Der Detektiv

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.

A surprisingly subversive film, detailing a "rainbow" of conspiracies that affect all aspects of urban sixties society. The homosexual "other," along with the mysogynistic undercurrent of testosterone-controlled society is played to powerfully ironic and symbolic effect, from the closeted bisexuality of the mysterious spouse of Jaqueline Bissett, to the triumphantly cynical reasoning of the lone "colored" Detective who strips his suspect as a paean to Nazi interrogation tactics ( many Nazis were avowed closeted homosexuals). The establishment is skewered for "not facing responsibility" as Det. Joe would say. Slums, inadequate housing, homophobia, the death penalty ( the last execution in New York had taken place five years prior to the movie's release), marital infidelity, mental illness, political patronage, police corruption, and establishment hypocrisy ( "rainbow"-- come on, how blatant!)are all taken on by the man with old-fashioned, starch-shirted integrity. Thank God for "The Detective."

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.

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.

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.