 February 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Drama

Tagline:

This is a different kind of cat named Harper... and excitement clings to him like a dame!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Foot Torture | Los Angeles California | Ransom | Torture | Shot To Death

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Lew Harper
Lauren Bacall	...	Elaine 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 Spanner
Roy Jenson	...	Puddler
Strother Martin	...	Claude
Martin West	...	Deputy Sheriff
Jacqueline deWit	...	Mrs. Kronberg
Eugene Iglesias	...	Felix
Richard Carlyle	...	Fred Platt
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kathryn Janssen	...	Telephone Operator (uncredited)
China Lee	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Tom Steele	...	Eddie Fraley (uncredited)
Herbert Sullivan	...	Waiter (uncredited)

Directed by
Jack Smight

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
William Goldman		screenplay
Ross Macdonald		novel "The Moving Target"

Produced by
Jerry Gershwin	....	producer
Elliott Kastner	....	producer

Original Music by
Johnny Mandel

Cinematography by
Conrad L. Hall		(as Conrad Hall)

Film Editing by
Stefan Arnsten

Art Direction by
Alfred Sweeney

Set Decoration by
Claude E. Carpenter		(as Claude Carpenter)

Costume Design by
Sally Edwards
William Smith

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor
Jean Burt Reilly	....	supervising hair stylist
Jay Sebring	....	hair stylist: Paul Newman, Robert Wagner

Production Management
Chuck Hansen	....	unit manager (as Charles Hansen)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James H. Brown	....	assistant director

Art Department
Ward Preston	....	set designer

Sound Department
Stanley Jones	....	sound
Dan Wallin	....	sound re-recording mixer

Stunts
Paul Baxley	....	stunts (uncredited)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Gene Coogan	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dick Crockett	....	stunts (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bob Herron	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ann Pat Kelly	....	stunts (uncredited)
Sam A. Mides	....	stunts (uncredited)
Herb Pacheco	....	stunts (uncredited)
Harvey Parry	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Pronto	....	stunts (uncredited)
Bill Shannon	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jim Sheppard	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jerry Summers	....	stunts (uncredited)
Morton C. Thompson	....	stunts (uncredited)
James Turley	....	stunts (uncredited)
Ron Veto	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jordan Cronenweth	....	camera operator
Richard Moore	....	camera operator

Music Department
André Previn	....	composer: song "Livin' Alone"
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer

Other crew
Bert Steinberg	....	dialogue supervisor
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Films (1966) (Finland) (theatrical)
• CBS Television (1971) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Warner Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The Moving Target (UK)

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Beverly House - N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The opening credits sequence (where Harper makes himself a terrible cup of coffee, among other things) was written and shot after the first cut of the film had already been delivered to the studio.

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.

Quotes:

Lew Harper: [placing a crank call to his wife, imitating English accent into phone] Mrs. Harper? Mrs. Lewis Harper?
Susan Harper: [puzzled and sleepy] Yes...
Lew Harper: Oh thank heavens! You see, we've just picked your name from this enormous drum full of names... Only you had to be there to win... and you are, so you have!
Susan Harper: Win?
Lew Harper: [flustered, thinking] ... Six... one-hour frug lessons, absolutely free. Yes. I'm Austin Schwartz-Marmaduke, of the Schwartz-Marmaduke Institue for Ballroom Education. You must've heard of us, we're just off Wilshire near the Frug Foundation...
Susan Harper: I don't want any frug lessons.
Lew Harper: Of course you do, dear lady. Why just think how t'riffic you'll feel next time you and your husband try frugging...
[starts to break up, chuckling at his own humor]
Lew Harper: how endlessly feminine you'll feel...
[starts to really break up]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Drive-in Movie Memories (2001)

Soundtrack:

Livin' Alone

How do I love Harper?

This movie is so great. It is very funny and intriguing at the same time. It liked it so much that I made my boss at the video store sell it to me. Harper is a down on his luck P.I. who is going through a divorce and lives in his office. The story has a lot of plot twists and is an excellent who-done-it. Also, what can I say about Mr. Newman but simply...yum.