The Detective (1968) User Reviews

Very entertaining drama

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 13 September 2017]

I thought I was in for another Tony Rome when I rented The Detective: a silly, 1960s screwball detective comedy that made incessant sex jokes to celebrate the end of the Hays Code. Boy, was I wrong! The Detective is a very heavy drama, and while it absolutely takes advantage of the drop of the Hollywood censors, it does so very tastefully. There's nothing funny about this movie, and unlike many 60s movies, it's not dated.

Frank Sinatra plays the title character, and the plot alternates between his work life and his home life, showing his strain as he juggles being a detective with being a man. He falls into a whirlwind romance with beautiful Lee Remick, and the love scenes are steamy without being obscene, a combination that helps keep the movie classy.

The film discusses touchy issues like murder, the death penalty, homosexuality, nymphomania, and police confession tactics. Frank Sinatra gives a wonderfully conflicted performance; on one hand, he objects to using inhumane tactics on murder suspects, and on the other, he treats his wife disrespectfully when he comes home. "I came here to ball—ain't that what you do best?" he shouts during an argument. On the third hand, does she perhaps deserve this treatment? Watch The Detective to find out! It's entertaining and the acting is very good. I recommend it! DLM Warning: There's one scene where someone jumps from the top of a building and the camera spins out of control during the fall. It's about halfway through the movie, so keep on the lookout.

"The Detective": One Cut Above The Rest.

[sol1218 · 8/10 · 30 September 2003]

*****WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD***** Tough gritty crime drama with Frank Sinatra giving his best performance since his role in "The Manchurian Candidate" in 1962 as NYC detective Joe Leland. A cop with a consciences that turns out to be his own worst enemy.

Det. Leland is assigned to a case where the son of a major contributor and political king-maker in NYC was murdered in what is thought to be a crime of passion. It seems that Teddy Leikman, James Inman, was killed in his upper East-Side bachelor apartment by his gay roommate the night before and there's an all-out manhunt to catch the killer. The police check out places that Leikman usually went to like bars waterfront piers and gyms and come up with someone that was seen hanging out with Teddy most of the time a young street hustler named Felix Tesla, Tony Musante.

Tracked down to Coney Island in a boardwalk hotel Felix is apprehended and taken into the police station for questioning. A the police station Det. Leland's skillful interrogation of Felix gets him to break down and confess to Leikman's murder. Later convicted of murder and sentenced to death we see Felix strapped down in the electric chair and being executed. Det.Leland is one of the witnesses to Felix's execution.

Some time later a young woman Norma Maciver, Jacqueline Bisset, sees Det. Leland at the police station about the death of her husband Colin, William Windon. Colin was killed when he jumped or fell to his death from the roof of the grandstand of a racetrack and his death was determined by he police to be a suicide, Norma says that Colin was murdered and wants Det. Leland to re-open the case.

Det. Leland agrees to look into Colins death thinking that it would just be a routine matter for him to confirm the original police report and put the thoughts out of Norma's mind that her husband was murdered to rest once in for all. As Det. Leland begins to investigate Colin Maciver's death he starts to realize that he was wrong, shockingly wrong, about what happened to Colin Macvier! Even worse towards the end of the movie Det. Leland sees that in some way, in Colin Macivers suicide, he had a connection to his death that goes back to the Liekman/Tesla case that he solved some time ago!

A good and well rounder story with very good acting especially from Mr.Sinatra makes "The Detective" stand out today above the scores of crime and police movies made back in the 1960's and even much later. The film really hits the mark with a ground-breaking script about issues, like closet homosexually and police and political corruption, that just weren't addressed in motion pictures back then. there's also in the film a good supporting cast, with future stars, that's just too numerous to mention here.

Not to be overlooked is Llyod Bochner, Dr. Wendell Roberts, who in a small but important role reveals the truth about Norma's husbands, Colin Maciver's, tragic death that leaves Det. Joe Leland almost speechless! The shocking revelations that Dr. Roberts brings out has Let. Leland wonder if being a cop is worth all the dangers risks as well as surprises that the Teddy Leikman/Filex Tesla case eventually brought for him! And most of all it has Det. Leland also wonder if police work is what he's really cut out to do!

