Cop Hater - 1958 - 6/10
Late entry in Noir genre is a grimy, sweaty hunt for a cop killer.
Dialogue stilted initially, though one grows accustomed to it. Based on an Ed McBain novel. (For ripe pulp prose, track down episodes of “Broadway Is My Beat,” OTR from the 50’s.)
From the look of the barely clad females, air conditioning had not been invented yet.
Hot summer, lingerie cheesecake cooling in front of open blade fans.
Many picture compositions appear yanked off detective paperbacks.
The precinct knuckles down, slaps suspects, cuts deals. Sensitive, good-guy cops, no.
Robert Loggia is the main star. Look for a young Jerry Orbach (Law & Order) as delinquent gang leader.
Film simmers and boils into a bruising finish with twist ending.
Sleazy, enjoyable film.