The film features Faye Dunaway, David Dukes, Brenda Vaccaro, James Whitmore, and Martin Gabel in his final role.
[3] The film originally was slated to be directed by Roman Polanski, who was dropped by Columbia Pictures after statutory rape charges were brought against him.
The last of nine films produced by Sinatra, and his final starring role, he plays NYPD Sergeant Edward X. Delaney, a troubled veteran New York City Police Department homicide detective.
In a supporting role, Dunaway is Delaney's ailing wife, hospitalized during the entire story with a rare kidney affliction.
It premiered on October 23, 1980 at Loew's State Theatre in Times Square as part of a benefit for the Cabrini Medical Center, a key location in the film.
The coroner, Dr. Ferguson, shows Sergeant Edward Delaney that the fatal wound on the skull was made with a round object.
One of his early visits is to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he consults with Arms and Armor curator Christopher Langley about the type of weapon that could make such a unique wound.
The elderly Langley is thrilled to have such a unique problem to solve, and he devotes a great deal of time to research.
As he is leaving the station house, the desk sergeant tells him of the discovery of Blank's body and asks him if he wants to respond to the call.
[5] The film's ending was changed from the novel in which the killer Daniel Blank retreated to a bluff called Devil's Needle in upstate New York where he died of dehydration before Delaney and the state troopers were able to bring him down.
William L. DeAndrea noted that "for [the film's] network TV showing, Sinatra added a spoken voice-over" to the conclusion, "changing the meaning of the final images completely".