William Berke's Cop Hater was as new a type of police thriller as its source book, Ed McBain's Cop Hater, was a new type of police fiction. McBain (now equally well known under the name Evan Hunter) admitted that a major influence in his approach to the writing of police proceedurals came from the Dragnet radio show, and he took a somewhat similar approach in writing Cop Hater, immersing himself firsthand in the methods and operations of the New York City Police Department, although he set his 87th Precinct, the focus of his crime stories, in a mythical city. Additionally, his notion was that the precinct detective squad, rather than one or two of its members, would be the "hero" of this and subsequent books. The film Cop Hater focused a bit more on Detective Steve Carelli (Robert Loggia) than the novel did, but also contains 90 percent of the content of the novel, including much of the dialogue, some of it amazingly raw (only the direct references to sex and related matters are toned down or eliminated). Berke's movie, because it is a visual creation, shows the Dragnet influence more overtly than McBain's book, but melds it with a gritty New York setting and incorporates such realities of late-'50s urban life as street gangs (one led by a 22-year-old Jerry Orbach, playing a Latino thug) into its action with surprising deftness. Robert Loggia's portrayal of Carelli is more emotional than audiences were accustomed to in this kind of drama, and it made for some good verbal sparring between the various characters. The film also captures with great success the palpable frustrations of being a police detective, as well as incidental (but important) details, such as the brutality and tension-inducing characteristics of a New York City heatwave, and the mix of fear and tension that pervades the action. The presence of Loggia, Gerald S. O'Laughlin, Lincoln Kilpatrick, Vincent Gardenia, Jerry Orbach, and the rest of the mostly New York-based cast also helps give Cop Hater the look and texture of an episode of Naked City, a then-contemporary New York police series, but with nastier, grittier action.


The clingy heat of a New York summer hovers over the characters in Cop Hater with the same oppressive quality as the paranoia that grips their Manhattan precinct as a killer stalks its officers. Adapted by producer-director William Berke - an extraordinarily prolific and largely forgotten specialist in low-budget quickies - this B-grade adaptation of Ed McBain's first novel of the 87th Precinct (a series that would span dozens of volumes over nearly half a century) succeeds thanks to good performances and the authenticity of its setting.
Robert Loggia plays Steve Carelli, a detective investigating a series of cop murders with his partner Mike Maguire (Gerald S. O'Loughlin). With few leads, the pressure mounts as the killings continue. Carelli and Maguire's case - and their information - is pursued by a tenacious reporter (Gene Miller), who winds up indirectly endangering Carelli's deaf-mute bride-to-be (Ellen Parker).
Unambitious visual choices and pragmatic editing allow Berke to zero in on maintaining suspense and staying true to McBain's characters. The cramped precinct rooms are sweaty with summer heat and the palpable, top-down pressure applied by police superiors on the detectives working the case - in addition to that applied by their fellow cops, who are ravenous for justice as their own continue to be hunted down on city streets.
But Berke was also plainly interested in the exploitative aspects of filmmaking, and knew that sex and violence sells tickets. There are a handful of scenes that might not have made it past the censors in 1958 had this been a major studio picture (it was released theatrically by UA). These include a sequence involving Carelli's fiancée emerging from a shower and being threatened with rape. Additionally, there are a handful of moderately racy moments provided by Shirley Ballard as Maguire's aloof glam-queen wife.
Loggia is excellent, exuding great if restrained charisma as Carelli. The supporting actors are all fine, with O'Loughlin particularly convincing as a weary blue-collar kind of guy (if anything, Loggia is almost too handsome for the role). Keep an eye out for terrific early appearances by Jerry Orbach as a street tough, and Vincent Gardenia as a hopheaded informant.