The Drowning Pool (1975)

Director:

Stuart Rosenberg

Writers:

Tracy Keenan Wynn (screenplay) &
Lorenzo Semple Jr. (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

July 1975 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

Harper days are here again...

Plot:

A big-city private detective travels to the Deep South to help out an old girlfriend who is being blackmailed.

Plot Keywords:

Louisiana | Private Detective | Blackmail | Detective | Prostitute

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Harper
Joanne Woodward	...	Iris
Anthony Franciosa	...	Broussard (as Tony Franciosa)
Murray Hamilton	...	Kilbourne
Gail Strickland	...	Mavis
Melanie Griffith	...	Schuyler
Linda Haynes	...	Gretchen
Richard Jaeckel	...	Franks
Paul Koslo	...	Candy
Joe Canutt	...	Glo
Andrew Robinson	...	Pat Reavis (as Andy Robinson)
Coral Browne	...	Olivia
Richard Derr	...	James
Helena Kallianiotes	...	Elaine Reavis
Leigh French	...	Red Head
Peter Dassinger	...	Peter
James Fontenot	...	Bartender
Tommy McLain	...	Nightclub Band (as Tommy McLain and his Mule Train Band)
Martin Ahrens	...	Cajun Heavy #1
Philippe Blenet	...	Cajun Heavy #2
Jerome Greene	...	Butler
Cecil Elliott	...	Motel Switchboard Operator

Directed by
Stuart Rosenberg

Writing credits
Tracy Keenan Wynn		(screenplay) &
Lorenzo Semple Jr.		(screenplay) &
Walter Hill		(screenplay)
Ross Macdonald		(novel) (as Ross MacDonald)
Eric Roth		uncredited

Produced by
David Foster	....	producer
Hawk Koch	....	associate producer (as Howard W. Koch Jr.)
Lawrence Turman	....	producer

Original Music by
Michael Small

Cinematography by
Gordon Willis		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
John C. Howard

Casting by
Alan Shayne

Production Design by
Paul Sylbert

Art Direction by
Edwin O'Donovan		(as Ed O'Donovan)

Set Decoration by
Phil Abramson

Makeup Department
Kaye Pownall	....	hair stylist
Monty Westmore	....	makeup artist
Carrie White	....	hair stylist: Miss Woodward

Production Management
Arthur S. Newman Jr.	....	production manager (as Arthur Newman)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hawk Koch	....	assistant director (as Howard W. Koch Jr.)
Lee Rafner	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Joe Acord	....	construction coordinator
Gregg H. Bilson	....	assistant props (as Gregg Bilson)
Pat O'Connor	....	property master
Bill Parks	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Clint Althouse	....	boom operator (as Clint Althaus)
Hal Barns	....	sound effects editor
Les Fresholtz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Larry Jost	....	sound mixer
Billie Owens	....	sound effects editor
Arthur Piantadosi	....	sound re-recording mixer
Arthur H. Pullen	....	sound effects editor
Richard Tyler	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Dick Tyler)

Special Effects by
Chuck Gaspar	....	special effects
Henry Millar	....	special effects (as Henry Millar Sr.)

Stunts
Stan Barrett	....	stunt coordinator
Joe Canutt	....	stunts (uncredited)
Dean Smith	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Arthur Brooker	....	key grip (as Art Brooker)
Ralph Gerling	....	camera operator
George Holmes	....	gaffer
Mel Traxel	....	unit still photographer
Richard Yuricich	....	first assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Donald Brooks	....	wardrobe designer: Miss Woodward
Norma Brown	....	costumer: women
Richard Bruno	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Dick Bruno)
Jules Melillo	....	assistant costumer: men (as Jules M. Melillo)
Vicki Sánchez	....	costumer: women (as Vicki Sanchez)

Editorial Department
Carroll Timothy O'Meara	....	assistant editor (as Tim O'Meara)

Music Department
Donald Harris	....	music editor
Dan Wallin	....	scoring mixer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Paul Casella Jr.	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Rosalyn Catania	....	production secretary
Carl Combs	....	unit publicist
Betty Crosby	....	script supervisor
Ralph M. Leo	....	production auditor (as Ralph Leo)

Production Companies

• Coleytown
• David Foster Productions
• The First Artists Production Company Ltd.
• Turman-Foster Company
• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1975) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1975) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1979) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1975) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Burbank Studios, The  production equipment and servies

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:12 (re-rating) (2006) | West Germany:16 (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG | Canada:14A (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Coleytown

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~7.2 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~7.3 seconds.

Quotes:

Lew Harper: You have a problem, you have no talent for swearing.

Movie Connections:

Edited into La classe américaine (1993) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Sweet Dreams

Drowned

What a lesson this is in how slight humor moves out of its zone in time!

When this was new, Paul Newman delivered a perfect character, one with smart, funny lines, an attitude and a sexual presence.

We saw New Orleans, which then by definition was something of a fun joke. We had sexual encounters with four sexy women. And we had one impressive stunt. Newman's character is trapped in an abandoned mental hospital. He and the villain's sexy wife have as few clothes as the raters will allow, and fill the room with water with the plan of floating to a skylight to escape.

When we saw this new, somehow we didn't care that Newman's 50 year old body was not attractive. The sexy women — who include a seventeen year old Melanie Griffith, are by today's standards as outside the profile of humorous sex and the other humor is. Nothing works here, including the 70's shirts and hair styles.

When Newman finally thought he achieved a level of competence in acting — decades later — this would be one of the main films he would mention as horrible.

Except for Newman, Woodward and Lolita Griffith, all the actors were pulled from the TeeVee pool, and look like it.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.