Pluskylang Great Film overall

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Jay Raskin I believe these type of gritty police films started around ten years earlier with "Naked City." There is a lot of nice neo-realism. For example, a gang leader calls a police captain "Daddy" and he snaps, "Call me "daddy" again, and you'll be spitting teeth." However, there are also some really exploitative elements. For example, deaf-mute Teddy (Ellen Parker) stands around for about five minutes dressed only in a towel, while the bad guy threatens to kill/rape her.Robert Loggia is quite likable as the detective who becomes more and more frustrated when he can't quite solve his crime. Ellen Parker does a wonderful job playing his deaf-mute girlfriend. She had a very short acting career doing a few television shows in 1958 and two movies in which she played the fiancé of Robert Loggia in both. It is too bad she disappeared after that. Anybody know what happened to her? This is a fun little movie, much closer to the street-smart New York "Naked City" television series of the time than the hyper-straight Los Angeles "Dragnet." The film is about as lurid as mainstream films got in 1958.Check out the great posters. Google "Cop Hater" and search "images." Shirley Ballad looks great in both her leopard skin bathing suit and negligee.

secondtake Cop Hater (1958)This is no brilliant affair, but it's more enjoyable than you might expect. It centers around a precinct police station and a group of guys who are suddenly on a manhunt for a cop killer. While that part of the plot has its small moments, it's the interaction between these guys, including some honest fun banter (not tough guy stuff), that really works. And two or three of the main cops are good actors, holding their own.There are women on the side, one a searing beauty of some sort (a bit exaggerated and stiff, but you get the idea when she's on), the other a sharp and stylish deaf and mute woman played by Ellen Parker. These types are obviously meant to be opposites, one sympathetic and modest, the other full of herself and untrustworthy. There is a Latino gang that figures into play eventually, and that gets a little crazy in its own way. And the leader is Glenn Cannon, who went on to have a long career on t.v. This is his first movie and he's pretty terrific for his four minutes of fame.Otherwise this is a conventionally filmed crime film. Don't expect a gritty or moody film noir, because it's not that. But do expect a well paced plot with some nice interpersonal stuff. Probably has more honesty to it than most crime movies of the time, which are pumped up with types and drama.

dougdoepke The early 50's were the era of Jack Webb, police procedure, and the docu-drama, where law enforcement was portrayed in the best possible professional light. After all, there was an emerging Cold War to fight. On the other hand, this late 50's movie, adapted from an Ed McBain novel, is edging away from that ideal toward a more realistic portrayal of policing in a city precinct. Dragnet, it ain't. Too bad that the result comes across as something of a trashy, exploitation flick because there's a good story with several interesting passages plus a neat twist ending buried beneath the tacky titillation. Someone's knocking off cops for no apparent reason, a psycho the detectives figure. So the heat at the precinct is really on with no real suspects. Nonetheless, much of what follows is pretty muddled and hard to follow. It's not an A-grade adaptation or narrative, to say the least.The way the cops are portrayed is interesting for the time. They knock people around, drink a lot (maybe on duty), and seem sex-starved much of the rest of the time. In short, the detectives appear not that different from most young American males. Given today's relaxed standards, colorful episodes like rousting a street gang or ogling a nude woman in a towel may seem tame, but in 1958, such scenes were quite daring. The trouble is that too much of the drama and suspense is sacrificed to a lot of cheesecake scenes, which may have sold tickets but do little to advance the story. Too bad, because the acting from a New York cast comes across as unforced and natural, plus the main characters don't look like typical Hollywood types. Even the girls, though sexy, aren't tinsel town perfect. With a better structured, less exploitative script, the film could have risen above the drive-in level. As the results stand, however, there's not much beyond an historical interest in the evolution of the cop film. Besides, guys can get more titillation by just switching over to the Playboy channel.

rsternesq Very interesting, well done look at the late 1950's in NY, on the streets, in the precinct house. What is so amazing is that you really can tell which actors will end up stars or at least significant players. Charisma is very real and evident here. Robert Loggia is a revelation. I've never seen him so young and yet he is very macho and attractive. The camera loves him and I'll bet that a lot of viewers do as well. A boyish Jerry Orbach is certainly an eye full as well. Recommended as a very interesting exploration of the past that is now just receding beyond easy recollection. Cannot say that the female performers are as memorable but then, one can't have everything but this dishes up quite a lot and the author certainly deserves his subsequent career.