The Drowning Pool (1975)

My Review

“The Drowning Pool” is a Paul Newman vehicle where he reprises his role of private detective Lew Harper from 1966’s “Harper.” Director Stuart Rosenberg (“The April Fools” 1969) did a good job of putting together a slick drama with good writing and top-rate performances. The screenplay written by Tracy Keenan Wynn, Lorenzo Semple Jr., and Walter Hill moved Harper’s location from his home town of Los Angeles to New Orleans.

Like “Harper,” “The Drowning Pool” had several big name co-stars, including his wife Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Murray Hamilton, Gail Strickland, Richard Jaeckel, Linda Haynes, and Melanie Griffith in her first major feature film. “The Drowning Pool” was a bit of a box office disappointment for First Artists and Warner Bros. Pictures.