Shamus (1973)

Shamus (1973) ** (out of 4) Shamus McCoy (Burt Reynolds) is a rough and tough New York private detective who is hired to track down the people who set a couple on fire. It turns out this couple was behind a jewelry robbery so whoever killed them now has the jewels.SHAMUS is a pretty disappointing film on many levels as it's so darn boring and has such a bland screenplay that it's easy to see why the movie has pretty much been forgotten. A lot of Reynolds' movies from this period are now considered classics but this one here has pretty much remained in the shadows for a good reason. It's certainly a shame that the movie didn't turn out a bit better because it has some elements that could have made for something much more memorable.The biggest issue I had with the film was the fact that the screenplay just didn't feature a very interesting mystery. The film also suffers from not knowing exactly what it wants to do because at times it almost seems like a spoof of the film noir genre with some really lame comedy bits. Just look at the opening sequence with Reynolds getting out of bed with a woman and doing some sort of comic bit that just isn't funny. There's a lot of flirting done by Reynolds but none of it is overly charming or cute.The film contains mostly forgettable performances and I'd include the lead in on this as well. Reynolds just really seems out of it here as if even he knows that the story isn't all that special. Dyan Cannon makes for a boring female co-star and none of the other supporting players pack much of a punch. The slow style doesn't help things and director Buzz Kulik just doesn't add any flair to the material.

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.

When I took a look of this, I thought it would one of another Burt Reynolds' hits. And it was. I've seen some of the stills in a book when I was in college. I said to myself, "I got to see this movie". When I rented it, I'm glad I did. Now I've seen stars form Northern states play Southerners, here Burt plays a detective in New York. All he has to do is play it smooth. That did the trick, and this movie is a success. I don't how it went in the box office, because I wasn't either born just yet, or I was a baby when this was showing. Whatever, this movie is good. I liked mostly the fight scene where Shamus(Reynolds) smacked the gun out of one of the hoods hands and take him out. Then I also liked the part where Shamus clubbed the big guy as well. Getting the bad guys is always typical, and it's always good for Burt Reynolds to play roles in any state, any city, any where. Burt's got it! Rating 4 out of 5 stars

I saw this film in Grade 11, and found Reynolds hard edge well done. He sleeps on a pool table, and fights with a chain. Even Sly would have a hard time topping Reynolds in this one. Reynolds must have grew up tough inorder to put some real life experience into this one. If Burt did Mike Hammer he would have saved his career. 7/10