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Lady in Cement
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Wikipedia article
'Lady in Cement' is a 1968 American neo-noirSilver, Alain; Ward, Elizabeth; eds. (1992). 'Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style' (3rd ed.). Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press. mystery crime comedy thriller film directed by Gordon Douglas, based on the 1961 novel 'The Lady in Cement' by Marvin H. Albert. The film stars Frank Sinatra, Raquel Welch, Dan Blocker, Richard Conte, Martin Gabel, Lainie Kazan, and Pat Henry.
A sequel to the 1967 film 'Tony Rome', 'Lady in Cement' was released on November 20, 1968.
Plot
While diving off the Miami coast seeking one of the 11 fabled Spanish galleons sunk in 1591, private investigator Tony Rome discovers a dead woman, her feet encased in cement (concrete), at the bottom of the ocean.
Rome reports this to Lieutenant Dave Santini and thinks nothing more of the incident, until Waldo Gronsky hires him to find a missing woman, Sandra Lomax. Gronsky has little money, so he allows Rome to pawn his watch to retain his services.
After investigating the local hotspots and picking up on a few names, Rome soon comes across Kit Forrest , whose party Sandra Lomax was supposed to have attended. Rome's talking to Forrest raises the ire of racketeer Al Mungar, a supposedly reformed gangster who looks after Kit's interests.
Thinking a connection may exist between Lomax, Forrest 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 Gronsky breathing down his neck, Rome finds himself deep in a case that provides few answers.
Cast
* Frank Sinatra as Tony Rome
* Raquel Welch as Kit Forrest
* Dan Blocker as Gronsky
* Richard Conte as Lt. Santini
* Martin Gabel as Al Mungar
* Lainie Kazan as Maria Baretto
* Pat Henry as Rubin
* Steve Peck as Paul Mungar
* Virginia Wood as Audrey
* Richard Deacon as Arnie Sherwin
* 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
* Ray Baumel as Paco
* Pauly Dash as McComb
* Andy Jarrell as the pool boy
Production
The film was based on a novel published in 1961, which 'The New York Times' called "ingenuous".
Following the success of 'Tony Rome', Aaron Rosenberg hired Marvin Albert to adapt 'Cement' for Sinatra. The actor made it after 'The Detective'. Raquel Welch's casting was announced in June 1967.
Sammy Davis Jr was to have appeared in the film as the charter-boat captain. Sinatra fell ill, though, and filming was postponed for four weeks. Davis was replaced by Pat Henry in the final film.
Dan Blocker was given time away from 'Bonanza' to play his part. The movie gave an early role to Lainie Kazan.
Welch later said she did not realize her character was an alcoholic until after filming wrapped. "I'm watching this movie and I'm thinking, 'What the hell has she got on?' At one point, I had this epiphany: 'Oh, she's an alcoholic!' I didn't know that. How could I miss that?... I think I was just so enamored with Frank Sinatra, you know. He's hypnotic."
Filming started in March 1968. Before and during filming, Sinatra was performing at the Fontainebleau in Miami over a six-week period. Welch went to watch him, and found the experience so inspiring, she determined to continue to perform to live audiences in her career.
Reception
Box office
According to Fox records, the film required $7,150,000 in rentals to break even, and by 11 December 1970, had made $6,825,000, which made a loss for the studio.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", while John Maloney liked the "fresher script" and "sharp direction."Home media
'Lady In 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.
See also
*List of American films of 1968
References
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