Drowning

The Drowning Pool is a 1975 American neo-noir mystery thriller film directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, and Anthony Franciosa. It is the sequel to the 1966 film Harper, and is adapted by Tracy Keenan Wynn, Lorenzo Semple Jr., and Walter Hill from Ross Macdonald's 1950 novel. In the film, private investigator Lew Harper (Newman) travels to Louisiana to help his wealthy former lover (Woodward) escape a blackmailer, but is caught up in a scheme by an oil baron. The film was released by Warner Bros. on July 25, 1975. Unlike its predecessor, The Drowning Pool received mixed reviews and was a commercial disappointment, though was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.