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:

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		(director of photography) (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)

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)
• 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) | 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: The front license plate on Harper's Porsche changes locations from above the bumper to below in the middle of the opening scene.

Quotes:

Miranda Sampson: Why so fast, Harper? You trying to impress me?
Lew Harper: You got a way of starting conversations that ends conversation.
Miranda Sampson: Why is your wife divorcing you?
Lew Harper: You got a way of starting conversations that ends conversation.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Sting (1973)

Soundtrack:

Livin' Alone

An excellent mystery...

While perhaps not as taut as "The Maltese Falcon", but just as intricate as "Chinatown" or "L.A. Confidential", "Harper" is an under-acknowledged gem of a film that's as cool as it's leading man. It's with this film that I began to get a better appreciation of Paul Newman, easily one of the most versatile leading men Hollywood has ever produced. Here, he plays Harper as something of a SOB, always looking at the paycheck as his top priority. Not that the pond he has to swim in is any better; a frigid woman client, a hot-to-trot teen daughter, a duplicitous servant, an attorney who's the closest thing to a friend Harper has, a washed-up nightclub singer, her sinister, Texan husband, and a cult leader aren't exactly what one would call charming dinner company. It also doesn't help that the guy Harper's trying to find isn't even liked by the wife who hired him (thanks to the under-appreciated fire and spirit of Lauren "Betty" Bacall, one of the true originals) or anybody else. The only thing they like is his money.

Like a good boxer, the plot bobs and weaves, never letting the audience know when the next surprise is coming until it's too late. While Chandler is cited when talking about this film, it also makes me think of Hammett's many, many tales of the Continental Op. Not everybody always tells the truth, not everything is what it seems, and the best laid plans of mice and men (to paraphrase Bobby Burns) wind up falling through. Some people may not have the patience for this film in our razzle-dazzle, in-your-face age of entertainment, but for those who prefer their movies with a soft, subtle touch, this is one for you.