A liberal Dirty Harry

[midfieldgeneral · 7/10 · 14 September 2006]

Ol' Blue Eyes plays a tortured detective burdened with a liberal conscience, a cheating wife, and a bunch of time-servers and corrupt fascist bully-boys as colleagues in this interesting and complex character study. Joe Leland is an anomaly in his precinct - a career cop from a long line of cops who's read sociology, is tolerant of gays and minorities and compassionate towards the social detritus of the permissive society that litters the streets of New York City at the fag end of the 1960s. Inevitably, he runs up against complacent hierarchies and corrupt power elites, and along the way makes some deep compromises that cause him to question his role as a police officer. Sinatra paints an admirably restrained and nuanced portrait of a man deeply ambivalent about the kind of authority he represents. The film refuses to offer any easy answers to the social, sexual and political issues it raises, and steers well clear of the cartoon heroics of contemporaneous cop films like Bullit and Coogan's Bluff that also dabbled with the mores of the swinging 60s. The Detective was marketed as titillating and sensational 'adult' fare that exploited the recent demise of the Production Code to offer audiences a new frankness about an America in the throes of the sexual revolution. But beneath these rather opportunistic trappings it's a serious-minded exploration of the meaning of authority and deviance in a post-authoritarian age. While burdened with some now rather outdated representations of homosexuality (what plot there is revolves around the homophobic murder of a gay man), the film's heart is nevertheless in the right place. It's a kind of liberal precursor to the crypto-fascist and authoritarian Dirty Harry. That the heroes of both films reach the same final decision, but for very different reasons, is fascinating, especially given that Sinatra was himself due to play Harry Callahan in the later movie until fate - in the form of a broken wrist - intervened. I guess Joe Leland is Ying to Harry Callahan's Yang. Anyway, The Detective is certainly worth watching, not least as it represents one of Sinatra's last meaningful dramatic screen roles.

Unusual topics make this dated crime drama worth checking out.

[Poseidon-3 · 3 January 2005]

Made at a time when the cinema was exploring new freedoms in language, violence and sex, this is a somewhat tough character study which is tame now, but had to be pretty gritty then. Sinatra is the title cop, a man who bucks the system at times, but has an innate core of fairness. When a wealthy homosexual is found slain and mutilated, Sinatra and his partner Freeman set out to find the culprit. Meanwhile, Sinatra reflects on his troubled marriage to sophisticated, but oversexed Remick. He arrests thuggish Musante for the crime and wins a promotion for his trouble, but, soon after, a young woman (Bisset) comes forth with a case that may be tied into the original one. Sinatra gives an assured and believable performance, though it is jarring at first to hear him bandying about terms like "penis" and "queer", etc... Remick is attractive and effortlessly sophisticated as his wife who can't seem to keep her knickers on. The supporting cast is made up of great pros who offer a lot. Meeker is a jaded, slimy fellow detective. Klugman does well as a family man cop who helps Sinatra crack cases. Duvall is menacing as a hard-nosed and prejudicial policeman. Musante is so over-the-top it is unbelievable! His interrogation scene is a lesson in extremes (and helped sideline his US career for a while.) Bisset is lovely, as usual, but was shoehorned in (costumes and all!) at the eleventh hour for Sinatra's estranged wife Mia Farrow and the part doesn't fit her as well. She's meant to be a slightly boyish type and that's a tad easier to do on Farrow than it was on Bisset. Bochner is a little too cartoon-campy as a vaguely sinister psychiatrist. Though today's audience will likely find many things to pick apart with the story, it is nonetheless a fascinating glimpse into what Hollywood's depiction of gays was at the time. One unintentionally funny scene involves a dockside parking lot in which scores of gay men crowd into the back of cargo trucks and snuggle - fully clothed! There's also a groovy trip into a velvety gay bar. The film's chief flaws are its overuse of LENGTHY flashbacks and a hugely distracting habit of having Sinatra and Remick deliver lines directly into the camera, a big no-no except in comedies or quirky dramas. The flashbacks are necessary in order to flush out the romantic story, but they tend to be disjointed and overlong. The issue of speaking to the camera could have been easily solved by just having the actors act opposite each other. This was an experiment that just doesn't work. But the film has a fair share of interesting dialogue, situations and visual appeal. One amusing line has a forensic specialist telling Sinatra that the victim was a homosexual. Sinatra looks around the overdone apartment and says, "Looks like he was a leader!" Moss Mabry got quite a workout coming up with outfits for Remick, less so for Bisset.

Very Good, for it's time

[jmorrison-2 · 6/10 · 18 July 2002]

This is a surprisingly effective movie. I had never been a great fan of Frank Sinatra, but he is very good in the role of the ambitious, hard-bitten, but troubled Detective. The movie tackles some pretty unusual issues for those days, homosexuality and sexual dysfunction.

There is no question that the interrogation scene between Frank Sinatra's Detective, and Tony Musante's homosexual character was cringe-inducing ridiculous, and terribly stereotyped. I suppose, in those days, this was the best Hollywood could do. I give them credit for at least making the attempt.

