Tony Rome

Promising blend of hard-boiled crime flick and campy detective yarn that doesn't quite go the distance. Pulpy plot features a gaggle of cartoony characters and Frank Sinatra at his wiseass best playing Florida private dick wrapped up in convoluted mystery centering on millionaire's daughter (Sue Lyon). Terrific supporting cast includes Gena Rowlands (looking lovely), Jill St. John (at her slinky, sexy best), Simon Oakland and Richard Conte, but the plot runs out of gas somewhere in the second act. A bit stronger than its immediate sequel, "Lady in Cement", and Sinatra's panache is definitely worth checking out. After getting out of a rickety elevator, he tells the female operator, "Nice riiide." **1/2 from ****

This is one breezy film. Sinatra one lines himself solidly throughout. In films like this, there aren't many moments of reflection. This saves us the trouble of examining the plot and the character motivation too intently. The benefit to the viewer is that the whole experience remains visceral and on the surface. On occasion I like films that don't challenge me, that simply vibrate with a peculiar sort of corrupt, smarmy, highly heated decaying fun. Sinatra dashes all over Miami in search of his maguffin. He pops in to the lives of many marginalized denizens of the underworld. He gets a taste of the lives of the newly rich and partially famous. His alter-ego, Richard Conte, provides a mundane, safe balanced universe for him to rest up in from time to time but the bulk of his characters time is spent in high risk action and lots of smart-assed talk. And for this viewer, that was just fine.

You must be a fan of 60's movies to like this flick. Negative comments about this movie are negative comments about 60's movies in general.

Tony Rome is an ex-cop, current private dick who is hired by a family to find there missing jewels. Rather unique things happen, the movie is over, and you are either a bigger Sinatra fan, or at the same level.

My advice is to imagine you are sitting in a 1967 Olds 442 at the drive in, and the rest will take care of itself.

Sure, it doesn't have a great plot line and there are more holes than a B-17 flying back from the ball bearing plant in Germany, but it is fun!It is as about as politically correct as a Klan meeting, and that is part of its charm. By 1967, Sinatra was already a magnificent anachronism. His world of of "ring a ding,ding",and "broads", martinis and captain's hats were longer hip or remotely cool. He still keeps trying, however. Just four years before, with Kennedy still in office, Tony Rome would have seemed like "Mr. Hip"', Daddio. By 1967, the glory days of the Rat Pack were over, the Beatles had taken over America along with their countrymen, we were deeply involved in Vietnam, American cities were burning, and drugs were everywhere. Timothy Leary was now cool to an entire generation of young Americans. Still,Sinatra is Sinatra. I am awfully glad he didn't pull up in a flower power VW Beetle, wearing long beads and a Nehru jacket.It must of been galling to him that he was no longer the hippest thing on two feet, however. His reaction seems to be to ignore the entire subculture. " Just a bunch of kids!".

Anyway, this is a fun movie! Shecky Greene, a former Sinatra favorite and later an outcast, is a bad guy. Richard Conte, a Sinatra pal, plays his pal in the movie.Rocky Graziano is in it. And let's not forget one of the all time babes, Jill St. John. They could have forgotten the plot and had her steal bikinis all day, by trying them on and wearing them out of the store. Normally I would rate this movie a four or a five, just based on the acting on the script. It gets two extra points for Jill St. John's bathing suit!

The guy Sinatra is looking for throughout the film is named Nimmo. I just couldn't let that go by without comment. This is good light entertainment. Florida in the 1960's is not bad to look at. A few good laughs thrown in. All in all not a bad flick. Ms. Rowlands looked incredible. Almost Grace Kelly good looking. St. John was good. Conte was good. Simon Oakland did his usual great job. Oakland must have been working somewhere every day of the 60's and 70's. And Frank was Frank.