Harper is back. He has traveled to New Orleans at the request of Iris Devereaux (Joanne Woodward), who says that the former chauffeur is blackmailing her. He has hardly settled into his motel room when an underaged girl, Schuyler (Melanie Griffith) propositions him. Even though he refused and escorted her out of his room, he was soon arrested and harassed by the police. It is suggested that he go back to Los Angeles. A visit to the Devereaux estate proves informative. Schuyler is Iris' daughter! Iris's mother-in-law is the matriarch; she is a shrew who holds Iris in low regard. Harper has hardly left the estate to start looking for the chauffeur than he is abducted by thugs in the employ of J. Hugh Kilbourne (Murray Hamilton). Kilbourne is an oilman who wants to purchase the Devereaux property and is not above blackmail to get his way. His wife, Mavis (Gail Strickland), is clearly terrified of him but dares not leave him.
Harper puts on identities like other men put on jackets. He has a knack for adopting the correct demeanor to convince people to tell him what he needs to know. However, like Jim Rockford, he has a habit of getting beaten up or taken for a ride whenever he gets too close to the truth. That this movie was made 9 years after the original gives it a very different feel. This one is gloomier. Maybe that can be attributed to be located in Louisiana rather than Southern California.
Though I had seen this before, the only part I remembered was the scene where Harper was blasted with a water hose. Upon reviewing, I can confirm that is the most memorable part of this movie. I would not think that the building would have held together with that much water.
Not as good as the first one but still popcorn fun.
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