This film sees the return of Miami private investigator Tony Rome. As the story opens he is scuba diving at a site that a friend assures him is the final resting place of a number of Spanish galleons; he doesn't find and wrecks… just a naked blonde with her feet set in a concrete block! Soon afterwards he is hired by a large man named Waldo Gronsky to find a blonde named Sandra, who he assures him is not the one he found earlier. The last place Sandra was seen was the house of Kit Forrest, a wealthy and attractive young widow. She had been throwing a party but didn't recall if Sandra was actually there as she had been drinking. She doesn't really want to talk so calls her neighbour; retired gangster Al Mungar. His investigation takes him to a go-go club where the manager is murdered shortly afterwards leading to the police wanting to arrest Tony for murder! If he is to clear his name he will have to stay a step ahead of the police and solve the case he was paid for.Frank Sinatra returns for a second, and sadly final, time as Tony Rome. He does a fine job as this likable detective; cool but not too cool. The case is interesting and provides several potential suspects including Kit Forrest, Gronsky and Mungar as well as more victims. For the most part the movie still feels fresh with its bright Miami locations and cool '60s feel but in other ways it has dated; most notably portrayal and treatment of homosexual characters, including by the protagonist… something that almost certainly wouldn't be accepted in a modern film. The secondary cast are solid enough; Raquel Welch is fine as Kit Forrest, her introduction where she exits a pools wearing a bikini is certainly impressive! Unfortunately she isn't quite as good a female lead as Jill St.John was in the first 'Tony Rome' film; she was sexy but lacked a certain something. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody wanting some '60s fun; if you liked the first Tony Rome film you should enjoy this too.

O.K., Tony doesn't die, but this film killed an otherwise promising franchise. While the original, Tony Rome, wasn't a monumental piece of film-making this one fell flat at the box office.Lovable loser Tony Rome is back. He's still cool in his deadbeat style, but this time he's on a case that just doesn't gel. Revisiting the ingredients that made the original a fun romp falls flat this time as the story just hasn't got legs. It starts off startling enough with the underwater discovery of a nude (torso up) blonde on the bottom of the sea. The story could have gone any number of ways from here, but the direction it took - mobster gone straight and jealousy among lovers, including bashing gays, seems mis-placed to be kind.The high points here include good turns by Raquel Welsh and Dan Blocher. As a character actor Blocher really lights up the screen. His presence is formidable and begs for more screen time. Raquel Welsh is fantastic window dressing, if not quite as effective as Jill St. John in Tony Rome. Sinatra is totally relaxed and rolling nicely with the character. Blame the writers and the screenplay because with the cool backdrop of Miami Beach and the straight man role reprised of homicide chief Richard Conti this could have extended Tony Rome into at least another two or three films. It didn't, however, and this is still worth a watch if not very compelling.

"Lady In Cement", the second and last Tony Rome film, is a step down from its predecessor. There is something missing here, and even if it's hard to determine exactly what, you can feel it. The dialogue still has some snap, but the characters are not quite as developed and the whole "Tony Rome on the run from the police" business in the second half does little to advance the plot. Although Raquel Welch beats Jill St. John by miles in the looks department, she does not give her (similar) character the same comic spark. Some people might also be offended by the broad gay caricature of a nightclub manager. The new character who makes the most impression is the gorilla-like Dan Blocker, however his presence seems to also have reduced Sinatra's own action scenes. Apart from a well-done underwater sequence at the start, there is little in this sequel that we hadn't already seen in the first film. (**)

All the poor marks taken in to account......it's still fun to see Sinatra at his wisecracking best.....Tony Rome and Sinatra are gone and perhaps so are all those Runyonesque characters.In many ways like the music he left us.....even the below par efforts of his later years, there are a few similar films which kind of grow on you and certainly the Tony Rome films can be included. While its not "Some Came Running" or "Man with the Golden Arm" they do compare to the celebrated "Rat Pack" movies which seem to be getting a revival of sorts.Or perhaps it's just that absence makes the heart grow fonder....nice to remember there were guys like that around not too long ago.....like an older relative of mine recently said..."I sure miss those kind of guys".My guess is that as we get further and further away from the days of the rat pack we my become fonder and fonder of Tony Rome and Lady in Cement