A strange thriller that probably seemed old even when it was released in 1980, THE FIRST DEADLY SIN wastes some talented actors in a predictable, boring cop drama.
Frank Sinatra stars as Private Investigator Ed Delaney, wired with the cops and winding down his final months before retirement.
Faye Dunaway plays his wife Barbara, who is battling a mystery illness and spends 3/4 of the film literally pretending to be in and out of a coma in a hospital bed.
Delaney is tracking down a serial killer randomly and violently killing folks in Manhattan with a hammer.
Some interesting actors like Brenda Vaccaro and Anthony Zerbe circle the mystery, but Director Brian G. Hutton, who has made good films like "Where Eagles Dare" and "Kelly's Heroes" makes some very strange choices here.
The opening murder is interspersed with a graphic surgery and its stomach turning and disjointed instead of tension filled.
Frank Sinatra can be a charming, funny and realistic action star on film (see Tony Rome for a perfect example) but he is saddled with a sad role and little to do. Of course, he is given plenty to do compared to Dunaway, who would continue her poor job choices the next year with "Mommie Dearest".
Poor Frank followed this with "Cannonball Run II"...ouch. The biggest sin of the film is its just a dull D.
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