Frank Sinatra plays a Detective who is given a sought-after promotion due to his coercion of a confession from a terribly guilt-ridden homosexual. Later, Frank fully realizes what he has done, and tries to set things right by re-investigating the case, and putting the right man behind bars. Frank shows some surprising range in portraying the moral ambiguities that run through this man. All this, while trying to hold the fragile sexual nature of his relationship with Lee Remick together.

This movie dealt with some pretty ugly homophobia, and adult sexual issues in ways not seen too often in 1968.

Robert Duvall had an early role as one of the squad Detectives.

So Much Potential for Story - Thrown Away

[MRavenwood · 6/10 · 5 September 2012]

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.

Welcome To The Party, Pal

[dolphinfish · 7/10 · 17 April 2019]

From a Roderick Thorp novel, this unusual and rarely seen movie from the late 60s tackled a touchy subject, the gay subculture of the time. Frank Sinatra is well cast as the tough, world weary detective investigating a murder in the gay community and under pressure to clear it up quickly and neatly. Edgy in its day, modern viewers may find the heavy, "there's another world we never see" overtones a little patronizing in an age like ours when gay culture is openly celebrated, but as a police procedural, it's a good one and Lee Remick as Frank's randy wife adds an interesting counterpoint to the goings-on in the gay world. As an aside, the Bruce Willis movie, Die Hard, is technically a sequel to this movie. Some years after it was made, Thorp took the Sinatra character, Joe Leland, and wrote another book around him called Nothing Lasts Forever, which is the basic Die Hard plot. By the time Hollywood finally got around to filming it, it was a completely different animal, right down to the lead character's name, which was now John McClain. Believe it or not, for contractual reasons, they had to offer the lead to Frank, who had the good sense to decline. Pity. Frank in a string vest might have been interesting!

Strong themes and acting save this otherwise messy film.

[FlatSixMan · 6/10 · 2 February 2010]

The Detective (1968); Directed by: Gordon Douglas; Starring: Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Jack Klugman, Jacqueline Bisset, Robert Duvall et al.

This relatively unknown film features an impressive cast and a score by Jerry Goldsmith, which were my main reasons for watching it. It has strong themes too though: homophobia, corruption and moral crisis. These are ingredients for a challenging drama, but sadly the film doesn't use them well.

The film has two parts, which are intertwined with some flashbacks. The first part features Joe Leland (Frank Sinatra) investigating the murder of a homosexual, the second part features him investigating a mysterious death and the flashbacks involve the relationship between Joe and his ex-wife. Thematically it's quite involving. Joe Leland is a no-nonsense cop who has to make some tough moral decisions. His colleagues have no respect for homosexuals and they even mistreat them, while Joe beliefs they deserve a fair treatment. In one scene, Nestor (Robert Duvall) is hitting a gay suspect and Joe must stop this, so he knocks Nestor to the ground. A brave thing to do when most of your colleagues act like Nestor does. Another conflict involves politics. Promotions depend on them and politicians care more for money than for solving crime and the bad conditions for those living on the streets. Joe believes in hard work though and he wants to make the city a better place. These aspects make for the central moral problem of the film. Joe gets a promotion because he solved the first case very quick, but doubts if he got the right person. Joe's doubt is shown really well in a scene which features Joe and some colleagues watching the suspect getting the electric chair, but Joe can't watch. The second part of the film focuses more on the corruption in the force and on a political conspiracy. Joe, with the help of Dave (another rare honest cop, played by Jack Klugman), finds out about this through Norma MacIver (Jacqueline Bisset) who suspects there's more to her husbands death than meets the eye. This interests Joe since it gives him the opportunity to show that he wants the police to be clean and honest. But when Joe starts digging, he learns some terrible truths from the death of Colin MacIver (William Windom) and what that means for himself. It appears MacIver's death and the death of the homosexual are linked together. This second part works really well story wise, in how it is linked to the first part; the two become one in story and theme. Finally, there's the love story between Joe and Karen (Lee Remick). While it's a tragic story and features some interesting problems, it fails to really fit in with the other parts of the film. Karen can't commit fully to Joe, since she can't stay away from other men, which Joe can't cope with and therefore they separate. This makes Joe a sad person, but it doesn't have a real importance to the overall plot and therefore feels more like a random side story. The only connection is that Karen's psychiatrist is connected somehow to the death of MacIver, but I think that connection is too weak.

The film is a bit of a mess though, which comes from the fact that it deals with different time periods and some rapid shifting between locations. Continuity is a major problem for the love story. It appears Joe and Karen met some time before the murder of the homosexual, but at some point the flashback seems to go into the timeframe of this murder and you loose track of where we are in time and it becomes confusing. This isn't helped by the bad use of locations: at some point we think we enter Karen's apartment, but a phone rings and Joe answers and it appears to be his apartment. This all makes it unnecessarily difficult to follow and to understand in what stage of their relationship we actually are, thus harming the emotional aspect. The transition between the two parts of the film is awkward too, since we suddenly jump forward for an unknown period of time, which made me feel somewhat lost in the film. I couldn't help but feel that with some more care from the writer or director, these problems could have been solved and the film would've felt more cohesive and the situations more emotionally involving.

