10 Movie Sequels That Got A Raw Deal

1966's Harper introduced the world to Ross Macdonald's cool as hell private eye in the smoothest way one can: by casting Paul Newman. Contrary to popular belief, it was Lew Harper that first dunked his head in ice to shake off a hangover long before Newman's character in The Sting did it. And William Goldman's crackling script offers no shortage of moments for the actor to ooze cool, including a somewhat famous ending shrug that flies in the face of a typical P.I. arc.

The film was a huge hit, leaving questions to why it took nearly a decade for the character to return to the screen. Goldman did adapt another MacDonald novel, The Chill, but the script was never produced.

Finally, 1975's The Drowning Pool, based on a novel 25 years older, transported the hip, L.A private dick to the New Orleans bayou. Unfortunately, the film didn't leave the same impression as Harper. The main criticism is that the supporting characters were writ toolarge, too stereotypically southern. But as a Paul Newman vehicle, no one was complaining.

The actor and character still work quite well, and given the heightened reality of detective fiction, it's not that much of a leap to accept the more outlandish supporting characters.