On H List of Movie Reviews
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Harper (1966)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
7/17, 1/26
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. I had no clue what was going on and failed
to understand how Lew knew what to do next.
Paul Newman is shockingly bad. 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.
However, 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.
1/26:
Harper sucks.
Paul Newman overacts and doesn't seem to realize that. He also plays an unlikeable character and isn't funny.
Watch Chevy Chase in Fletch for comparison.
The case makes absolutely no sense, so I gave up early. When the ending comes, it's a "whatever." Don't be
fooled by the all-star cast; everybody phones it in. Shelley Winters didn't even remember being in the movie.
All in all, if Lew Harper is so smart, how come he isn't a lawyer, a CEO, a doctor, or a chess grandmaster?