Director Gordon Douglas went for an 'experimental' approach, but this doesn't work. For example: he shoots persons talking to each other, but lets them talk straight into the camera, which frankly doesn't add anything and works distracting. The opening shot features a New York street upside down, only to reveal that the camera is filming the streets' reflection in the car roof, which I found to be annoying, as were some bad back screen projections. The attempted style doesn't work properly and becomes distracting, making the film feel dated. The actors deliver good work though. Frank Sinatra delivers a strong performance, yet Lee Remick wasn't really special. The supporting cast is fine too, with a lovely Jacqueline Bisset, a strong Robert Duvall, a friendly Jack Klugman and Horace McMahon delivers a strong performance as the police captain. The portrayal of the homosexuals is quite over-the-top though, with Tony Musante being the most over-the-top as the psychotic suspect. The film is scored by Jerry Goldsmith, but I found it to be one of his weaker scores. It's a sad jazzy score, portraying the problems haunting Joe, but I didn't really like it. The underscore in scenes between Joe and Karen works the best and is quite pleasant, but overall it was slightly disappointing.

All in all, this is a film which dares to tackle a controversial subject, but is brought down by continuity problems and a failed attempt at innovative filming. The acting and the moral problems Joe is presented with make this film earn a positive rating though.

6/10.

Stands the test of time

[winstonfg · 9/10 · 13 December 2010]

Forty years on, it's all too easy to pick holes in the naïve depiction of gays in this movie. Given its otherwise honest and sometimes brutal portrayal, I'm quite sure it was dictated, at least in part, by what the producers thought could be shown without alienating the majority who might watch.

Aforementioned aside, this is a gritty, adult story of an intelligent, upright cop battling marriage problems and a sleazy murder, in addition to the bigots and small minds in his own department.

Frank Sinatra, in one of his best roles, plays the world-weary lead with deceptive ease, ably backed by a good script and fine supporting cast, including Lee Remick (one of my favourite actresses) as his soon-to-be ex-wife, battling problems of her own, dealt with in flashbacks (again, probably simplistically, but at least with some style and intelligence); and Lloyd Bochner as the doctor with the high-price clientele and secrets he'd rather not share. Not to mention an outstanding (and sadly forgotten) theme by Jerry Goldsmith.

Yes, it's very sixties, but it's *good* sixties; and in the best traditions of film noir too. All in all, it reminds me of a quote from Lee Remick herself: "I make movies for grownups. When Hollywood starts making them again, I'll start acting in them again".

Amen.

The Detective

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 22 June 2021]

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.

Primarily of Interest as a Portrait of 1960s American Homophobia

[gftbiloxi · 5/10 · 8 March 2008]

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

Big Town Corruption

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 16 May 2008]

In this film done one year before the Stonewall Riots we get a picture of corruption and homophobia in the NYPD. The Detective should be required viewing for those who want to know about the days before Stonewall when as a people we were subject to routine abuse and violence.

A nude man is found murdered in his apartment which usually spells one thing, a homicide with gay overtones. Such an occurrence allows the police to be more brutal than usual all in the pursuit of a killer.

Back in those days it's hard for people today to believe how bars that catered to gay people were the subject of random police raids, usually because the cops didn't get their payoffs. In those days just being in one of those places could constitute an arrest for disorderly conduct and if you touched a member of the same sex and not necessarily in a sexual way that could land you in jail for some time, unless you had the money to pay your way out.

A man's been killed and suspicion falls on a street punk played by Tony Musante. Frank Sinatra plays a cop who has a specialty in extracting confessions and he does it the hard way, without the rubber hose. Miranda was new at the time, so they can't beat it out of Musante as per normal. Musante confesses he gets convicted and he gets the still operative electric chair.

But right after Musante is killed, prominent citizen William Windom jumps to his death from the roof at Aqueduct racetrack. Sinatra is again the detective and connections are established with the two deaths. Sinatra's investigations are opening a lot of doors powerful folks just don't want opened. In this he has the support of Windom's widow Jacqueline Bisset.

Sinatra's dealing with some personal problems at the same time. His marriage is breaking up because it turns out his wife, Lee Remick is a nymphomaniac. Still it's the story of the two gay related deaths that dominate the film.

The Detective boasts one of Frank Sinatra's best latter film performances. Sinatra eschews the hipster mannerisms and delivers a straightforward performance as an honest Serpico like cop in the midst of big town corruption.

