Pre-Order The Drowning Pool (1975) (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

The link below will take you directly to the product on Amazon. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.

 

[Matt Hough]

I watched this today and found it a better mystery than I remembered it to be. Fine cast and some surprises along the way, too. The transfer is very good with just a few scenes with brownish black levels. Otherwise, outstanding disc and a fun popcorn movie.

 

[Robin9]

I watched this today and found it a better mystery than I remembered it to be. Fine cast and some surprises along the way, too. The transfer is very good with just a few scenes with brownish black levels. Otherwise, outstanding disc and a fun popcorn movie.

Now, that's interesting! When I watched the Blu-ray disc, I also found the film to be better than I had remembered. I think I'll watch it again in the next few days.

 

[JoeStemme]

Belated follow-up to 1966's HARPER again stars Paul Newman as Private Eye Lew Harper. Based on Ross Macdonald's novel, the story has Harper investigating the blackmail of an old flame, Iris (Joanne Woodward) in New Orleans. Crooked cops, dirty family laundry and shady oil business dealings are all stirred into the plot.

The cast has some interesting names: Anthony Franciosa, Murray Hamilton, Corale Brown, Richard Jaekel, Andy Robinson and Melanie Griffith as another underage nymphet (see also that same year's NIGHT MOVES). Would be starlet Linda Haynes makes an impression as a call girl. The mix of “southern” accents is sometimes inadvertently amusing. Newman, already a pretty laid back actor, doubles down playing the detective as a laconic sort, and it doesn't liven up the film. Walter Hill wrote an early draft, but, Lorenzo Semple Jr and Tracy Keenan Wynn wrote the bulk of the lumpy screenplay. Stuart Rosenberg directs in a straightforward manner. Gordon Willis makes some atmospheric use of the Louisiana settings with his cinematography -- and also lives up to his name as 'The Prince Of Darkness' (nobody could shoot a daytime scene as darkly). Michael Small's score is sturdy.

THE DROWNING POOL was one of several neo-noirs centered on P.I.'s in the 70s, but isn't up there with LONG GOODBYE, CHINATOWN and the aforementioned NIGHT MOVES. There are some decent set-pieces including the title sequence, but it isn't surprising that there were no more Newman Harper movies.

 

[Matt Hough]

Yes, I found it weak compared to Harper.