Lady in Cement is a 1968 detective film, directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Frank Sinatra, Raquel Welch, Dan Blocker, Martin Gabel and Richard Conte.
A sequel to the 1967 film Tony Rome, and based on the novel by Marvin H. Albert, Lady In Cement was released on November 20, 1968.
Plot
While diving off the Miami coast seeking one of the eleven fabled Spanish Galleons sunk in 1591, private investigator Tony Rome (Frank Sinatra) discovers a dead blonde, her feet encased in cement, at the bottom of the ocean.
Rome reports this to Lieutenant Dave Santini (Richard Conte) and thinks little more of the incident, until Waldo Gronski (Dan Blocker) hires him to find a missing woman, Sandra Lomax.
Gronski has little in the way of affluence, so he allows Rome to pawn his watch to retain his services.
After investigating the local hot-spots and picking up on a few names, Rome soon comes across Kit Forrester, whose party Sandra Lomax was supposed to have attended.
Rome’s talking to Forrester raises the ire of racketeer Al Mungar, a supposedly reformed gangster who looks after Kit’s interests.
Thinking there may be a connection between Lomax, Forrester and Mungar, Rome starts probing into their backgrounds and begins a romantic relationship with Kit.
With both cops and crooks chasing him and the omnipresent Gronski breathing down his neck, Rome finds himself deep in a case which provides few answers.
Cast
- Frank Sinatra as Tony Rome
- Raquel Welch as Kit Forrester
- Dan Blocker as Waldo Gronski
- Richard Conte as Lt. Dave Santini
- Martin Gabel as Al Mungar
- Richard Deacon as Arnie Sherwin
- Lainie Kazan as Maria Baretto
- Pat Henry as Rubin
- Steve Peck as Paul Mungar (as Steven Peck)
- Virginia Wood as Audrey
- Frank Raiter as Danny Yale
- Peter Hock as Frenchy
- Alex Stevens as Shev
- Christine Todd as Sandra Lomax
- Mac Robbins as Sidney the organizer
- Tommy Uhlar as The Kid, Tighe Santini
Critical reception
Opening to mixed reviews, Lady in Cement is generally considered to be a middling sequel to Tony Rome. Critic Roger Ebert gave faint praise in a generally scathing review by commenting: “In the movie's few good scenes, Sinatra once again painfully reminds us what a controlled, effective actor he is.†Variety noted that “Dan Blocker is excellent as a sympathetic heavy,†whilst John Maloney liked the “fresher script†and “sharp direction.â€
Trivia
In Lady in Cement, director Gordon Douglas, and star Frank Sinatra dropped a few inside references, including an instrumental of the Sinatra song "You Make Me Feel So Young" during one scene. A clip of the TV series Bonanza was used in one scene, on which co-star Dan Blocker played Hoss Cartwright. There is also a reference to Sinatra's ex-wife Ava Gardner during a scene in which Rome comments on knowing a girl who used to date bullfighters. . Rome rides in a taxi which bears an advertisement for Dean Martin's Restaurant & Lounge on its rear fender.
DVD release
Lady on Cement was released on DVD on May 24, 2005 as part of a boxed set along with Tony Rome and The Detective, both also directed by Douglas. No bonus features were included.
References
External links
- Lady in Cement at the Internet Movie Database
- Lady in Cement at AllMovie
- Lady in Cement at the TCM Movie Database
- Lady in Cement at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Roger Ebert’s Review
- Variety’s Review
- Review of the DVD Release by DVD Times