In the supporting cast I liked Ralph Meeker as a sleazy cop on the take who's quite willing to stop Sinatra any way he can. Also Jack Klugman as Frank's honest sidekick and Renee Taylor as his wife.

Forty years after The Detective came out who would have thought in 1968 that we would have something called the Gay Officers Action League among the police fraternal societies in New York and many other metropolitan police forces. Their organized presence in police departments have gone a long way in bringing a sensitivity and awareness for the GLBT community.

And this review is dedicated to two out police officers now retired from the job that I knew and worked with in New York City when I was at Crime Victims Board. To Detectives Vanessa Ferro and Mark Caruso who are the finest of the finest in New York and to all the other out gay law enforcement officials.

Magnificent thriller with top notch acting by main and support cast

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 21 May 2008]

This film is based on allegedly real deeds and adapted on novel by Roderick Thorpe and written credits by prestigious Abby Mann. It concerns about a N.Y. detective called Leland(Frank Sinatra) , he investigates the mutilation killing of a homosexual man. Leland encounters police and political corruption. Meanwhile, he has problems with his nymphomaniac spouse(Lee Remick).

This is a fine noir film blending drama, suspense, thrills and excellent performances. This film displays strong scenes with gritty description of homosexuality and police brutality included. Casting is frankly awesome, as main cast, Sinatra and Remick, as secondary support, Ralph Meeker, Jack Klugman, William Windom, Al Freeman, Robert Duvall, Jacqueline Bisset and special mention for Tony Musante as tortured homosexual. Splendid and atmospheric musical score by the master Jerry Goldsmith. Colorful and appropriate cinematography by Joseph Biroc. The motion picture is superbly constructed by Gordon Douglas. This is the best work of his long career as filmmaker. He was a Hollywood veteran director, directing early movies(Little rascals, Spanky), Western expert(Chuka,Rio Conchos, Yellowstone Kelly, Only the valiant), and worked for Frank Sinatra in various films(Lady in Cement, Tony Rome, Robin and the 7 Hoods). Rating : Better than average, this is a high-class adult entertainment and to be liked Frank Sinatra fans.

Ground breaking in its day, now outdated

[susansweb · 4/10 · 29 August 2002]

To me, this movie is Frank Sinatra trying to stay relevant with the ground breaking, challenging moviemaking that was going on in the late '60's. The film may have been shocking back then but with the mincing homosexuals, Sinatra's profane tough talk and Lee Remick as a nymphomaniac(!!!), at times the movie can be unintentionally comic. Throw in an incredible coincidence and you've got a movie that's OK to watch but not on the list of the great cop dramas. The good cast helps liven things up, Jack Klugman warming up for his Quincy days, Robert Duvall as a bigoted cop and Ralph Meeker as a corrupt cop are especially fun to watch. As for the principals, Sinatra is hard to believe as a lifer cop and Remick, with her big hair and mini-skirts, is hard to take seriously. Good time filler fare but if you're looking for a message look elsewhere.

old fashioned cop movie with decency

[Tinos · 4 June 2004]

An old fashioned, sometimes silly, but altogether decent and moral little film. The isolated accusation of homophobia present elsewhere in the list of reviews is not accurate. This assumption might be made from watching only the first few minutes of the film, when certain suspicions arise, but as the film develops those suspicions turn out to be quite ungrounded and in fact the Sinatra character openly defends gay characters from a homophobic cop, and so on.

Throughout this movie the hero has actual moral integrity and refuses to abandon it, most of the time, and if he does it is not glorified. This in itself makes it worth watching just the once, given the general state of other films in the genre.

Joe Leland - A decent cop on a murky landscape.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 2 January 2019]

The Detective is directed by Gordon Douglas and adapted to screenplay by Abby Mann from the novel written by Roderick Thorp. It stars Frank Sinatra, Lee Remick, Ralph Meeker, Jack Klugman, Horace MacMahon, Lloyd Bochner and Jacqueline Bissset. A Panavision/Deluxe Color production with photography by Joseph Biroc and music by Jerry Goldsmith.

When a homosexual man is found mutilated and murdered, top New York detective Joe Leland (Sinatra) identifies who he believes is the perpetrator and coerces a confessional out of him. With the suspect tried, convicted and executed it appears case closed. Yet as Leland's moral compass gets bent out of shape, he finds his life, the company he keeps, and the case itself are revealing distortions of life changing proportions.

Roderick Thorp would become a known name in the 80s when his novel "Nothing Lasts Forever" was adapted to screen as Die Hard. "The Detective" in written form is not as good as that novel is, so it's not surprising that screen writer Abby Mann took some liberties to smooth out the novel and produce a more serious and focussed narrative. There's no getting away from the "dated" tag that is bandied about for this picture, the attitudes to homosexuality and the policing of the era ensures that is a case. However, if you can accept the time the film was made then it's an engrossing character study that simultaneously lifts up rocks to find corruption and brutality underneath.

