Inclusion Criteria:

- Patients must have histologically confirmed, unresectable stage III or stage IV
malignant melanoma

- ECOG performance status =< 1

- Absolute neutrophil count >= 1.5 x 10^9/L

- Platelets >= 100 x 10^9/L

- Total bilirubin within normal institutional limits

- AST(SGOT)/ALT(SGPT =< 1.5 x institutional upper limit of normal

- Creatinine =< 1.5 mg/dl OR

- Creatinine clearance >= 50 mL/min for patients with creatinine levels above
institutional normal

- Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception
(hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and
for the duration of study participation; should a woman become pregnant or suspect
she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating
physician immediately

- Eligible patients must agree to pre- and post-treatment biopsies of normal skin; in
the phase 1 part of the study, patients with cutaneous disease or accessible lymph
nodes must also agree to pre- and post-treatment tumor biopsies; in the phase 2 part
of the study, tumor biopsies are required of the first 20 patients enrolled who have
cutaneous disease or accessible lymph nodes

- Patients enrolled to the Phase 2 portion of the study must have measurable disease by
RECIST criteria

- Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion Criteria:

- Patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy within 3 weeks (6 weeks for
nitrosoureas or mitomycin C) prior to entering the study or those who have not
recovered from adverse events due to agents administered more than 3 weeks earlier

- Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents

- Patients with active CNS metastases are excluded; patients with a history of CNS
metastases that have been treated must be stable for 4 weeks after completion of
treatment, with image documentation required; patients must not be taking
enzyme-inducing anticonvulsants and must be either off steroids or be receiving a
stable dose of steroids

- Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to ongoing or active
infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac
arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with
study requirements

- Pregnant women are excluded from this study; breastfeeding should be discontinued if
the mother is treated with SCH727965

- HIV-positive patients on combination antiretroviral therapy are ineligible because of
the potential for pharmacokinetic interactions with SCH727965; in addition, these
patients are at increased risk of lethal infections when treated with
marrow-suppressive therapy; appropriate studies will be undertaken in patients
receiving combination antiretroviral therapy when indicated

- Patients with other currently active malignancies are excluded, except those with an
in-situ cancer or basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin

- In the phase 2 part of the study, patients who have received prior investigational
treatment with a cdk inhibitor are excluded