Back to trending
Harper

Harper

Mystery · Crime · Thriller · 1966

Harper is a cynical private eye in the best tradition of Bogart. He even has Bogie's Baby hiring him to find her missing husband, getting involved along the way with an assortment of unsavory characters and an illegal-alien smuggling ring.

Movie details

Harper

“Harper takes a case - and the payoff is murder.”

1966 Mystery · Crime · Thriller 2h 1m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

Harper is a cynical private eye in the best tradition of Bogart. He even has Bogie's Baby hiring him to find her missing husband, getting involved along the way with an assortment of unsavory characters and an illegal-alien smuggling ring.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Harper?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Presumed Innocent

Presumed Innocent

Mystery · 1990

Rusty Sabich is a deputy prosecutor engaged in an obsessive affair with a coworker who is murdered. Soon after, he's accused of the crime. And his fight to clear his name becomes a whirlpool of lies and hidden passions.

The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep

Mystery · 1946

Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.

China Moon

China Moon

Mystery · 1994

Detective Kyle Bodine falls for Rachel Munro who is trapped in a violent marriage. After she shoots her husband, Kyle relucantly agrees to help hide the body, but his partner is showing an unusual flair for finding clues.

Palmetto

Palmetto

Crime · 1998

After being released from prison on a bum charge, Harry Barber is out for payback to regain his lost two years. He's hired by Mrs. Malroux to fake the kidnapping of her stepdaughter (the daughter of a dying millionaire). He discovers that he is being set up on multiple levels and will soon face a longer sentence if he doesn't prove the truth.

The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train

Crime · 2016

Rachel Watson, devastated by her recent divorce, spends her daily commute fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple who live in a house that her train passes every day, until one morning she sees something shocking happen there and becomes entangled in the mystery that unfolds.

Unlawful Entry

Unlawful Entry

Thriller · 1992

Happily married Michael and Karen Carr call the police after Karen is held at knife point during a failed robbery attempt in their home. Before long, one of the responding officers, Officer Pete Davis, helps arrange the installation of a new security system, taking extra interest in the couple's case. As a result, the grateful Carrs invite him to stay for dinner and they strike up an unexpected friendship. However, as the lonely policeman develops an intense fixation on Karen, his take on friendship develops into a dangerous obsession soon becoming the Carrs' worst nightmare.

A Walk Among the Tombstones

A Walk Among the Tombstones

Crime · 2014

Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

Devil in a Blue Dress

Devil in a Blue Dress

Thriller · 1995

In late 1940s Los Angeles, Easy Rawlins is an unemployed black World War II veteran with few job prospects. At a bar, Easy meets DeWitt Albright, a mysterious white man looking for someone to investigate the disappearance of a missing white woman named Daphne Monet, who he suspects is hiding out in one of the city's black jazz clubs. Strapped for money and facing house payments, Easy takes the job, but soon finds himself in over his head.

The Bone Collector

The Bone Collector

Crime · 1999

Lincoln Rhyme was the department's top homicide detective and leading expert in criminal forensics until an injury left him paralyzed, depressed, and incapable of working. But when a gruesome murder in Manhattan leaves detectives baffled, they call on Rhyme to help solve the mystery. Amelia Donaghy, a rookie cop whose quick thinking preserved a gruesome murder scene, is enlisted by Rhyme to be his on-the-scene forensics expert. With Amelia reluctantly acting as Rhyme's able-bodied go-between, the pair piece together cryptic clues the killer leaves behind at the scene of the crime, hoping to catch the grisly serial killer.

Farewell, My Lovely

Farewell, My Lovely

Crime · 1975

Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jack Smight

Written by

William Goldman

Paul Newman

Paul Newman

Lew Harper

Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall

Elaine Sampson

Julie Harris

Julie Harris

Betty Fraley

Arthur Hill

Arthur Hill

Albert Graves

Janet Leigh

Janet Leigh

Susan Harper

Pamela Tiffin

Pamela Tiffin

Miranda Sampson

Robert Wagner

Robert Wagner

Allan Taggert

Court is in session

Put Harper on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.