Pic is boosted by a superb cast, where along with the big name headliners we find the likes of Robert Duval and Tom Atkins in support. But it is Sinatra holding court, he is nicely restrained, not making Leland a caricature who is given over to histrionics. Leland's cynicism and romantic turmoil is essayed superbly by Sinatra, so much so you easily buy into his conflict of interests. Remick also shines, some of her best work is here playing a frustratingly complex love interest. Both actors benefit from being under the watchful eye of a good old pro like Gordon Douglas.

The story holds strong as a mystery due to having another case for Leland to solve, where sure enough it links to the first case that opens up a can of worms across the board. The social climate being exposed here in New York is not pleasant, but always it's fascinating, as is the back and forth examination of Leland's personal life. It's arguably a film of awkward blends? part hardboiled policer, part tender character study of a man at odds with not only those around him, but also of a society changing rapidly. Yet it definitely works on both of those terms and therefore comes very much recommended. 7/10

A daring but worthy cop thriller.

[alexanderdavies-99382 · 7/10 · 19 June 2017]

"The Detective" was a daring film for the times - it begs the question: how many mainstream films were there that included any gay characters? Not many at all. "The Detective" pushed the envelope in that sense and proves to be a successful attempt in presenting characters that could be described as being "underdogs." Frank Sinatra is very good as the New York police officer who is on the case of a murdered homosexual whose body is discovered in his apartment. Respected character actor William Windom is on hand to deliver one of his finest performances. Jack Klugman, Robert Duvall and Lloyd Bochner provide excellent support. There are a few twists and turns along the way and the explanation given at the end, ties up the film very well. This film deserves a much higher rating than a 6.5 - some people don't know what they are missing!

Frank Gets His Man...in the 60s.

[JLRMovieReviews · 7/10 · 28 March 2009]

I really didn't know what to expect from this film, except that Frank is going to be a detective and probably tough, with lots of girls around him. What I got was an intelligent and realistic look at the police dept. in the 60s probing into society's sexual differences in the death of a homosexual. It has a great cast, including Lee Remick, who's always great and who seems to be attracted to movies of this ilk, like Experiment in Terror and No Way to Treat a Lady. It makes good use of time and place, and its use of flashbacks comes off surprisingly well, to portray the courtship of Frank and Lee, which you don't expect in a movie with a violent subplot in it. (But which is the subplot?) But I did appreciate its time in telling his own personal life, rather than just centering on his case. And, he's not surrounded by girls. So, if you're looking for something flashy like Dean Martin's Matt Helm, this isn't for you. It's better; it's a mature film with real life consequences. (But, yes, there is a murder to solve and Frank does it in 60s style.)

Well-acted but Dated,Depressing Crime Drama

[BJJManchester · 6/10 · 8 April 2010]

When it was first released in 1968,THE DETECTIVE was very daring in it's use of 'adult' themes such as homosexuality,nymphomania and questionable police practices,but time has taken it's toll and it has inevitably since been well outclassed in the particular above fields,further weakened by a welter of sub-plots (not helped by somewhat confusing flashbacks),and unconvincing,over-emphatic production values.

By-the-book cop Joe Leland (Frank Sinatra) investigates the murder of a young gay man of a well-to-do family,while also trying to negotiate his way through police and local authority corruption,and having difficulties with his disturbed,nymphomaniac wife (Lee Remick) whose life has been marred by a rootless,unhappy childhood through the foster care system.Leland apparently finds the gay killer (Tony Musante), and observes his execution shortly afterwards, but a young widow (Jacqueline Bisset) of a wealthy businessman (William Windom) provides evidence that suggests to Leland that the case is not all as it seems.

To be fair to THE DETECTIVE,it was breaking new ground at the time in it's storyline and subject matter in mainstream US film-making.And the acting involved is consistently pretty good.Sinatra is fine as a cynical,world-weary cop who has been there and seen it all,but still possesses a distinct moral integrity,whether it be fury at the often violent,bigoted attitudes of his colleagues,anger at local authority financial corruption at the expense of those who live in 'garbage cans',or heartbreak at the sexually loose behaviour of his wife Remick,leading to the destruction of his marriage.Ms Remick herself is also excellent in her relatively underwritten role,making us feel sympathy for the tragic,rather pathetic events in childhood that led to such severe adult psychological torments.Other performers like Jack Klugman,a similarly liberal-inclined colleague of Frank's,and Robert Duvall,as a wrathful,boorish associate,are perfectly adequate,but are all eventually affected by the sheer excess of heated characters and melodrama which seriously teeter on the edge of unintended farce.

