The Detective

Faced with corruption all around him, a New York detective fights to maintain his moral integrity.

The Detective is an oddity among police movies: no car chases, no shootouts, not much action of any kind. Okay, so there’s a small shootout, but it’s nothing grand. In spite of this (or perhaps because if it), The Detective is a very entertaining film.

Frank Sinatra’s lead performance is a confident yet restrained one that carries the movie. While the rest of the cast (especially Lee Remick) seem wooden at times, Sinatra oozes charm.

The script is average. While the theme’s are well thought out, the dialog seems rough in patches and some cookie-cutter characterization is present. Still, the plot moves along well, and the story is solid.

The direction is what really hurts the movie. From the blurring transitions during the flashbacks, to the long closeups of Sinatra, the film dates itself with its use of gimmicky visual devices. Without these, The Detective would hold up much better today.