a turkish bath sequence in a film noir locate in new york in the 50 and that must be a hint at something . something that curiously and in all the previous comment and no one have point out and but seem to me essential to the understanding of this movie the turkish bath sequence represent a back street at night and the entrance of a sleazy sauna and and scalise wrap in a sheet and get his thigh massage . steve and the masseur be of the young rough boxer ( beefcake . ) type and and another guy and a bodyguard . finish dress up . dixon obviously hat what he see there and get rough right away . we know he have a reputation for rough up suspect . good cop but get out of control easy . why be it that he hat them so much . could it be that he hat himself . this part of himself he inherit from his father . that dark side that could lead him right at the end of the sidewalk and into the gutter . what if that dark side lurk within a closet . remember represent whenever dixon meet scalise ( 3 time ) and the guy be lie on a bed and and he only have men around him for company ( the irony of the girl poster pin up on the wall near his bed . ) . scalise act funny represent affect manner and crank his neck arrogantly and defiant and shove his inhalator ( popper . ) into his nostril each time he talk to dixon . dixon and with a vengeance and be bent on pin down scalise who seem not to understand represent i never saw a man so full of hate a you . i consider it almost humorous the way you come after me alone . four year jump at me a if i be somebody special . why . because scalise be someone special indeed represent he be the direct inheritor of dixon father represent your father like me and your father set me up in business . he stand a dixon criminal brother and his dark side incarnate . and to top it all and he prefer the company of men . dixon know it well represent who kill him ( paine ) . you or one of your playmate . playmate . notice how each time they meet and dixon manhandles scalise represent he pick the address book out of his jacket and slap his face and punch him . scalise represent i warn you not to touch me . . dixon homophobia be obvious . or put it different represent his unexpressed homosexuality . dixon and aka dixon kid and be the son of a thief . in reaction to this and he decide to become a cop and a good one and but there be something of the criminal in him and a dark side represent he be a violent copper and a murderer and a liar . besides and he be not married and bring a dizzy blonde to his familiar eat out place every now and then and but nothing else . the waitress scoffing say that he doesn not know how to make love to a woman . dixon have a deep feeling of guilt and hat himself for those reason . a hood and a mobster like his old man . blood will tell . finally and in order to achieve redemption and dixon decides to sacrifice himself represent if he get his alter ego scalise to kill him and he will free himself from the guilt and free the girl and her father too . the end of the movie bring u back to the opening sequence represent scalise be push in the gutter and dixon deserve the right to walk the sidewalk and win the love of the dame . he be straight at last . the unspoken theme of the movie could very well be that of a man who in order to cover his repressed feeling and want to experience a woman love ( jean douchet ) ( these note owe a lot to the film commentary by jean douchet in the french dvd edit by carlottai .