The slow,methodical pace engendered by Gordon Douglas,along with Sinatra's admirable underplaying, just about curtails the film from going into over-the-top stupidity,but it's a close run thing,with rampantly stereotyped homosexuals,garishly decorated gay bars,and an overly strident performance by Tony Musante as the thuggish would-be gay killer which showed that US film-making had a long way to go in portraying homosexuality in a more realistic and compassionate light.The naivety and and ham-fistedness in THE DETECTIVE regarding these matters is quite something to see nowadays,though of course what was realistic and daring 40 years ago shows what has been learned by us all since then.Douglas' other traits of direction have also badly dated (like full on close-ups of characters' in conversation), but what really drags the film down is the almost total lack of any humorous relief.Actors like Sinatra,Klugman,Remick et al are capable comic actors when given the chance,but the solemn,portentous,po-faced script gives them no opportunities whatsoever,which is a shame as shards of humour may have enhanced the drama involved and not made it come across as excessively melodramatic.

THE DETECTIVE now seems an mildly interesting period piece,made at a time just before US movies became more permissive with the use of profanity and depictions of sexual acts and graphic violence.It may have actually benefited from being made several years later with such freedoms;as it is,THE DETECTIVE now seems oddly repressed,ingenuous,slick and unrealistic,saved just about by some decent,persuasive performances at it's centre.

RATING:6 out of 10.

corrupt cops

[RanchoTuVu · 8/10 · 24 July 2004]

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.

'tec's appeal

[Lejink · 6/10 · 3 July 2013]

Dated by its handling of the formerly taboo subject of homosexuality and further hampered by an overly sober script, nevertheless this Frank Sinatra neo-noir has a lot to commend itself.

Adapted from a popular novel of the day by Abby Mann in a pre-Kojak assignment, it's difficult not to see Sinatra's Joe Leeming's battle-weary, incorruptible cop as a precursor to Mann's most famous invented character from the next decade. The plot too could have come from the TV show albeit with the utilisation of more adult themes, including the character of Sinatra's nymphomaniac wife (Lee Remick), the graphic depiction of the opening murder and execution of an innocent suspect, egged onto a false confession by a promotion-hungry Sinatra.

This is one of the problems of the script, with Sinatra set up from the start as a down-to-earth workaday detective but with a social conscience of course. So Frank gets to soapbox a lot about the ghetto and poverty on the one hand and corruption and cover-ups in high places on the other. Sinatra manfully tries to carry off this heavy load on his own, but can't help but look awkward when cajoling the damning confession from his suspect or as if he's memorised some of his equally damning speeches against the powers that be. Credit him for taking on a modernist role at odds, I'd have said, with his family-entertainer background.

There are a lot of big names in support, with Robert Duvall noteworthy as an over-zealous underling and Jack Klugman as Sinatra's trusted deputy. Sugar Ray Robinson has a fair old fight with his lines as an over-impressionable black colleague of Sinatra's, but I'm not sure I could award him the decision in the final reckoning.

Smoothly and occasionally stylishly directed by Gordon Jenkins, the film is nonetheless stuck in a time-warp of its own creation and suffers accordingly, notwithstanding it generally has its heart in the right place.

Serpico before "Serpico" (not nearly as good though)

[movieman_kev · 4/10 · 9 April 2007]

Frank Sinatra plays Detective Joe Leland, a cop whose dislike of the corruption he sees in the force will come to a head while he investigates the death of the homosexual son of a prominent political person. Lee Remick is Karen, Joe's 'nympomaniac'love interest. One would hope that the Roderick Thorp book that this film is based on is much better than this turned out to be as the fact that the book is a direct prequel to the one that was made into the best action movie from the '80's ever made "Die Hard", which was a deciding factor for me to search this one out. Anyone who's looking for any connection other then that of the two films is oh so sadly mistaken.

Much has been said of the 'homophobic' attitudes in this film, but the truth of the matter this is positively liberal in it's design. For every instance of that 'homophobia' you have Sinatra distancing himself from that mentality. Furthermore his character constantly rails against the housing that he sees that minorities are 'forced' to live in, police corruption, and other progressive causes. You even have one certain cop using literal Gestapo tactics. Now overlooking the liberally-slanted feel of the film and getting into the acting. Lee Remick just didn't seem to have any of the required chemistry with Sinatra, which is a huge detriment to the film as their relationship was the paramount one that the film choose to hinge on. Also the film is totally bereft of humor of any kind, given it an arid feel, which would have been fine if the subject matter was compelling enough to warrant such an approach, it wasn't. What we're left with is a not particularly well-acted 'mature' version of any generic cop show that were rife in the decade that it was made in.

