So...were these guys 'partners'?

The OP's question was a reasonable one to ask. While affection shown between two men does not imply or express a sexual or romantic relationship, there have been a large number of films, dating back to late silent films ("Wings", especially) where homoerotic or hemophilic elements were purposely put in by writers and/or directors to express a sexual or romantic desire among one or both members of a male friendship. Because homosexuality has always been controversial and even so taboo as to not be discussed openly (as it was for much of it's existence until the 1970's, with the onset of the Gay Liberation Front), expressing homosexual desire or romance was through inference in the way lines were read, facial and bodily expressions of the actors, the way scenes were filmed, and even to hide the fact that the source material for many films that displayed such oblique expressions on film of male homosexuality explicitly spelled out homosexuality between male characters but that aspect of that relationship could not be expressed openly on film.

This is the reason that posters on here will asked that "Are they lovers?" question, especially of older films, because references to anything gay had to be coded to get past censors and be popular with the public.

You either didn't read my post or you were so intent to post what you did that you ignored my post. Either way is okay but I did offer a reasonable and true explanation for the curiosity that many film and tv fans have about the relationships of male characters possibly being gay. You're right: not every film featuring male co-stars has the characters being gay or there's not a gay subtext in the film but there have been and there are many films that do have gay subtexts, especially in films that portray the working relationship of two men as leading to a romantic relationship, Because most films and tv shows depicting two male police officers play up the macho aspects of the relationship, overt portrayals of romance between the officers has been something not deemed popular, even scandalous, to portray. That's why many film fans detect a gay subtext because it might've been placed there by the director and writers when such a subtext could not be portrayed openly. Something to think about! I refer you to Richard Barrios' "Out in Plain Sight", which is, arguably, the finest and most comprehensive look at the history of gay images in film and television!