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!
Review of Detective Story
