On H List of Movie Reviews

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Harper (1966)

Rate: 2
Viewed: 7/17

7/17: What do many great film noir and neo-noir pictures have in common?

They usually have a followable plot. But in Harper? Yeah, fucking right. It tries too hard to be the next The Big Sleep given the concept had already been done ten years prior.

Paul Newman is shockingly bad as Lew Harper. He meets the definition of a movie star, but his acting range leaves a lot to be desired. Hell, Humphrey Bogart would never be caught dead chewing bubble gum. The rest of the cast is hopeless as many women are constantly discarded for not meeting the standard. But Pamela Tiffin is a major babe who looks like Tiffani-Amber Thiessen.

Harper scores points for cinematography. It's absolutely gorgeous, and everybody looks great. Yet I'm disappointed with the use of rear projection effect during the car scenes. The opening scene with coffee grounds? It's a damn rip-off of The Ipcress File which was made a year earlier.

All in all, there are better gumshoe pictures than Harper.

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