Detective, The

Released by: Twilight Time Releasing
Released on: December 8th, 2015.
Director: Gordon Douglas
Cast: Frank Sinatra, James Inman, Horace McMahon, Al Freeman Jr., Lee Remick
Year: 1968
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The Movie:

Directed by the prolific Gordon Douglas in 1968 and based on the novel by Roderick Thorp, The Detective was probably pretty strong stuff when it first graced American theater screens. The movie was made pre-Stonewall and debuted in a country where equal rights, or more specifically gay rights, really weren't something that seemed to be of great concern to a lot of the country's populace.

When the movie begins, a young, gay man named Teddy Leikman (James Inman) is found murdered and castrated. It looks like he was the victim of a hate crime. Teddy's father is a prominent New York City business tycoon and his influence gets NYPD Captain Farrell (Horace McMahon) to put one of his best men on the case, Sergeant Joe Leland (Frank Sinatra). He and his partner, a rookie cop named Robbie (Al Freeman Jr.), start working the case and immediately get some push back from other members of the police community due to Leikman's orientation.

Soon enough, however, they start to look in the direction of the victim's roommate, a bodybuilder named Felix Tesla (Tony Musante) who was once Teddy's roommate. It's very obvious early on that something isn't quite right with Felix but the cops eventually get the confession that they want and after closing the book on the case, Felix is given the death penalty and sent to the electric chair. Joe is promoted to lieutenant for his efforts and things look to be on the up for him until the NYPD has to investigate the death of Colin MacIver (William Windom). Though it at first appears to be a tragic suicide, they soon learn that there are ties to a shady land deal that may or may not tie into the truth behind Teddy's murder. And then there's the matter of his home life, his relationship with his wife (Lee Remmick) and an appealing woman Norma (Jaqueline Bissett), the widow of Colin McIver.

Likely seen as quite a challenging film in its day, The Detective remains an effectively gritty crime drama thanks to Douglas' workmanlike direction and Sinatra's sterling lead performance. A far cry from some of the earlier, more musical films he'd appear in, The Detective tries to deal not in fantasy but earthy realism and Sinatra plays the role accordingly. He's very grounded here, surly in spots but effectively so, and he's brings to the part a heaviness, a certain weariness, that goes a long way towards making forget that he was one of the most popular singers of all time. In short, he's very good here, as good as he's been in other, better recognized roles (think The Man With The Golden Arm or The Manchurian Candidate). Of course the fact that he really is surrounded by talent in this picture doesn't hurt things either. Lee Remmick as Joe's wife, a literal nymphomaniac, is very well cast and does a fine job here while Jaqueline Bissett holds her own, bringing both some emotional weight and some welcome sex appeal to the part. Tony Musante is a bit over the top but more often than not pretty believable as a potential psychopath while Horace McMahon is appropriately grouchy and completely effective in his part. Throw in supporting work from Robert Duvall, Jack Klugman and Ralph Meeker and this cast rounds out quite nicely for this film.

The fact that the movie tackles the subject matter that it does helps to set it apart from a lot of other cop movies made prior. Of course, the kid gloves would come off as the sixties turned into the seventies but this film was made at a time when the police were, more often than not, portrayed as infallible heroes rather than humans prone to mistakes. As the plot twists and turns, the corruption in the NYPD comes to light, an unarmed black man is shot by an officer and ridiculously homophobic attitudes emerge. Joe remains reasonably stoic throughout this, he's a good man who wants to do his job right, but he often times comes into conflict with those who don't necessarily take their oath to serve and protect as seriously as he does. It creates some good tension in the movie, and it offers up some food for thought at well.

Video/Audio/Extras:

The Detective debuts on Blu-ray framed at 2.35.1 widescreen in AVC encoded 1080p high definition and it looks quite good. Whatever softness is here, and there is some that pops up very sporadically throughout the presentation, looks like it stems back to the original photography. The image is quite film like and the grain structure seems untampered with. Detail is generally really crisp and at times extremely impressive, easily advancing over standard definition, while colors are nicely reproduced. Black levels are good and there is very little in the way of print damage to note. In short, the movie looks great on Blu-ray.

The English language DTS-HD Mono track is a good one, with some appreciable depth present in the single channel mix. Levels are well balanced and the dialogue stays crisp and clear throughout. There are no problems with any hiss or distortion and the lossless track does afford the score some more noticeable presence and range, more so than a lossy option would be able to provide.

Extras start off with an audio commentary from Nick Redman, Lem Dobbs, and David Del Valle that is a pretty solid mix of analysis and introspective into the history of the production. It's jammed with trivia about the cast and crew, facts about Gordon Douglas' career behind the camera and observations not only about the look of the film, the performances and the locations but the unique and effective Jerry Goldmsith score as well. These guys have got a good chemistry here, the track is well paced and informative and as such, quite a welcome addition to the disc.

Rounding out the extras are the film's Jerry Goldsmith score available as an isolated DTS-HD track, two theatrical trailers, menus and chapter selection. Inside the clear keepcase there is an insert booklet containing some original poster art, a newly created cover piece and an essay from Julie Kirgo that offers some insight into Sinatra's performance and some thoughts on the film's politics.

The Final Word:

If The Detective doesn't always feel true to life, it is consistently engaging thanks to a genuinely strong effort from Sinatra in the lead role and some really solid supporting work from the rest of the cast. While society's views of gay relationships has, thankfully, started to evolve the movie still makes some interesting observations about prejudices both inside and outside the world of law enforcement. Twilight Time's Blu-ray debut for the picture is a very strong one, presenting the film in excellent condition and with an interesting audio commentary as its main supplement.

Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!