The Detective (1968)

As I neared the big 5,000 in terms of movies watched (at least according to my admittedly-crapola memory and IMDb), for some odd reason, I thought of Frank Sinatra, whose films I had seen quite a few of recently, and I decided to check out the private-eye films he made in the 60's, when his superstar status, both in terms of acting and performing, began to wane, as tastes changed in that tumultuous decade.

Apart from 'Them!', 'In Like Flint' and a truckload of Our Gang comedic shorts from way back when, I hadn't seen any of director Douglas' works, though he's fine with the material and does quite a good, if craftmanlike, job here. Sinatra must have been comfortable with him--they worked together earlier in films as diverse as Doris Day's 'So This Is Love' and the Rat Pack's 'Robin and the 7 Hoods'. I loved how he was obviously fascinated with Lee Remick's eyes and really took advantage of Panavision's 2.35:1 aspect ratio to show how captivated she was with Sinatra's Joe Leland and therefore couldn't dismiss him entirely from her life.

It struck me, after recently seeing films from just a few years before, like 'The Manchurian Candidate' and 'Some Came Running', how Sinatra's party days were starting here to catch up with him, but his work here was solid, and I would heartily recommend it, both for fans of his work and of detective tales from the period in general. I now look forward to others he did in the era (also for Douglas): 'Tony Rome' and its sequel, 'Lady in Cement'.

Odd that he wanted his wife-at-the-time, Mia Farrow, to play the part that eventually went to Jacqueline Bisset, that she refused (the film she was working on was behind schedule), so he went to the set of 'Rosemary's Baby' and served her divorce papers! Ouch!

Joe Leland - A decent cop on a murky landscape.

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