source: Tony Rome

Trailer—Tony Rome

Tony Rome

The Maltese Falcon is alive! Frank Sinatra is every bit the hard P.I. that Humphrey Bogart was as Sam Slade. What adds to the movie is the Miami background of the 1960's. One of the great things about old movies is when they are set in the same time frame as when the movie is being filmed. You get a chance to see life at that point in time. The case involves a stolen diamond bracelet and Tony Rome is hired to find it. Tracking it down involves people of all walks of life, from the rich to those who want to be and those that aren't. Yet everyone is involved with the missing bracelet. Many twists and turns that come together neatly in the end. This was a movie that I thought got better as it went. This one is worth seeing again.

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.

When a young woman named "Diana Pines" (Sue Lyon) is found unconscious on a bed in a Miami hotel room the manager hires a private detective named "Tony Rome" (Frank Sinatra) to take care of the situation because she just happens to be the daughter of a wealthy and influential man there by the name of "Rudy Kosterman" (Simon Oakland). However, what starts out as a rather easy assignment soon turns out to be quite difficult when a diamond pin she was wearing turns up missing and Tony Rome is then hired by her to find out what happened to it. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a complicated movie which had an interesting plot and several sharp twists and turns from start to finish. It also had a couple of beautiful actresses involved including Jill St. John (as "Ann Arbor") and the aforementioned Sue Lyon to enhance the beautiful Miami scenery as well. Be that as it may, I enjoyed this film and have rated it accordingly. Above average.

The best reason for watching this film is to use it to transport yourself back to the 1960's, and experience that period from the perspective of a 50's Rat Pack star. This is not a great movie by today's standards, but as a child of the 60's and 70's myself, I can say that this movie does take you back to a time when America had a completely different environment, and mindset. The character portrayed by Sinatra, and the dialogue in general, presents a good example of what the typical American Male thought of as "cool" in the early 60's. True, it's not what we find entertaining today, but that's not why I like to watch old movies. I watch old films because they have an extraordinary ability to take you to a time when the world, and people in general, had a very different view of things and also what was fashionable at that time.

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.

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.