Question
It's really the highlight of the genre: the sergeant, lieutenant, or chief has the commissioner or mayor "breathing down my neck," and they sometimes have got "my nuts in a vice" because the protagonist is a loose cannon who refuses to play by the rules. This is the protagonist's final warning: if they can't clean up their act, they'll have to turn in their gun and badge.
I'm looking for the first movie to feature a recognizable version of this staple.
Answer
Dirty Harry (1971), maybe
It is very difficult to answer this question without watching every Hollywood movie about police officers. My approach to finding the first police lieutenant who chewed out a loose cannon who played by his own rules would be to find the first loose cannon who played by his own rules. The first one I can think of is Harry Callahan, first appearing in 1971 in Dirty Harry. In that film, Callahan had several superiors who chewed him out:
You're lucky I'm not indicting you for assault with intent to commit murder! Where the hell does it say you've got a right to kick down doors, torture suspects, deny medical attention and legal counsel? Where have you been? Does Escobido ring a bell? Miranda? You must have heard of the Fourth Amendment! What I'm saying is, that man had rights!
If you can find an earlier movie cop who was a loose cannon playing by his own rules, my bet is you'll find an earlier irate sergeant/lieutenant/chief/DA who's got the mayor breathing down his neck.
(Also worth mentioning that the trope may have originated on television, though you only ask for the first movie).
Answered By - ruffdove
