Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)

Academy Awards, USA
Year	Result	Award	Category/Recipient(s)
1972	Nominated	Oscar	Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced Elio Petri Ugo Pirro
1971	Won	Oscar	Best Foreign Language Film Italy

Columbia Pictures
Directed by Elio Petri
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Sony Movie Channel)

A police detective gets promoted to a higher government position, but decides to commit a murder on his last day in the homicide division. Apparently he wants to prove that people in higher positions are treated differently than others. He deliberately leaves clues pointing to himself as the only possible murderer, yet they are ignored by the other detectives. Instead they harass homosexuals and student activists and accuse them of committing the crime. Even when he admits to the crime, his superiors force him to admit his innocence, in a kind of perverse reversal of the usual police tactics. While the idea is interesting, the execution is excruciatingly dull and talky.