Fine interpretation of the Ross Macdonald novel and if the dialogue is not as slick as in the screenplay by William Goldman for the earlier, Harper, that is made up for here by some sharp visuals. Newman seems much more assured here and able to seem to stroll through the proceedings with a smile a wave or indeed a punch. I didn't think much of the supposedly kittenish role of Melanie Griffith and have seen her look and sound a whole lot more convincing. Strangely enough the 'drowning pool' of the title, I barely recall from the book and yet here it takes centre stage and most effectively too. Dogs are pretty nasty but the second in command cop, who is unbearably corrupt and violent in the book, is only a shadow of that character here. A fine 70s movie with great photography, decent soundtrack and a punchy enough story to keep things moving nicely.

Fine interpretation of the Ross Macdonald novel and if the dialogue is not as slick as in the screenplay by William Goldman for the earlier, Harper, that is made up for here by some sharp visuals. Newman seems much more assured here and able to seem to stroll through the proceedings with a smile a wave or indeed a punch. I didn't think much of the supposedly kittenish role of Melanie Griffith and have seen her look and sound a whole lot more convincing. Strangely enough the 'drowning pool' of the title, I barely recall from the book and yet here it takes centre stage and most effectively too. Dogs are pretty nasty but the second in command cop, who is unbearably corrupt and violent in the book, is only a shadow of that character here. A fine 70s movie with great photography, decent soundtrack and a punchy enough story to keep things moving nicely.

Somewhat interesting follow-up to HARPER, with Paul Newman back in the role of private detective Lou Harper. The tone is less playful than its 1966 film predecessor, and takes on a nastier feel to it...very evocative of the mid-70's. Cast is great, with Joanne Woodward, Melanie Griffith, Anthony Franciosa, Richard Jaeckel, Murray Hamilton, and Andy Robinson. Stuart Rosenberg's direction is good, for the most part. Why they insisted on using an instrumental version of "Killing Me Softly" every time Joanne Woodward appears is beyond me...yet I do know that it bothered me. Like HARPER, THE DROWNING POOL contains a simple story that turns very complex. Thank goodness I was able to follow it all.

This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

There are two things that come to mind when I think of this film: firstly, I should probably try harder to be 70's-era Paul Newman. Most of the things that have gone wrong in my life, I have decided, are at least partly because I am not 70's-era Paul Newman.

Secondly, Melanie Griffith used to be a worse actress than she is now. Watch 'Shining Through', and pause to reflect on the fact that that is her after she has gotten BETTER.

I revisited this along with the original Harper recently. Paul Newman is just great, but Murray Hamilton steals every scene he's in as the Southern sociopath oil baron. Good stuff, check it out if you've never seen it or it's been awhile.

This belated sequel to Paul Newman's hit HARPER isn't interested in rewriting the rules of the private eye genre, unlike some of the classics released around that same time, but it does capture the tone of the original Ross Macdonald more closely than its predecessor. I also can't think of a better cinematographer for this kind of material than Gordon Willis.