Thanks for the memories!

Simply Perfect

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

I will not bother to go over the plot or other cinematic elements of this light-hearted spoof, and concentrate on the man himself, the King of Cool, Dino Crocetti.His casual sexism, smug chauvinism, and generally patronizing attitude are refreshing reminders of the days when men were expected to behave that way, political correctness be damned. My favorite scene is when he casually breaks out a bottle of liquor **while driving** to knock back a few with Stella Stevens. The ways Dean acts would get him picketed by anhedonic prudes-- excuse me, **feminist groups**, if he were performing today. Then again, if he were performing today, we'd have bigger problems because it would mean that the zombie apocalypse has begun. All in all, a playful time-capsule romp through the days when people just seemed to have more damn fun.

If Harry Palmer was the poor man's James Bond, and Derek Flint was the poor man's Harry Palmer, then where does that leave Dean Martin's Matt Helm? Bottom feeding in the secret agent pond, I suppose. The Helm films began promisingly, entertainingly and shlockily with 1966's "The Silencers," a promise that was soon dissipated in two very poor films and redeemed somewhat, in 1969, in the fourth and last. Dino basically plays himself here, and these films seem something like extended sketches on the old "Dean Martin Show." But Matt Helm IS cool. How cool? Well, he wears a turtleneck and sports jacket to lounge around a Phoenix pool, and his apartment features a circular bed that dumps him into his bubble bath in the morning. He also has a bar in his car so that he can get tippled while he drives. (Hey, wait a minute...that ain't cool, kids!) A la Bond, he also comes equipped with some nifty gadgets in "The Silencers" (a backward-firing pistol and sports jacket buttonbombs), fights a criminal organization (the leeringly named Big O), makes dumb jokes (his put-down of Frank Sinatra IS pretty funny, actually) and woos the babes. Here, he spends time with Nancy Kovack, Cyd Charisse, Israeli actress Dahlia Lavi and the wonderfully klutzy Stella Stevens; a quartet of pulchritude that would amazingly be topped in Helm's final film, "The Wrecking Crew," with its remarkable Tina Louise/Elke Sommer/Nancy Kwan/Sharon Tate foursome. "The Silencers" also features the phoniest-looking laser beam ever and a moderately exciting ending. This movie's kinda fun, actually. Oh...did I mention that Helm's secretary is named Lovey Kravezit?

Dean Martin personifies Donald Hamilton's super-spy Matt Helm, especially in this era of girl-ogling and martini guzzling. "The Silencers" was the first of four Helm adventures, and, while not a classic, it does offer some laughs and colorfully tatty '60's surroundings. Helm attempts to stop madman Victor Buono from blowing up an atomic test site; sexy klutz Stella Stevens becomes his unofficial sidekick, though she may be a ruse to help the villains. Nutty, tipsy nonsense, certainly no threat to the James Bond franchise but mindless fun nonetheless. Followed by "Murderers' Row" the very same year, "The Ambushers" in 1968 and "The Wrecking Crew" in 1969. ** from ****

Irving Allen co-produced several films in the '50's and '60's with Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli, among them 'The Red Beret', 'Cockleshell Heroes' and 'The Trials Of Oscar Wilde'. A disagreement arose when Broccoli expressed an interest in Ian Fleming's 'James Bond' books. Allen was convinced they had no merit, the partnership ended and Broccoli made the films with Harry Saltzman, of which 'Dr.No' ( 1962 ) was the first. As we now know, they became one of the decade's biggest pop culture phenomena. Allen then set up a rival series of spy pictures, based on Donald Hamilton's 'Matt Helm', an altogether more hard boiled character. After being rebuffed by Paul Newman, he offered the role to Dean Martin, who accepted on the grounds that his company - 'Claude Productions' - be involved. Allen agreed, hence all four Helm pictures carried the credit 'A Meadway Claude Picture'.With Dino around, 'Matt Helm' was bound to turn silly and did. Of the quartet, however, the first - 'The Silencers' - manages to be pretty good. It opens with the ( off-screen ) killing of I.C.E. ( International Counter Espionage ) agent Jim Traynor. His partner, Tina Batori ( Daliah Lavi ), is assigned a replacement in the shape of Matt, with whom she has worked before. The latter lives a life of luxury in a gadget-packed house, with a beautiful secretary ( Beverly Adams ) boasting the unlikely name of 'Lovey Kravezit' taking dictation while sharing his bath. Matt returns home one night to find the lovely Barbara ( Nancy Kovack ) laying in wait for him with a knife. Before she can stick it into his back, she is shot dead by Tina ( Matt's codename of 'Eric' is used here ). She tells him that a top American scientist named Naldi ( David Bond ) is about to pass a vital computer tape to the subversive B.I.G. O ( Bureau for International Government and Order ) organisation. After wiping out a contingent of killers, they head for Phoenix and the Slaygirl Club, where the courier is to be the stunning Sarita ( Cyd Chariise )...As 'Matt', Dean Martin is...well, Dean Martin. Ridiculous gadgets abound, including a gun that shoots backwards, a camera that fires blades, a phone that spits gas, and jacket buttons that double as hand grenades. Oscar Saul's script is based not only on the book of the same name but also 'Death Of A Citizen', the first in the series. He does a good job at combining the plots and, although there is plenty of comedy, there are a few serious bits as well. Take the scene where Matt and Tina take Gail Hendrix ( Stella Stevens ) back to their hotel room for questioning following Sarita's killing. Thinking her klutzy nature to be an act, he gets rough by pushing her so hard she tumbles over the bed and onto the floor, and then rips off her dress, leaving her fuming in her underwear. This scene is lifted almost verbatim from the novel, and is not played for laughs. It is one of the reasons why 'The Silencers' works so much better than the other films. We see a glimpse of the original character - a Government-sponsored assassin who killed in cold blood when he needed to.Other villains include Roger C.Carmel ( 'Harry Mudd' of 'Star Trek' ) as the swarthy 'Andreyev', Robert Webber as hotel pianist 'Sam Gunther' and Arthur O'Connell as garage owner 'Joe Wigman'. These characters are played straight but their boss - 'Tung-Tze' ( Victor Buono ) - is not. He brings to the role the campy approach he brought to 'King Tut', his regular role on the 'Batman' television series. Stella Stevens is hilarious as the accident-prone 'Gail', one wishes she had been used in the sequels. Elegant Daliah Lavi played similar roles in 'Casino Royale' ( 1967 ) and 'Some Girls Do' ( 1969 ). The exciting climax in B.I.G. O's Command Headquarters has Helm ( with Gail at his side ) endeavouring to prevent the launching of a missile before it is redirected at the atomic testing centre at White Sands, Alamorgordo. Great music from Elmer Bernstein.'The Silencers' made less money than the Bond movie 'Thunderball', but thanks to Dino's co-production deal he wound up with a bigger paycheck than Connery. A sequel - 'Murderers' Row' - was announced at the end of 'The Silencers'. Unfortunately, a change of writer - Herbert Baker - and director - Henry Levin' - resulted in a shift in tone as the sophisticated elegance of the first film was thrown away. Phil Karlson did a splendid job with 'The Silencers', but only directed one more 'Matt Helm' film - the awful 'The Wrecking Crew' ( 1969 ).