Such a frustrating disappointment

Memorable, crazy movie

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

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.

'The Drowning Pool'is an overlooked gem in my opinion, however a gem with many flaws,as pointed out in other reviews on this site. The plot, parts of the script, much of the shooting and location are wonderful...but the direction and editing in particular were just lazy and thoughtless! Apparently Newman and the director were buddies, well maybe that's where the problem lay...I think this would be an ideal film to remake and to this time produce the masterpiece that could have been. Keep the wise cracking private eye, the uneasy relationship between grandmother, mother and daughter, the sadistic oil man, the creepy Gothic overtones and mix it up with the right actors and you've got dynamite. Coen brothers required?

This film is finally decent and the suspense is quite OK, though with some little thinking we could think the end right from the very beginning. I can't tell you how otherwise you may yell SPOILER in about twenty-five languages including Arabic and Hebrew, both modern and old. Louisiana is there in front of you, New Orleans, a little bit though not the Mardi Gras festivities, too bad, but the bayous quite a lot, though they seem to look like the Everglades in Florida. Well I must be fantasizing or I must have watched too many Miami Vice-Squad series. One thing is sure down south they sure have an accent and they sure do not work the same way as in any other part of the world. But I guess they kill the same, they embezzle the same, they corrupt the same as anywhere else in the whole world. With money, for money, under the influence and the smell of money. What a universal devil those satanic green backs are and you can't escape them, no matter how much money you yourself have, no matter how many bodyguards you may have, no matter how many guns you may be able to brandish, no matter how many corrupted fiendish friends you must be able to have in the wings. A bullet or some pills will do the job quite well. That's the main interest of a private eye series: it can without any reserve reveal the depth of the guano we are living in all the time and every day, and in this case you can't imagine, and a "normal" cops series will not show you how decayed any police department must be. Well even Dexter is slightly short on that one. I liked the trickiness and intricacies of the plot, the unbearable arrogance of local cops, the thickness of the local accent, the superb local streetcars called Desire, but I didn't see one alligator, too bad. They must have been gone on vacation, or maybe they had been substituted with caimans or crocodiles, who knows, but I would have enjoyed a bowl of alligator soup in a Rue Royale restaurant. Run to that film, it is funny, more strange than ah ah. And girls are just what they are supposed to be, big traps with long teeth, but they bark more than they bite.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Paris 8 Saint Denis, University Paris 12 Créteil, CEGID

Newman reprises his role as Lew Harper for the second and final time in the long-awaited sequel to 1966's HARPER, another twisting mystery; this time set in Louisiana. Unfortunately, THE DROWNING POOL was tepidly received by both critics and audiences, most of whom seemed to think the film paled in comparison to the original. I am one viewer who disagrees strongly with the general consensus in this case. Not only is THE DROWNING POOL a first-rate mystery thriller, but it is also one of the most sorely underrated films in Newman's filmography.The film has a completely different look and feel than the previous film, which may have been the reason that so many critics and audiences unfairly rejected it. Gone is the sixties-era go-go mania, which has been replaced with the moody elements of modern film noir which perfectly suits the intricate story of murder and blackmail. The film may not have the starpower of the previous film, but it nonetheless offers solid work from Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, and a particularly affecting turn from Linda Haynes. Best of all is the then-18 year old Melanie Griffith, who owns her role as the scheming bit of jail bait, unsubtly lusting after Newman's Harper.Yet nothing can even come close to upstaging Newman, who is as commanding here as anywhere else in his career. In many ways this is a transitional effort for Newman, paving the way from early brutish roles (1958's THE LONG HOT SUMMER, 1963's HUD) to his latter day, more cerebral heroes (1982's THE VERDICT, 1994' NOBODY'S FOOL). Also, even at age 50, the man has rarely been sexier. To top things off, we also have one of the greatest, most original escape scenes in movie history - although I'm not giving it away; you'll have to check out this underrated thriller and see for yourself.