An honest cop gets caught up in a web of corruption as he investigates the murder of a prominent gay socialite. Frank Sinatra plays Detective Joe Leland, a beacon of decency and stability in his own unhinged world. His wife (Lee Remick) is practically a nymphomaniac, unable to control her sexual appetite, while his fellow detectives (Ralph Meeker and Robert Duvall) are involved in a widespread real estate corruption scandal known as Rainbow. The investigation of the murder takes place after the prime suspect is wrongly executed for the crime, and leads into the underground New York homosexual world of the late 60's, with some fascinating scenes shot at one of the bars, with a few faces that have been seen in other films, and a surreal atmosphere. Some have called this gay-bashing, though it seems more to be a portrayal of the secretive and closeted world of that time. In any event, the threat of being outed is an essential part of the story, and that element is quite dramatic and well done, with William Windom quite believable as the closeted and married gay man at the center of Rainbow. A tough movie of a detective caught up in a weird world of public corruption and personal crisis, catch it if you can.
Review of The Detective
