Harper - Something’s Rotten In The State Of California

Jul

5

Harper - Something’s Rotten In The State Of California

≡ Category: Drama, Movie Reviews By Country, Recommended, Suspense, United States |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

Country: United States
Genre: Drama/ Suspense/ Comedy
Director: Jack Smight
Year: 1966

Rating:

TRASH CINEMA RECOMMENDED MOVIE

For a modern audience, Harper will seem very dated. It is, but not as much as you’d think. The first thing you have to understand is that the whole movie is riffing on the private eye movie tradition that goes back to the 40s and 50s. The music and the tough guy banter reflect that in what was then a hip and ironic way. The performances move to a different internal rhythm and so seem studiously artificial to the modern eye. Finally, the pacing is leisurely by modern standards. To get the most out of Harper, you have to adjust yourself mentally to the appropriate context.

That said, the script by William Goldman is quite witty. Goldman also plays fair. We don’t know any more than our hero, Harper (Paul Newman), at any given time.

A wealthy industrialist has disappeared. His wife, Mrs. Sampson (Lauren Bacall) calls in private eye Harper because her husband is paranoid about police involvement. Did the husband take off with some bimbo or did something more sinister happen? Bet on sinister. The deeper Harper digs into the world of these Southern California, the more wormy it becomes.

Provided you can get past the style of the period, Harper is entertaining. Paul Newman is in twinkly, ironic mode. Bacall is fabulous in an old Hollywood kind of way. The twists and turns of the story are interesting. The view of human nature is dark and perverse enough to sustain interest.

Harper is not the knockout it probably once was, but it’s entertaining enough if you can get into it’s mindset. That will probably require a viewer who is at least 40 years old. Some pictures, like Bonnie and Clyde, remain remarkably accessible to new generations. That isn’t so true of Harper.