dougdoepke
An LA gumshoe is charmed by an old flame into traveling to New Orleans to find out who's blackmailing her. There he enters an expanding web of intrigue. Over the years, I've learned to beware of PI movies featuring celebrity stars. That's because the storyline's probably padded to justify the star's lengthy screen time. After all big bucks and reputations are at stake. I guess my PI preferences are for tight productions where a tight plot is foremost, basically those B-movies from the 40's and 50's.Perhaps he was disinterested in the sloppy script, but Newman underplays throughout. As a result, attention moves from him to the many colorful supporting players. At least that way, he gets the required screen time but without dominating the scenes themselves. The movie's highlight, of course, is the white-knuckle drowning pool. How the heck are the trapped Harper and Mavis (Strickland) going to escape the sealed room as the water surrounding them gets higher and higher and the ceiling closer and closer. Nothing they try seems to work. Like the rest of the film, the predicament's resolution again shows that Harper's no miracle man. Also on the plus side, there's plenty of sexy skin and come-on's for the guys, even including a shirtless Newman for the gals.However, the plot's almost incomprehensible, meandering around in 10 different directions to fill out the 2-hour runtime. Likely that provided parts for the large supporting cast of this A- production. Maybe the many plot threads tie up in the end, but after all the convolutions, who cares. It's then that I appreciated the virtues of those old B-movie screenplays.All in all, the movie's mainly for Newman fans, though it appears he came to dislike the results that would also be the last Harper entry (IMDB).
Lechuguilla
Probably the best element of this film is the setting. The bayou country of South Louisiana and New Orleans in particular form a colorful, atmospheric backdrop for this private eye story about a detective named Harper (Paul Newman) who must sort through a cobweb of motives and hidden agendas. I would describe the film less as a thriller and more as a melodrama-mystery combo.One character informs Harper: "You may be some kind of hotshot policeman, but ... you're into something that's way over your head". I would revise that line to read: "You're into a screenplay that's way too convoluted to make much sense". The plot presents characters with names but no faces, and other characters with faces but no names. Eventually, viewers get to connect the names to the faces, but not soon enough to render the story easy to follow.It's also a slow film; the plot moves along at a snail's pace, mostly because the Director seems to dwell far too long on Paul Newman's every little facial expression and mannerism. I did like the way Harper and another character try to escape a hydro-therapy room in the second half; that was clever.Visually, the film looks pretty good. Interiors trend a bit dark, but quite a few scenes take place outdoors in daytime, which emphasizes the lush vegetation and swampy waters. Cajun accents seem a bit overdone to me. Background music is pleasantly jazzy at times. Casting is acceptable except for Melanie Griffith who looks too young for the role she plays. Overall acting is average. I thought Joanne Woodward gave a nice performance.The big problem is a script that is not well written, especially in terms of character definition and plot flow. Also, I would have preferred a mystery that was more explicit. The story is just too loose and nebulous. Since "The Drowning Pool" is mostly a Paul Newman vehicle, Newman fans will be more likely to enjoy it than those looking for a good story.
blanche-2
Paul Newman reprises his role of Lew Harper in "The Drowning Pool," a 1975 film also starring Joanne Woodward, Tony Franciosa, Murray Hamilton, Gail Strickland, and Melanie Griffith.I'll say right off that I love Paul Newman, and it was amazing to see Gail Strickland and Melanie Griffith so young, but anything having to do with dogfighting means I fast-forward. Also I must have some form of night blindness because a lot of scenes were in the dark and I couldn't make them out.Anyway, Newman attempts to help an ex-girlfriend (Woodward), who is being blackmailed. Before he knows it, he's involved in the quest for an accounting book and murder, besides the blackmail. It's a complex plot with several threads joining together. I think it could have been done better. The scene where Newman and Strickland are trapped is spectacular.The performances are all good, with Newman shining as Harper. Every time I see him, I think he was at the height of his looks, and it's always a different era. Let's just say he looks great. He and Franciosa are standouts, with Woodward excellent but not having a great deal to do. Griffith is a baby, but that voice is unmistakable.All in all, a must-see for Newman fans, but if you don't like dog-fighting, get ready to fast forward. Yuck.
tedg
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.
AD
