La dama en cemento

Sinatra reprises his role of Tony Rome in this light weight murder mystery. Rome is hired by Dan Blocker to find out what happened to a young woman found dead in cement shoes. The movie is where the search takes him. Its more romp than real mystery with a light smart mouthed attitude hanging over everything. Its an enjoyable 93 minutes, certainly the laughs and the fun nature keep you watching, unfortunately you really do wish that there was some weight to the proceedings. The mystery has no real urgency and no real need to be solved other than it puts Rome in motion. Many of the actors, Sinatra included, seem to be walking through the film (and Raquel Welch seems unable to even do that). Of course then there is Dan Blocker as Gronsky, the man who hires Sinatra and who is much more trouble than he's worth. Blocker is a real joy to behold and if there is any real reason to see this film its him and his performance, its a blast. Mostly unremarkable, this film is still worth seeing for the mindless entertainment of it all. Recommended for those times when you want absolutely nothing to tax you brain.

Sinatra once again plays the Miami based private eye he originated in "Tony Rome" a year earlier. He was pretty effective the first time around, but that one didn't have a script as silly as the one he has to contend with here. Of course, scripts never meant much to Frankie, anyway. If the Chairman of the Board WAS bored, or just tired, he'd rip a few pages out of the script to keep things moving. When the movie was something like "Lady in Cement," it probably didn't matter, anyway. Besides, with a more stunning than ever Raquel Welch in the cast, I mean, who really cares?

Wherever Ol' Blue Eyes went, his entourage of goons and sycophants were sure to follow, and one such unfortunate, Pat Henry, a comedian of little talent, is along for the ride as Frank's buddy. Richard Conte, the fine actor from such interesting film noirs as "The Blue Gardenia" and "Cry of the City," shows up, as he often did in Sinatra films ("Ocean's 11," "Assault on a Queen") and provides the mostly mediocre film with his usual competence. The best performance, however, belongs to TV's "Hoss" (Dan Blocker).

A few days ago, I watched Frank Sinatra's film "Tony Rome". Now just watched "Lady in Cement"--a sequel in which our incredibly relaxed and quite glib private detective hero investigates a VERY strange murder. When the film begins, Tony is scuba diving and discovers a body! But it's no ordinary body--it's a nude blonde whose feet were planted in cement! Obviously, the woman had been murdered--and disposed of in a very elaborate fashion. The trail leads to a gorgeous lady (Raquel Welch), a giant of a man (Dan Blocker) and an ex-mobster. Can Tony sort it all out and avoid getting himself killed?

I liked "Tony Rome" a lot and "Lady in Cement"--just not quite as much. It's a good film but occasionally the plot seems a bit convoluted and far less interesting than the characters themselves (particularly Sinatra). The music was also a bit too much after a while. It is also a LOT more sexually charged than the first film--earning an R-rating for nudity and strong language. But it also had a really nice underwater sequence, plenty of action and LOTS of smug comments from Tony. Worth seeing.

As far as a vintage detective thriller, "Lady in Cement" has enough wit and charm to make it memorable. It takes itself just seriously enough to get the job done. Sinatra's second turn as Rome doesn't quite have the bite of the first film but it's clear he's enjoying himself. The weary cynicism of Rome suits him well. The late Dan Blocker's delightful as Gronsky. The recent DVD reissue looks sharp and has plenty of trailers but is a bit light on extras.

Director Gordon Douglas ("In Like Flint") keeps the action moving and Raquel Welch looks terrific. Her first appearance is emerging from a swimming pool. I was a bit surprised to see nudity in a mainstream Hollywood feature in 1968 but, well, this was the late 60's after all.

Follow-up to 1967's "Tony Rome" is saddled with a tired, tangled plot concerning a murdered blonde in Florida and the investigation led by ultra laid-back private detective Tony Rome, who lives on a houseboat and discovered the girl's body while scuba-diving. Frank Sinatra returns to the role almost sheepishly; he isn't sleepwalking, exactly, but his interest in the scenario is blasé at best. Tracing the girl's killers to Miami high society (after Rome's buddy, police lieutenant Richard Conte, accuses Tony of the murder!), Sinatra is matched with hot stuff Raquel Welch as an alcoholic party girl (she makes her first appearance emerging from a swimming pool, bikini-clad of course). But Sinatra and Welch share few sparks in their scenes together--he's much more attentive to Lainie Kazan as a go-go dancer, and has more rapport with Dan Blocker as a mad Russian fond of twisting heads around. Adaptation of Marvin H. Albert's novel "The Lady in Cement" by Albert and Jack Guss, this mystery yarn is an absolute mess, unnecessarily crowded with suspects, heavies, gay stereotypes, brassy broads, hoods and junkies. By the time Sinatra's Rome lays out who-did-what-to-whom, interest has waned. Hugo Montenegro's bouncy score manages to keep things jazzy just up to the final reel. **1/2 from ****