A young, virtually unknown actor called Tom Cruise was originally lined up to play Paul Newman's son in this angst-ridden family drama. Robby Benson took the role instead and years later, when Newman had won his first Oscar alongside Cruise - by then one of the top stars in the world - in The Color of Money, Newman half-joked: 'Boy, did I save you from that one! ' Directed, co-produced and co-written by Newman himself, 'Harry and Son' is an underdeveloped hodgepodge that never makes up its mind what it wants to be. Newman is a widower who faces a crossroads in his life. He can either throw in the towel or make a fresh start. The tragedy of the thing is that he goes nowhere. His real-life wife, Joanne Woodward, pops up as an eccentric neighbour, but the overriding sense is of a waste of talent all round.


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