My Grade: D+

Surprisingly adult and candid....and way ahead of its time.

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 20 March 2011]

Only moments after this film began, I knew this was NOT your typical 1960s film! The film begins with a naked dead man being examined by detectives. Apparently he'd been murdered--and viciously so. I'd talk about that further, but IMDb has limits on the sort of words you are allowed to use in reviews--really. I read from one of the other reviews that this film was X-rated. While by today's standards it might only be rated PG-13, it still is pretty intense stuff. Additionally, the recurring theme of homosexuality make this a very interesting film-- its candor is shocking for 1968 but I appreciated it.

The detective investigating the crime is played by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra is odd in that although he's a very good cop he's also stuck with a liberal conscience--and his conscience troubles him throughout the film. What also bothers him is that although he's extremely effective on his job, other cops seem willing to do almost anything to rack up the same arrest and conviction statistics as Sinatra--and he soon gets sick of this. His disgust, however, is a lot to get a lot worse--when a case involving corruption in his department and in the city drops into his lap.

I really liked this film. Much of it was because although it was very adult, it never really seemed gratuitous. It also brought up a lot of wonderful moral questions about being a cop--and clearly was the influence for such later films as "McQ", "Dirty Harry" and "Serpico" (though this last one is based on a real case). Well worth seeing-- and an excellent performance by Sinatra. In fact, it's all so good that I am shocked that its overall IMDb score is less than 7. This film is anything but ordinary.

By the way, this film is very blunt and crude on occasions when it talks about homosexuals--and is sure to offend some. However, despite this, it's a very progressive film for its time and actually is quite sympathetic in how it deals with the subject....sympathetic and sad.

He's the best detective in New York

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 27 February 2015]

There's no doubt that Frank Sinatra could act. With all his money and popularity as a singer, his political and other connections and interests, he just didn't seem to want to work too hard at it. So, his film portfolio includes just a few very good roles and movies – "From Here to Eternity," "The Manchurian Candidate," and this one, "The Detective." As a movie, it's not on the level of the other two; but Frank's role as Detective Joe Leland is on a par with his Private Angelo Maggio and Major Bennett Marco.

This film was set in a time when police corruption, crooked cops and police brutality were at their peak in some of America's largest cities. Other movies would follow with these themes, and publicity grew as cities grappled with cleaning up the police forces and corrupt city administrations. Some later movies delve deeply into the feuding and infighting that developed between good and bad cops. The 1973 film, "Serpico" heads the list of great movies about exposing police and city corruption and cleaning up the forces.

But, before then we have "The Detective," and Frank Sinatra's very good role of an honest and conscientious cop. This film covers crooked cops, police brutality, gay-bashing, infidelity, suicide, fraud, murder, mutilation and more. Other reviewers have noted that it provides a picture of the gay scene in the Big Apple at the time, and the general climate and treatment of gays by the police.

The plot has some nice intrigue, but also some confusing pieces where the audience is left out of some connections. Perhaps those were left on the cutting floor in the film editing. Otherwise the story isn't particularly engaging. Mostly, we in the audience are meant to have some empathy for Joe in his struggles to be an honest cop. The rest of the cast all put in very good performances as well. Jack Klugman is an honest friend, Dave Schoenstein – the only one Joe can trust in the department. Ralph Meeker does the crooked copy very well as Curran. Lee Remick is OK as Joe's ex-wife, Karen; and a young Robert Duvall gives a great performance as the brutal cop, Nestor.

At one point early in the film, a reporter is trying to get some information from Leland. The reporter says that he heard that Leland is the best detective in New York. He certainly was the best detective in this film. Overall, this is a good mystery and detective story. It's based a 1966 novel by the same title, written by Roderick Thorp.

Hard Guy Sinatra

[zsenorsock · 5/10 · 28 May 2007]

Once again, Frank Sinatra takes a chance with subject matter that pushes the envelope. He's tough though it seems he kind of walks through it a bit as the detective trying to solve the case of a murdered homosexual. At the time voice-over narrative was probably considered too "old fashioned" to use, but I really think it would have helped this film.

Still, I always enjoy seeing Frank the tough guy and he gets lots of support from a gregarious Jack Klugman and the unspeakably beautiful Lee Remick. Jaqueline Bisset is also in the mix as a woman who suspects her husband (William Windom) did not kill himself, but was murdered.

"Rockford Files" fans might appreciate one scene where Frank goes to talk to the press about the case of a accidental shooting by one officer (Tom Atkins). Among the reporters is Joe Santos, who played Sgt. Becker on "Rockford Files". Beckers boss was...Tom Atkins as Lt. Diehl.