Shamus

"Shamus" is one of the more obscure movies from Burt Reynolds. Obtaining it on DVD is not an easy task, nor was it available on video for long. Regardless, this is a good film. The pace is quite tight, there is a sense of style about the production and Burt Reynolds oozes with sexual charisma. He plays a private eye who is employed for a job that pays $10,000. He realises that it's all too good to be true. Sure enough, the bad guys begin appearing and problems soon arise....... "Shamus" was one of the most violent films at this stage of Reynolds's career. Some of the death scenes leave little to the imagination. This feels more like an up to date version of some of those 1940s "Film Noir" productions. I'd call it an affectionate tribute. The script could have been stronger at times, plus the story seems a bit on the confusing side. Stil worth sticking with.

This film is worth viewing just for the pantomime Reynolds does during the opening credits; some really funny stuff. I also liked the fact that an old Twilight Zone alumnus, Buzz Kulick, directed. Reynolds is not a great actor and he knows it. He tends to play the same character in every film he appears in. The one exception is of course the masterpiece Deliverence, where he plays the stoic man of action to the hilt. Shamus is a fast breezy piece of work that is fun to watch and it appears that Burt Reynolds had fun making it. Reynolds also has a tie to The Twilight Zone. In an episode called The Bard, playing a method actor called Rocky Rhodes, Reynolds does a hilarious parody of Marlon Brando.

Although this was a fast-paced pretty interesting crime story, it was not memorable, which is probably one reason there are so few reviews here.

Burt Reynolds was perfect for '70s film world of film in which just about anything was shown or heard now that all the restrictions were removed. Burt, as he did in this film, would sleep with any girl that came along. In one scene, Reynolds enters a bookstore, sees the clerk has a "nice pair of boobs," so they have sex immediately right at the store. Only in the sleazy '70s of Hollywood! (Or in most men's dreams.)

Actually, Burt excelled in films that combined action and humor, which this has but not enough to make this one of more-remembered movies. However, it does have very little nudity despite the above paragraph and no blasphemy. The best part of the movies might be the final action scene which provides two laugh-out- loud scenes.

Burt Reynolds feels like he's shot back into the 1940s with this old-fashion, if chaotically bold crime caper story of the 70s and consisting of its era's brutality, as he plays private eye McCoy who is hired on to recover stolen diamonds and find a murderer for a rich eccentric, but what he digs up is something much more dangerous and heavy than simple diamond theft. Pretty much it's a Reynolds starring vehicle (and boy doesn't he test out his pain threshold with the constant beatings, running, tumbling and an almighty tree fall), but the support cast are just as serviceable. A radiant Dyan Cannon is quite fun as McCoy's love interest. Capable show-ins by Joe Santos, Larry Block, Ron Weyand, John P. Ryan and also Kevin Conway along with John Glover has minor parts. The gaudy New York locations are an important character to the film's make-up, as being shot on location helped with its authentic rough and tumble nature. Watching Reynold's going around gathering information, moving from one scene to another in doing anything to get his job done, was always quite amusing. From those hardily slam bang action sequences to chatting up the women and then of course spending quality time in his apartment with his cat. Reynolds uses that ruggedly laid-back charm to good affect and is quick with a smart quip. The narrative is rather crafty in its chain of events, being rather unpredictable and manipulative making out there's more to it than you are originally to believe. Still when comes to its closing, it does feel short-changed. Jerry Goldsmith contributes a playfully breezy music score. An enjoyably offbeat and assured 70s crime joint that's similar in style to the Charles Bronson's "St Ives".

"You're going to beat the sh!t out of me, right?"

The story of Shamus seems to be loosely based on Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. Burt Reynolds is in the Humphrey Bogart role, and he acquits himself well playing the Philip Marlowe of the chewing gum generation. He doesn't take himself too seriously, is less sarcastic than the forties version and there are quite a few good laughs to be had.

Shamus is remarkable for reflecting the period it was shot in. The directing and the cinematography are very good. I also liked the musical score. There are quite a few nicely stylized action scenes on real locations in dock areas. Dyan Cannon gives her usual solid performance and wears clothes today's fashion designers will be very interested in. Her character's apartment in a high rise on East River must be the "dernier cri" of 1973‘s interior decorating: prints of Vasarely and Miro, steel frame chairs with white leather cushions, lamps with huge chrome bowls etc. etc.

This movie, a bright child of its time, is well worth preserving.