Roger Ebert Home

The Unloved, Part 115: The Drowning Pool

The name Stuart Rosenberg will never be forgotten by a certain breed of film lover. To others, he may never gain any kind of a foothold at all. Rosenberg was a solid craftsman of sturdy dramatic work but he was also a crucial crafter of some of the most important parts of Paul Newman's legend. He directed him in "Cool Hand Luke," the '60s answer to "Rebel Without a Cause." But he'll always most importantly be the director of the first movie of the end of Paul Newman's youth. 

A sequel to Newman's early detective movie "Harper" (and a quasi-sequel to "Cool Hand Luke," with its sweltering summer setting and collection of country-fried adversaries), "The Drowning Pool" wasn't a movie for which many were clamoring. But to me, it's an unmissable Newman hang. As the air tries to strangle us, stay in with this sunburnt country noir tonight. 



To watch more of Scout Tafoya's video essays from his series The Unloved, click here

Scout Tafoya

Scout Tafoya is a critic and filmmaker who writes for and edits the arts blog Apocalypse Now and directs both feature length and short films.

Latest blog posts

Latest reviews

The Teachers’ Lounge
All of Us Strangers
Migration
Memory
Occupied City

Comments

comments powered by Disqus