The Detective: A Review

THE DETECTIVE

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Frank Sinatra.

A year before the Stonewall Riots sparked the modern gay rights movement, there was a film that balanced gay stereotypes with a surprisingly positive portrayal of if not tolerance, at least lack of hostility to gays. The Detective features a strong performance from Frank Sinatra but is hampered down by a secondary story that never quite fits into things.

Detective Joe Leland (Sinatra) is brought in to investigate the murder of Teddy Leikman, the black sheep son of a prominent New York City businessman. Leikman's head has been bashed in. More grotesque is that his fingers and penis have been cut off. While the other detectives are either bemused or sickened by this sight, Leland keeps his focus squarely on the case. Unlike everyone else, Leland does not flinch at the victim's lifestyle, taking it as a matter of fact. Thanks to the information provided by Leikman's neighbor, the case eventually finds Leikman's roommate/lover, Felix Tesla (Tony Musante). Leland puts the squeeze on Tesla to admit to killing Leikman. While Tesla does confess, something about Tesla's state of mind bothers Leland. Tesla is executed and Leland gets promoted to Lieutenant. Still, he feels something is off.

That feeling extends to his marriage to Karen (Lee Remick). While she loves the no-nonsense Joe, she is also repeated unfaithful to him. Leland loves his wife but knows that her rampant infidelities will make for a poor marriage and they separate. This looks like Leland's only trouble until a seemingly unrelated case comes to him.

Colin MacIver (William Windom) has apparently committed suicide at the Garden State Racetrack. His widow Norma (Jacquline Bissett) insists that it was not suicide. She also insists that Colin's death may be related to a major land deal. Leland finds that powerful figures do not want the case investigated. However, he is an honest and dogged detective who will get to the truth. Eventually, he finds Colin's psychiatrist, Dr. Wendell Roberts (Lloyd Bochner). Dr. Roberts, in a curious turn, knows Leland because he has treated Karen. He also plays a taped confession from Colin, revealing that he is Teddy's murderer. Colin is a deeply closeted man who went to the waterfront and a gay bar where Teddy picked him up. A tryst ends with Colin both horrified and enraged at being pegged as gay, leading to Teddy's killing. 

Now, Lieutenant Joe Leland has a choice before him. Knowing that the wrong man was sent to the electric chair, will he reveal what he has discovered? Will he put his career on the line to expose the truth?

The Detective has Frank Sinatra as a major positive. His Joe Leland is direct, honest, blunt, no-nonsense. Sinatra shows a man totally dedicated to his job, who upholds his code regardless of outside influences. Leland treats everyone the same and is unfazed by things. The other detectives involved in the Leikman case fall under one of two sides. 

There are those like rookie Robbie Loughlin (Al Freeman, Jr.), who say that they are going to be sick when seeing Leikman's body. After expressing such feelings, Sinatra's Leland tells him straight-out, "No you're not. You're going to take out your notepad and take notes," or words to that effect. 

Other detectives, such as Detective Nestor (Robert Duvall) are openly homophobic. We truly do not know what Leland thinks of homosexuality or homosexuals. He does ask Leikman's neighbor, "Do you know if he had any other friends of a similar persuasion?". That, however, is as homophobic as Leland ever gets, if that. When there is a raid on the waterfront where various gay men of all ages, Nestor is openly disgusted by them. A young man fearfully asks if they will tell his parents, and Nestor starts roughing him up. Calmly but firmly, Leland orders Nestor to stop. "Take it easy, they're not murderers," he tells Nestor.

This reveals a lot about Joe Leland. He is unfazed by things and accept things as they are. There is a mutilated body in front of him. There is a gathering of gay men in front of him. There is his wife admitting that she cannot help sleeping with other men in front of him. Leland takes it all in, calmly. He is not judgmental about people. He is, however, able to berate those who go against what is right.

Loughlin, for example, humiliates a suspect by having him stripped of his clothes while questioning him. Leland does not appear to bat an eye while observing this act but makes his displeasure clear. He uses his authority to remove the suspect and tells him to put his clothes on. Once the suspect is out, Leland tells Loughlin in a firm manner that this behavior is unacceptable. 

The Detective holds your attention because of Sinatra's performance. His Joe Leland is honest and direct, able to show sympathy and more importantly, a quiet strength and acceptance of things.  

As stated, The Detective is one year prior to Stonewall. As such, the portrayal of gay life is close to seedy. As McIver strolls through the waterfront and the Circus Bar, the men look lascivious, almost menacing. Teddy (James Inman) is a bit fey in his manner versus Colin's more straight-acting manner.  We hear Windom's voiceover speak of how revolted he is. I do not know if he or Dr. Roberts said that "there is no such thing as a bisexual, only a homosexual without convictions". That, I figure will not go over well with actual bisexuals.

The performances were mostly strong. In their small roles, Freeman, Jr. and Duvall made impressions. The same goes for Jack Klugman as forensics investigator Schoenstein and Bissett as the Widow McIver. Bochner also does well as the patrician Dr. Roberts. The curious thing about Lee Remick is that while her performance is good, it feels unnecessary. 

This is where I think The Detective goes a bit wrong. This subplot of the Leland marriage, down to the many flashbacks, do not quite fit into the overall picture. It feels like a separate story that found its way here.

Minus that, Abby Mann's adaptation of Roderick Thorpe's novel works well. The film is also enhanced by Jerry Goldsmith's jazz score. The Detective is well-directed by Gordon Douglas, drawing strong performances from almost everyone. I did think that Musante as Felix was a bit bad. As for Windom, he was weak as this repressed gay man who kills when called out on his sexuality.

However, I think that McIver's final words on the recording say a lot. "You know, I felt more guilty about being a homosexual than about being a murderer". Strong words even now. The Detective on the whole is a good film. It moves well and has good performances. It is, however, held back by the marriage subplot, which sometimes intrudes on the case. Still, The Detective is worth the time and effort to seek out.  

DECISION: B+