Harper (1966)

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:

Los Angeles California | Kidnapping | Scam | Neo Noir | Cynic

Awards:

2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

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
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
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)

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor
Jean Burt Reilly	....	supervising hair stylist

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

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

Sound Department
Stanley Jones	....	sound

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)

Music Department
Willis Holman	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

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

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Films (1966) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (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) | 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

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

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.

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: [Eager to get Fay out of the bar and home] Anyway, if I don't get you home soon, I'm going to explode!
Fay Estabrook: [Falling for Archer's flattery] Oh, no don't try to rush me! Let's have another l'il drinkie! Got time for another l'il drinkie, dumpling?
Lew Harper: [Surveying Fay's dumpy body dismissively] Nah! It stiffens up my chewing gum! Anyway, you're too classy for a place like this!
Fay Estabrook: [a sad, far away look in her eyes as if trying to recall the last time someone has been so interested in her] Yeah, I am classy. Not everybody notices...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Drive-in Movie Memories (2001)

Soundtrack:

Livin' Alone

Now THIS is a suspenseful movie!

HARPER has got intriguing characters, crackling dialogue, and an intelligent plot, without resorting to lots of gratuitous nudity and four-letter words. Attention must be paid!