Starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Melanie Griffith, Anthony Franciosca, Murray Hamilton

(6-Good Film)

Solid. Dry. Basic.

A return for Paul Newman not only to working with director Stuart Rosenberg (who he worked with on the indelible Cool Hand Luke among other films) but also to the jaded private detective, Lew Harper, a character he played in 1966’s Harper. This film is superior in my opinion by being more intimate with fewer characters and one location, instead, focusing on an older, more interesting Newman. The plot begins with an old flame asking for help in a case of blackmail down by the bayou in Louisiana. One of the better post-1950s noirs, but not terribly original, unlike its excellent source material.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(280)