A decent detective yarn. I haven't seen "Harper" so cannot make any comparisons. An awful lot of stuff goes on right from the beginning, so you have to pay attention. But, as usual, Paul Newman shows the superstar charisma he is so known for. Joanne Woodward turned in a very good turn as the booze and drug addled client. Gail Strickland also deserves some notice. And of course Melanie Griffith as the teen-age sexpot daughter. She did a lot of those parts in the Seventies, and it was good to see her range expand as she grew up. But no matter what she plays, she can never escape that sex kitten voice she wields so effectively. In general, this was pretty good light entertainment, but will ultimately be fairly forgettable. The photography was beautifully done, even though there's really not that much to see in Louisiana.