Shamus

Although this was a fast-paced pretty interesting crime story, it was not memorable, which is probably one reason there are so few reviews here.

Burt Reynolds was perfect for '70s film world of film in which just about anything was shown or heard now that all the restrictions were removed. Burt, as he did in this film, would sleep with any girl that came along. In one scene, Reynolds enters a bookstore, sees the clerk has a "nice pair of boobs," so they have sex immediately right at the store. Only in the sleazy '70s of Hollywood! (Or in most men's dreams.)

Actually, Burt excelled in films that combined action and humor, which this has but not enough to make this one of more-remembered movies. However, it does have very little nudity despite the above paragraph and no blasphemy. The best part of the movies might be the final action scene which provides two laugh-out- loud scenes.

In "Shamus," Burt Reynolds is a New York private eye afraid of big dogs and keeps a beautiful ginger cat…

He lives in a single room and sleeps on a pool table… He is quite capable of pushing a heroin addict's face into the garbage… He is certainly the 1970's version – almost in comic-strip – of the private investigator…

Reynolds lives cheaply, yet is hired to pursue a theft of diamonds; he is big and sexy, and the gorgeous Dyan Cannon is only too happy to dally with him at the drop of a clue; and he is apparently so tough that he can take all manner of beatings and emerge unscathed…

It is doubtful if he is the sort of man one would want to introduce to one's maiden aunt (the one with all the money), but he is certainly a character to fulfill all the audience's fantasies of violence, sex and thrills

Shamus leaves you in no doubt who the star is right from the opening credits, for those who enjoy private eye movies this one is fun from beginning to end. Plenty of action and a murder to solve. The wardrobe dates a bit, but the action sequences are great and the musical score adds to the films "Cool." Who better to do 70's cool than Burt. Dyan Cannon is infectious and there's a good support cast along for the ride. It's a basic enough private eye plot with twists and turns, really banking on it's popular leads. Plenty of good lines and attitude. That said, John P. Ryan is full speed ahead as a corrupt Lt. Col.(unfortunately his characters name always makes me laugh.) Another quick note would be the stake out from the book shop, an update of the sequence from the Big sleep. The film is definitely worth a look. For Reynolds' fans it's a must.

I just watched "Shamus" for the first time, ever. I mainly wanted to watch it for two reasons, one being I like early Burt, and also that it was filmed (the Brooklyn scenes) just blocks from where I grew up. I guess that I like early 70's NYC films as well.

Truth is, I did make it through the movie, but it's not really that good of a movie. Actually, I pretty much have absolutely no idea what it was about. Something about some stolen diamonds, guns, and shady people but it all just got lost to me. The main fun is watching 70's superstud Burt do his private-eye thing, which is mainly smoking cigarettes, acting cool, throwing around witty one-liners, getting chicks to go to bed with him, and punching guys out. Hey, good enough. What was that plot again? Funny scene in a bookstore where Burt walks in and decides he's gonna sleep with the hot intellectual chick in there, and of course he makes her melt with his ultra-coolness and smooth lines. Burt smooth-talks the gorgeous Dyan Cannon too, who kinda underacts here, like she's half asleep.

There are a lot of familiar 70's faces in this. But maybe best of all is Morris The Cat, who I guess earned the role from his rave reviews as 9-Lives spokescat (he was also in the movie "The Long Goodbye"). Morris earns raves as he uses his cool cat skills to, well, be a cool cat when things are happening around him. Morris gets fed a few times and we don't see the brand, 9-Lives definitely missed on some early product placement.

But Burt is good, as he participates in a lot of fighting, loving, swearing, and he even drives a huge stolen army vehicle throughout town with no police interference. The movie has an odd ending, maybe Morris should have helped that out. If you can watch Burt do his thing without caring too much about the mixed up plot, "Shamus" is good for a viewing.

Burt Reynolds in his prime as detective McCoy investigates gun trade and several lovely ladies. Some investigations lead to life threatening danger, some to the pool table. The time of the plot is early seventies but some obvious and tradition conscious nods to the detective genre point back to the forties. Two scenes, the taking of the assignment and later a scene with a lady in a bookshop seem strangely familiar. Like they were lifted from 'The Big Sleep' and turned into something new and more humorous. If I'm not all wrong about those bits, they certainly are a nice touch to the story.

McCoy also seems to have a lot in common with Mike Hammer of 'Kiss Me Deadly', his nature. At one moment he is a likable wisecracking guy and a ladies man. Then at a moment's notice he may turn into a violently sadistic brawler using any means to put a man down and get any information he wants. He is almost like two guys at one, which considering the profession becomes very handy indeed.

Shamus is full of speedy action, chases, fights and some very good looking stunts which at least some of them Reynolds seem to have handled himself. No need to wonder his superstar status during the seventies. He really had the works, skill and presence many action stars of today are lacking. Dyan Cannon as McCoy's new flame is simply lovely. She is the heart of the movie and brings in the sexiness for male viewers. Not being much of a game player I don't have to wonder anymore about the holes in pool tables.