Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Tweekums Sergeant Joe Leland is a tough New York homicide detective with an impressive clean up rate and a reputation for rubbing the wrong people the wrong way. His latest case involves the murder of a homosexual man who had been left naked and mutilated in his apartment. He is under pressure for a quick result as he is told his promotion will be virtually guaranteed if he solves the case quickly. He is unimpressed by the way fellow officers treat members of the gay community and it isn't long before his more softly-softly approach gains a confession… even though he isn't certain of his guilt. The man is convicted and executed and newly promoted Lt Leland moves on with his life. Then a woman comes into his station asking him to reopen the investigation of her husband's death; it was judged a suicide but she is sure he would never have killed himself. As he investigates he discovers that the man had been helping some very powerful people get rich at the expense of some of the city's most needy people; something that puts him in danger and would certainly provide a motive for murder. The actual story behind the man's death is actually more shocking and forces Joe to examine his future on the force. Intertwined with these mysteries we see, partially through flashbacks, how Joe met and eventually became estranged from his wife.When I started watching this film I expected something fairly light, perhaps because it was in a triple pack with the two 'Tony Rome' films, but it is surprisingly gritty for a film of its time. The film highlights the attitudes towards homosexuality at the time and, through our protagonist's attitudes, shows that the film makers did not agree with such attitudes. The police are shown to behave in a shocking manner… at one point a suspect is questioned while naked as an upcoming detective saw a documentary showing the Nazis using the technique! The cases were interesting but the way they were linked came as a bit of a surprise and was ultimately a bit forced. Frank Sinatra was on great form as Joe Leland and the rest of the cast, which includes plenty of familiar actors, does an impressive job too. Overall I'd certainly recommend this; there is some material that modern viewers may find offensive but this is clearly shown as a bad thing rather than something viewers should accept as okay.

arfdawg-1 The Plot 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.Please do yourself a favor and ignore or better yet -- vote down as useful -- the BKOGANBING review which uses the process here to forward the gay agenda.This movie is a good movie and have nothing to do with the gay agenda. Aren't we tired of people politicizing everything?The guy who directed this was a gag writer for Hal Roach and directed a couple laurel & Hardy movies as well as some little rascal films.Here's a goof - there's a scene where a guy supposedly jumps off the rook at Aqueduct Race Track. Only the sigh says Garden State Race tack which means it was filmed in NJ!

LeonLouisRicci Goodbye and Good Riddance to the Production Code that had Censored Hollywood for Decades. It was the Birth of Freedom for Filmmakers and Birth is always Painful. This can be Witnessed by this New Approach, Uneasy at times, of on screen Displays of Subjects and Characters that during the Hays Era were only Hinted at with Code Words or Symbolism.This Film so Embraced the New Esthetic that it could be Accused of Trying too Hard, or at least Taking on too Many Themes in a Single Film. "The Detective" includes Homosexuality, Homophobia, Nymphomania, Drugs, Police Brutality, Police and Political Corruption.Frank Sinatra was a Complicated Cat. He Prided Himself on Individualism and Liberal Leanings. He was Socially Conscious and a Political Participant. He had Excelled in Cutting Edge Films like The Manchurian Candidate (1962), The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and the Low-Budget Sleeper Suddenly (1954).Here He is Well Cast as an Aging Police Detective who has to Fight more than just Crime. He's got all He can Handle on the Job as well as a Personal Life and Wife that is Psychologically Damaged.This is a Daring and Brutal Film that Explores the Gay Underworld. It might seem Dated and Over the Top as it Deals with the Homosexual Community but it Manages to keep its Tolerance Level on the Right Side. There is just so much here that is on the Edge in its Exposing the Underbelly of not only the Counter Culture but the Corrupt Ruling Class Culture. Overall, it is a Compelling Example of the Emerging Zeitgeist and a Good Example of the Beginning of the New Hollywood. It has some Style and is a Must See for Film Historians and Sociologist as well as Movie Buffs that Enjoy Hard-Boiled Detective Films.

bkoganbing 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.