The Detective is a 1968 film directed by Gordon Douglas, produced by Aaron Rosenberg and starring Frank Sinatra, based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Roderick Thorp.
The Detective marked a move towards — and was billed as — a more "adult" approach to depicting the life and work of a police detective whilst confronting, for one of the first times in mainstream cinema, hitherto taboo subjects such as homosexuality. Here, the detective in question is Joe Leland, who is trying to juggle marital issues with a murder case that seemed to be open-and-shut at first, but runs much deeper than he could have imagined.
The Detective was Sinatra's fourth collaboration with director Douglas, having worked together on Tony Rome (1967), Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) and some years prior on Young at Heart (1954). Their final film together would be a sequel to Tony Rome, 1968's Lady in Cement.
Plot
Detective Joe Leland is called to the home of a murder victim who has been beaten to death and has had his genitals removed. Puzzled and disgusted, the police on call are left bemused, Leland holding things together with his direct, no-nonsense approach.
Few leads are found, other than the fact that a house-mate of the victim remains conspicuous by his absence, all the while notions about the victim's sexuality and personal interests soon warp the ideals of the officers assigned to the task. Leland tries to remain focused on the case whilst, at the same time, struggling after the break-down of his marriage to wife Karen.
The trail soon points Leland towards a local gym and one Felix Tesla, the victim's house-mate, who is soon tracked down by Leland and his partner. Held for questioning, Tesla gives nothing away until Leland's gentler approach coaxes a confession out of him, which results in a promotion for Leland and the electric chair for Tesla.
Meanwhile, across town, a man kills himself by jumping from the top of a race-track. The case goes unnoticed until the wife of the dead man, Norma McIver, starts asking questions. Leland wonders if the man's death is linked to the previous murder, now questioning whether Tesla was the wrong man and the confession gotten out of fear borne out of his state of mind, not guilt.
As Leland delves deeper, he soon finds that both the suicide and murder are linked in several ways.
Casting
Sinatra originally planned to have his wife Mia Farrow cast as Norma McIver, a role that was eventually taken by Jacqueline Bisset after Farrow was kept over-schedule whilst filming Rosemary's Baby. This, much to Sinatra's chagrin, who filed divorce papers to Farrow on set putting an end to their short-lived romance.[1]
The film itself was cast strongly on the whole, with key roles being filled by character actors of some repute, such as Jack Klugman, Ralph Meeker, Lee Remick and Robert Duvall who, along with co-star Bisset, would next appear in another detective drama, Bullit, which starred Steve McQueen.
Release and critical reception
Released on May 28 1968 The Detective was a box office success, becoming the 20th highest earning film of the year with $6.5 million taken in box office rentals. Critical reception was mostly good whilst Sinatra delivered one of his most intense and dedicated acting performances.
Roderick Thorp later wrote a sequel to The Detective called Nothing Lasts Forever, in which Leland is trapped in a Klaxon Oil Corporation skyscraper after it's taken by German terrorists and must rescue his daughter and grandchildren. Twenty years later the novel was filmed with some changes: the daughter became his wife, Klaxon became the Nakatomi Corporation and Joe Leland's name was changed to John McClane. The film was released under the title Die Hard (1988) by the same studio as this film (20th Century Fox).
The Hollywood Reporter would comment: "Sinatra has honed his laconic, hep veneer to the point of maximum credibility." Whilst, of the film itself, Roger Ebert criticised Sinatra for working with Gordon Douglas but praised his performance and the concept of the film, stating "It is pretty clear that Sinatra wanted "The Detective" to be as good a movie as he could manage. It provides a clear, unsentimental look at a police investigation, and even the language reflects the way cops (and the rest of us) talk."[2]
The Detective was finally released on DVD by 20th Century Fox in 2005 as part of a box-set that included Tony Rome and Lady in Cement.
Cast and roles
References
External links
