The Detective looks rather dated now but for the time it was rather daring and gritty.
Adapted from a novel by Roderick Thorp. Incidentally the sequel to the book formed the basis for Die Hard!
Joe Leland (Frank Sinatra) is a veteran New York detective investigating the gruesome death of a gay man. Although they get a confession from a suspect and Leland later gets a promotion for solving the case.
An investigation of a man who committed suicide suggests that the wrong man was convicted and executed.
Director Gordon Douglas has very much tried to keep the sprawling structure of the novel.
Leland's investigations brings him into contact with police and political corruption.
Then there is the disintegration of his marriage. The film has flashbacks as to how Leland met his wife Karen (Lee Remick) who has been having casual affairs.
There is a steely performance from Sinatra as basically a good and progressive cop. I could not help wondering that he looked too old even though Leland is a veteran cop.
There is an interesting scene where a black member of the detective team interrogates a suspect by stripping him naked. He states that is the same method used by the Nazis during the war. Another hint that police corruption and abuse was rampant.
The scenes with his wife gets in the way of the rest of the movie. The flashbacks with Leland courting Karen were not needed.
There is some casual homophobia even though for the time it was rather progressive. The footage of gay men hanging around inside the trailer of a truck looks rather amusing now.
Adapted from a novel by Roderick Thorp. Incidentally the sequel to the book formed the basis for Die Hard!
Joe Leland (Frank Sinatra) is a veteran New York detective investigating the gruesome death of a gay man. Although they get a confession from a suspect and Leland later gets a promotion for solving the case.
An investigation of a man who committed suicide suggests that the wrong man was convicted and executed.
Director Gordon Douglas has very much tried to keep the sprawling structure of the novel.
Leland's investigations brings him into contact with police and political corruption.
Then there is the disintegration of his marriage. The film has flashbacks as to how Leland met his wife Karen (Lee Remick) who has been having casual affairs.
There is a steely performance from Sinatra as basically a good and progressive cop. I could not help wondering that he looked too old even though Leland is a veteran cop.
There is an interesting scene where a black member of the detective team interrogates a suspect by stripping him naked. He states that is the same method used by the Nazis during the war. Another hint that police corruption and abuse was rampant.
The scenes with his wife gets in the way of the rest of the movie. The flashbacks with Leland courting Karen were not needed.
There is some casual homophobia even though for the time it was rather progressive. The footage of gay men hanging around inside the trailer of a truck looks rather amusing now.