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      Harper

      1966 2h 1m Mystery & Thriller List
      95% Tomatometer 22 Reviews 73% Audience Score 1,000+ Ratings 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. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

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      Critics Reviews

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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 Full Review Derek Adams Time Out Enjoyable performances throughout. Just the same, a very minor Big Sleep. Feb 9, 2006 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member I feel like this movie could be rebooted and updated making it a lot better. It kinda reminds me of LA Noire. I feel like Paul Newman was kinda just in it. He doesn't seem to fit. Yet he's the highlight of the movie. I felt it drug and drug it's 30 mins too long. Somewhere in it lays a decent movie I just didn't find it to be. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 05/31/24 Full Review KB B It was pretty good but obviously dated. Paul Newman was excellent as usual. It's worth the watch. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/24/24 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review 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 Full Review Read all reviews
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      Movie Info

      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
      Producer
      Jerry Gershwin, Elliott Kastner
      Screenwriter
      William Goldman
      Production Co
      Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
      Genre
      Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Streaming)
      May 1, 2012
      Runtime
      2h 1m
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