Better Late Then Never

Am I Missing Something?

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Asked to investigate the mutilation and murder of a homosexual man, a hardened police detective becomes increasingly disenchanted with the way his bureau is handling the case and their interrogation of gay suspects in this crime drama starring Frank Sinatra. Some of the actors playing gay men are a little over-the-top here, but in general, the frankness and openness with which the film treats homosexuality is nicely unexpected for a 1960s movie. There is an especially memorable scene in which Sinatra slugs a fellow officer for bragging about using German concentration camp techniques to unsettle one gay suspect. The film is needlessly complicated, however, by an awkward structure in which Sinatra's memories of how he met his wife are blended into the story. It also takes quite a while for the vastly different cases that Sinatra is investigating in the first and final thirds of the movie to overlap. The denouement is highly memorable though once the connections become clear. The final third of the movie is a little sad too as it exposes just how much of a taboo homosexuality was half a century ago. More focus on Sinatra's cases rather than Sinatra himself may have worked better here though; solid as Lee Remick may be as Sinatra's wife, their rocky marriage comes off as an unwelcome distraction from the film's unflinching look at how hard it was to be gay in the 1960s.

"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!

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.

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.)