Tony Rome (Frank Sinatra) was a cop until he became disillusioned with the force and now makes his living as a private detective – but even that barely covers his gambling debts.
Today he wakes up on the boat where he lives in a Miami port and gets a message from his old partner: he wants Tony to help with some trouble at the hotel where he works as a detective.
Tony is reluctant at first but then hears there’s money in it for him and heads over to find an unconscious young woman, Diana (Sue Lyon), in one of the rooms.
She is the daughter of construction millionaire Rudy Kosterberg (Simon Oakland), and by agreeing to drive her home, Tony is about to get into a whole mess of trouble. Kosterman wants Tony to find out why his daughter ended up drunk in a low-class Miami hotel.
He has to dodge bullets and women on the way; he also gets beaten up and hands out his share of beatings – but not without a salty sense of humour.
The role seems tailor-made for Sinatra, as it probably was, and he carries it off with cynical aplomb.
Jill St John and Gena Rowlands are good for the eyes, and Richard Conte and Jeffrey Lynne look tough, but the magnificent shots of Miami Beach, Florida, capture most of the interest in this slick private-eye tale.
Tony Rome
Frank Sinatra
Ann Archer
Jill St. John
Lt. Dave Santini
Richard Conte
Rita Kosterman
Gena Rowlands
Rudy Kosterman
Simon Oakland
Adam Boyd
Jeffrey Lynn
Vic Rood
Lloyd Bochner
Ralph Turpin
Robert J. Wilke
Sally Bullock
Virginia Vincent
Fat Candy
Joan Shawlee
Donald Pines
Richard Krisher
Jules Langley
Lloyd Gough
Oscar
Babe Hart
Mrs Schuyler
Templeton Fox
Packy
Rocky Graziano
Director
Gordon Douglas