Private eye Lew Harper is in deep this time. Hired by an old flame to unravel a seemingly routine blackmail case, he's so far down he may never come up for air. Paul Newman returns as the quick-witted detective he first played nine years before in Harper. A cast to reckon with joins him in this mystery based on Ross MacDonald's novel and directed by Stuart Rosenberg (Cool Hand Luke). Joanne Woodward plays the New Orleans oil heiress who turns to Harper for help. Young Melanie Griffith is her kittenish daughter. And Tony Franciosa, Coral Browne, Andy Robinson, Murray Hamilton and more keep The Drowning Pool's intrigue as thick as gumbo.