Tony Rome
| Tony Rome | |
|---|---|
 original one-sheet poster | |
| Directed by | Gordon Douglas |
| Produced by | Aaron Rosenberg |
| Written by |
Marvin H. Albert (novel) Richard L. Breen |
| Starring |
Frank Sinatra Jill St. John Richard Conte Sue Lyon |
| Music by |
Lee Hazlewood (title song) Billy May |
| Cinematography | Joseph F. Biroc |
| Editing by | Robert L. Simpson |
| Studio | Arcola Pictures |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation |
| Release dates | November 10, 1967 |
| Running time | 110 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3,480,000[1] |
| Box office | $4,000,000 (US/ Canada)[2] |
Tony Rome is a 1967 detective film starring Frank Sinatra and directed by Gordon Douglas, adapted from Marvin H. Albert's novel Miami Mayhem. The story follows the adventures of Miami private investigator Tony Rome (Sinatra) in his quest to locate a missing diamond pin that belongs to a wealthy heiress.
A sequel, Lady In Cement, was made in 1968, again featuring Sinatra as Tony Rome, and co-starring Raquel Welch and Dan Blocker.
Both films are examples of a late-sixties neo-noir trend that revived and updated the hardboiled detective and police dramas of the 1940s. Sinatra had originally been considered for the lead role as the tough private eye in Harper (1966), but lost out to Paul Newman. Other films in this genre include The Detective (1968) which also starred Sinatra as well as Point Blank (1967), Bullitt (1968), Madigan (1968), and Marlowe (1969).
Tony Rome, The Detective, and Lady in Cement were all directed by Gordon Douglas. The three films were packaged together in a DVD box-set by 20th Century Fox in 2005. Douglas also directed Sinatra in Young at Heart (1954) and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964).
Plot
Tony Rome, an ex-cop turned private investigator, lives on a powerboat in Miami. He is asked by his former partner, Ralph Turpin (Robert J. Wilke), to take home a young woman who had been left unconscious in a hotel room. The woman, Diana (née Kosterman) Pines (Sue Lyon), is the daughter of rich construction magnate Rudolph Kosterman (Simon Oakland), who subsequently hires Rome to find out why his daughter is acting so irrationally.
Diana, after regaining consciousness, discovers that a diamond brooch, which she had been wearing the night before, has gone missing. Diana and her stepmother (Gena Rowlands) also hire Rome, in this instance, to find the lost brooch. This, however, leads Rome into a maze of trouble, all the while being hired and counter-hired by Kosterman, his daughter, and his wife.
Critical reception
Tony Rome was met with good reviews upon release, although not quite the best notice Sinatra had in his career. Nevertheless, it was thought by many that he eased well into the kind of role in which his late friend Humphrey Bogart specialized.[citation needed]
Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars.[3]
Production
Filming took place on location in Miami, Florida, with some scenes being shot during the day at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, where Sinatra was performing in the evenings.[4]
It was partially filmed on the property that novelist Douglas Fairbairn, the author of A Squirrel of One's Own and A Squirrel Forever, was renting at the time.[5]
Soundtrack
Nancy Sinatra, daughter of Frank, sang the film's eponymous title track which then appeared on her album, Nancy Sinatra, The Hit Years (Rhino Records).
Cast
- Frank Sinatra as Tony Rome
- Jill St. John as Ann Archer
- Sue Lyon as Diana Pines
- Gena Rowlands as Rita Klosterman
- Simon Oakland as Rudy Klosterman
- Richard Conte as Lt. Dave Santini
- Robert J. Wilke as Turpin
- Lloyd Bochner as Rood
- Shecky Greene as Catleg
- Rocky Graziano as Packy
References
- ↑ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p255
- ↑ "All-Time B.O. Champs", Variety, 3 January 1968 p 25. Please note these figures refer to rentals accruing to the distributors.
- ↑ "Tony Rome". Chicago Sun-Times.
- ↑ Scott Allen Nollen (2003), The Cinema of Sinatra, Luminary Press, ISBN 1-887664-51-3
- ↑ Fairbairn, Douglas (1973), A Squirrel Forever, Simon and Schuster, p. 83,109, ISBN 978-0-671-21587-3