The Detective (1968)

Police detective Joe Leland investigates the murder of a homosexual man. While investigating, he discovers links to official corruption in New York City in this drama that delves into a ... See full summary »

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

Abby Mann (screenplay), Roderick Thorp (novel)

Stars:

Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Ralph Meeker

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Frank Sinatra	...	Joe Leland
Lee Remick	...	Karen
Ralph Meeker	...	Curran
Jack Klugman	...	Dave Schoenstein
Horace McMahon	...	Farrell
Lloyd Bochner	...	Dr. Roberts
William Windom	...	Colin MacIver
Tony Musante	...	Felix
Al Freeman Jr.	...	Robbie
Robert Duvall	...	Nestor
Pat Henry	...	Mercidis
Patrick McVey	...	Tanner
Dixie Marquis	...	Carol Linjack
Sugar Ray Robinson	...	Kelly
Renée Taylor	...	Rachael Schoenstein

Storyline

Police detective Joe Leland investigates the murder of a homosexual man. While investigating, he discovers links to official corruption in New York City in this drama that delves into a world of sex and drugs.

---

Plot Keywords:

new york city | homosexual | detective | neo noir | gay bar | 

---

Taglines:

No cop...no man is so clean that he won't find something of himself in the dirt, perversion and violence of the city. (Australian poster)

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 May 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Detektiv

Filming Locations:

Stage 22, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arcola Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Frank Sinatra plays Detective Joe Leland from the novel (The Detective) by Roderick Thorp. Thorp wrote a sequel (Nothing Lasts Forever) where Leland is trapped in a Claxxon Oil Corporation skyscraper after it's taken by German terrorists and must rescue his daughter and grandchildren. Twenty years later the novel was filmed with some changes: the daughter became his wife, Claxxon became the Nakatomi Corporation and Joe Leland's name was changed to John McClane. The film was released under the title Die Hard. Because of a clause in Sinatra's contract for "The Detective" which gave him the right to reprise his role in a sequel, he was actually the first person offered the McClane role, even though he was 73 years old at the time. Also, coincidentally, Bruce Willis (who played McClane) made his movie debut in The First Deadly Sin walking out of a bar as Sinatra walks into it.

---

Goofs

Leland is searching Dr Robert's office when the doctor walks in. A few minutes later, they're in the doctor's house on the beach.

---

Connections

Referenced in Naked Angels (1969)

---

Soundtracks

"Again"
(uncredited)
Music by Lionel Newman
Played at the bar when Joe runs into Karen
Also played at the restaurant when Karen runs into Joe and Norma

User Reviews

Primarily of Interest as a Portrait of 1960s American Homophobia

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