Harper (film)

Harper is a 1966 film written by William Goldman from a novel by Ross Macdonald. The movie starred Paul Newman as the eponymous Lew Harper (Lew Archer in the novel). The original music score was composed by Johnny Mandel. Goldman received a 1967 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. Shelley Winters plays a once gorgeous and now alcoholic former starlet, Fay Estabrook.

The film was released in the UK as The Moving Target, the title of the novel. Newman reprised the role again in a sequel, The Drowning Pool, made in 1975.

Main cast

Trivia

• It is believed that the main character's name was changed to Harper because of Newman's success in films involving the letter 'H' (Hud, The Hustler, Hombre).
• Turned down by Frank Sinatra.

References