Scott LeBrun Frank Sinatra is Detective Joe Leland, a weary but honest, principled man who ultimately must deal with big time corruption and big time ignorance. He is assigned the case of murder victim Teddy Leikman (James Inman), the homosexual son of one of NYC's movers and shakers. Soon enough, he's working another case, that of a successful accountant, Colin MacIver (William Windom) who fell to his death at a racetrack.We in the audience suspect that these two cases are going to be connected somehow, yet we still are riveted as we watch Joe work the clues. Meanwhile, the film also functions as a moody character study, as Joe is shown in his work environment and must deal with a frustrated young wife, Karen (a radiant Lee Remick) who has a hard time remaining faithful.Frank does well in the lead role, and gives us a multi layered portrayal of a man who must deal with very bigoted colleagues who feel nothing but contempt and hatred towards gays. He feels the pressure of having to come up with results, and wonders if he hasn't fallen victim to whatever prejudices he may be harbouring."The Detective" is filmed in very competent if not stylish fashion by director Gordon Douglas ("Them!"), and has the benefit of being shot in the Panavision aspect ratio. So it always looks good. The extremely strong supporting cast helps matters a lot: Ralph Meeker, Jack Klugman, Al Freeman Jr., and Robert Duvall as Joes' fellow detectives, Horace McMahon as his superior, a memorable Tony Musante as an agitated suspect, Lloyd Bochner as a psychiatrist, and the lovely ladies Ms. Remick and Jacqueline Bisset (as the accountants' widow). A baby faced Tom Atkins makes his screen debut as a patrolman whose peers read him the riot act for an impulsive action. Look also for George Plimpton and Joe Santos among the reporters.In its time, this would have been a fairly daring examination of homophobia, whatever problems it may cause, and the victims it may create.Based on a novel by Roderick Thorp, who'd also penned "Nothing Lasts Forever", the basis for the action classic "Die Hard".Eight out of 10.

MRavenwood Part of the Film Noir genre is the romance angle with a powerful female lead. This neo-noir fails on that point offering a watered down, trifling character portrayed by a non-threatening Lee Remick, whose eyes the director seems obsessed with capturing long expressionless shots of. Sinatra's acting is fine, but the film technique... I can't explain how it makes him seem uncool, and the character of Leland is extremely cool and wildly open-minded for the time. Trouble is, they go very far out of their way to make him seem at once overly modern, and decidedly anchored in his values. Doesn't work. I didn't care for the camera work at all. A brilliant performance by Tony Musante as the basket-case ex-lover of the murdered gay man in the opening sequence is dminished by not properly photographing it. Great story and plot. Very sadly executed in a "message over story" way.

mike dewey Admittedly, not on anyone's list of the greatest all time crime dramas, but I'll take it any time for its down-to-earth, no-holds-barred approach to fighting crime in the Big Apple of the late 60's. No Academy Awards will be doled out for this offering, but who cares!? Frank S. more than holds his own as a tough on the exterior but a warm on the interior policeman who has to walk the metaphorical tightrope in his day-to-day dealings with criminals, political hot-shots, departmental bureaucracy, fellow officers, etc. The story is rife with allusions to societal issues that were coming to the forefront in that time period: Gay rights, Civil rights, Police brutality, Sexual liberation, to name a few. Lee Remick shines superbly in her role as Frank's estranged wife, who has her own set of personal issues to deal with.The main plot thread of a wealthy man's son's murder potentially tied in with a prominent businessman's apparent suicide gives us a more than ample vehicle for a steady and interesting story line. The bantering between Frank's character and his fellow officers adds even more fuel to the goings-on here, especially concerning Robert Duvall's & Ralph Meeker's roles. Jackie Bisset has a more limited, yet very effective role as the deceased businessman's wife, and she carries it forward in an unobtrusive yet poignant manner. Lastly, I knew I was going to like the film when Jerry Goldsmith's introductory theme with the Bluesy, brassy New York sound hit my eardrums and literally set the tone for this fine production!

gftbiloxi Based on the 1966 novel by Roderick Thorp, THE DETECTIVE was among the highest grossing films of both 1968 and one of the most popular of Frank Sinatra's film career. At the time it was considered remarkably honest in its portrait of a no-nonsense cop who finds himself trapped between a series of compromises and his own sense of integrity. Today, however, it chiefly notable for its unintentional window onto 1960s homophobia.Joe Leland (Frank Sinatra) is a third generation New York City police officer who begins the film with two victories: in his private life, he has wooed and won a remarkably beautiful wife, Karen (Lee Remick); in his professional life, he is assigned to a particularly notorious murder case that he quickly solves and which results in a major promotion. But both explode in his face in particularly unsavory ways. Although flawless on the surface, Karen is a distinctly disturbed woman who shatters their marriage through a series of compulsive affairs. And although it seems solved, the case on which Joe's promotion rests may not be nearly as simple as every one thought at the time.The case involves the brutal murder of a gay man who is found with his head battered in and sexually mutilated--a circumstance that leads Joe and his co-workers to prowl 'known homosexual hangouts' such as gyms and the waterfront. In the process, the film creates a portrait of the gay community that says considerably less about the gay community than the way in which heterosexual America thought of it at the time. The gay men themselves are improbable, being pulled out of group gropes from the back of cargo trucks, flexing muscles in tawny-colored gyms, frequenting bars notable for satin and velvet, and lounging about in silk robes. They come in two basic varieties, victim and predator. They are weak and are routinely brutalized by both each other and the police, the latter of which positively delight in knocking them around.This is not particularly unusual for films of the 1960s and the 1970s; it is much the same portrait presented by such diverse films as ADVISE AND CONSENT and CRUISING. What is unusual is Joe's attitude toward them: unlike his co-workers, he dislikes seeing them mistreated and prefers to see them (and indeed all other suspects) accorded a certain basic respect as human beings. It was a very, very bold stance for a film to take at the time. Even so, it does not counterbalance the portrait itself, which is intrinsically demeaning, or the story, which ultimately pivots on a version of "gay panic"--a heterosexual myth used here with a slight spin.The chief grace of the film is the performances of Sinatra and Remick. Today Sinatra is best recalled as a singer, but he had some significant acting chops, and he proves more than able to over the shortcomings of the script. Lee Remick, a much-admired actress, is flawlessly cast as the perfidious wife Karen, a woman who superficial qualities conceal an unraveling personality. The supporting cast, which features Jacqueline Bissett, Jack Klugman, and Robert Duvall, is also quite fine. But the script is weak, the story choppy, the film is a shade too glossy for its subject--and its incredibly naive portrait of gay men tends to overpower everything.All films must be considered in the context of their eras, but even so a good film can transcend its era. THE DETECTIVE doesn't manage to do that: sometimes ridiculous to the point of being amusing, sometimes so grotesque that it becomes a bit embarrassing. All the same, it remains interesting primarily because it offers a window on what mainstream Americans of the 1960s thought homosexuals were like. The DVD offers the film in original widescreen format; the transfer, however, is merely acceptable. Recommended primarily to Sinatra fans and film historians interested in Hollywood's frequently off-the-wall portray of gay men.GFT, Amazon Reviewer