'80s Class: The First Deadly Sin (1980)

Also the last one, apparently.  Today's Film is The First Deadly Sin, a 1980 Crime Thriller notable for its Casting.  There's also some juicy bits of Hollywood intrigue to boot, but I'll get to that.  10 years after his last Film, Frank Sinatra came back to do one last Film (as a Lead).  Would he regret it?  I mean, regrets...he had a few.  Yadda yadda My Way.  Not only is he the Star, but he's a Producer (with his Company behind it) and he brought in a friend to score the Film.  So this is not only Frank's last Film as a Lead, but also that of his Production Company and the Composer!  It would be the Director's, were it not for one last Film in 1983 (aka the Year that Everything Got Better).  Said Director- Brian G. Hutton- is notable for such Films as Where Eagles Dare and Kelly's Heroes.  He wasn't the first choice to make the Film, however.  That honor belongs to Roman Polanski, who fled to France (where he still resides) to avoid criminal charges.  The Film is also notable for Faye Dunaway receiving a Razzie Award Nomination (she lost to Brooke Shields) at the first Ceremony.  It's the only nomination given to the Film though, so I guess everyone else was alright.  While I haven't read them, there are four more Books in this Series- Second Deadly Sin, etc.- and none of them have Films (yet).  Is this one-and-done worthy of Sinatra?  Did he go out with a bang or a whimper?  To find out, read on...

One night, a man kills another with some sort of hammer-spike thing.  Why?  

The Lead Detective- Sinatra- who is also going through some personal issues.  His wife- Dunaway- is sick and not seeming to get better.

Perplexed by the murder weapon, Sinatra consults a Professor about Old Weapons.  He's keen to help investigate, leading to some wacky shenanigans.

As for the killer, we see glimpses of him, but never quite know his deal until the end.

It's also hard not to see similarities with Glass out and a shaved-head crazy man killing people in this Film.

They finally figure out what the weapon is, leading to some interesting detective work that's necessary as this is before DNA Testing and Super Computers.

When I saw Joe Spinell in the Credits, I thought that he must be the bad guy.  It was later I realized that this was *before* Maniac, so he's just a Doorman with an extended cameo.

Regardless, he got to act opposite Sinatra- neat.

Breaking all sorts of rules, Sinatra gets into the suspect's Apartment and finds the weapon.  He just doesn't have enough to get a real warrant though.

As things get worse with his Wife, he makes a bold decision- he just straight-up kills the guy!

Fun reminder: Sinatra was offered the lead in Dirty Harry and turned it down.  I could kind of see it.

That night, he goes and retires, brushing off a call to investigate the murder he just committed.  He reads to his Wife as she dies.  Aww.  The End.

An interesting Film, even if it isn't as great as it should be.  Sin is a curious case of perhaps adapting a Book too closely in many cases.  For instance, the Plot about the killer is almost secondary to Sinatra's personal Plot, which feels right out of a Book.  Despite having First in the name, it is actually the third Book in the Series, so I could easily see the focus shift a little there.  The fact that he's working with the Widow and an Old Weapons Expert is interesting, but also a little bit silly.  He's working on limited time and working the case differently- granted.  It just feels odd here in this otherwise serious and grounded Film.  The biggest issue is definitely the focus, as they aren't sure whether this is Sinatra's personal story, that of a killer or that of an investigation.  It tries to juggle all three and kind of stumbles a bit at times.  That said, the dramatic parts were acted well and the bits of humor (as random as they were) were nice.  Sinatra really is quite good here, so the Film is at least a nice send-off for him.  I'm just confused as to why there was so little focus on the Killer or his motivation.  They just kind of dump a bunch of it in at the end like 'Sorry- here's all of it.'  It's kind of a letdown, but the ride is still good enough to excuse many things.  Are the Books any good?  Let me know, won't you?  As for me, I'll let you know the most common bit of Trivia about this Film- yes, that is Bruce Willis in his first Film ever.

Next time, another Singer-turned-Actor.  Will they have as much success in a Film made far earlier?  Stay tuned...