Detective Story

I enjoyed this film, Though the ending was abruptly sad. You hoped that The detective and His wife could work things out. His death seemed too shocking and premature. Some one needed to tell Him that "things get better", that you shouldn't jump to permanent solutions for temporary problems. But maybe in the 1950s, better was still a long way off. The story is really a slice of life in a big city police precinct, with all kinds of sad and pathetic and even humorous and sympathetic characters. Whether Police, victims or criminals, you feel for these people, who are all having some degree of a bad day, though the police live with it everyday. The story arch goes from Barney Miller, to suddenly, The Wire. I looked through all these reviews and I noticed that no one mentioned how Kirk Douglas and Michael Douglas both only played cops a few times, Kirk in this film, and Michael in Basic Instincts. In both films their characters' psychological hubris is their downfall. Interesting!

Some films are so full of life they have to be seen again and again. I first saw this one in my early teens and loved it, despite difficulty in understanding it. Decades later I still love it, and always will. It has its flaws: everybody overacts (beautifully), as if on stage. The writing is a bit too well-structured, almost like clockwork, the characters are a bit too symbolic and easy to categorise. The comic relief kicks in just on schedule. The psychological diagnosis is too precise. And yet, this is one of the greatest films ever made. It has a sense of respect for the totality of life, and makes tragedy almost poetic. Fascinating though the plot may be, the essence of this film goes beyond plot. It's a symphony of cacophony. The playwright would have made a fine composer.

Detective Story (1951) **** (out of 4) William Wyler's brilliant drama about a police detective (Kirk Douglas) who breaks his back trying to put criminals behind bars but there's a secret from his wife that's going to toss all his beliefs in the air. The last time I watched this film was when I was around eleven years old and it left a vivid aftertaste in my mouth after all these years. At the time I was just expecting another "old, dated" film but the realistic nature of this film remains quite powerful and very brutal even in today's jaded world. The entire cast delivers strong performances from the lead Douglas to the smallest of parts in the film. These performances certainly help the film seem all the more real, which is an added bonus. The best performance is of course the one by Douglas who brings all that energy and power to the film. Watching his character slowly breakdown and eventually lose it is something hard to forget.

This top-notch police story rises far above the norm for its type. A true example of ensemble acting, the film incorporates many well-known character actors all putting in first-rate work, led by the superb efforts of Kirk Douglas and William Bendix, the latter in what may be his best screen role. This may be one of the earliest examples of the "typical day" genre, in which multiple story lines occurring in a single day in a certain locale are melded into a whole (a genre exemplified by the "Hill Street Blues" and "Barney Miller" of tv). An excellent script and good direction, aided by interesting characters, keep the dramatic tension moving along briskly to the searing conclusion. This is not your run-of-the-mill police story, and is definitely worth a see.