SteinMo
What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.
Senteur
As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.
Rio Hayward
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
dmuel
After James Bond began piling up revenue with a string of box office winners, there were numerous imitators, lots of spies popping up on the big screen. Martin's Matt Helm was among the worst of the Hollywood rip offs. It is difficult to view these terribly contrived stories with Martin crooning sappy songs on his way to save the world from evil plots and criminal syndicates. His "irresistible" sex appeal on screen strains credulity, and nothing in his demeanor suggests sophistication or cleverness. While there may have been even worse, lower- budget spy flicks than the Matt Helm franchise, this is a very pale effort compared to any of the various Bond incarnations.
Uriah43
An American nuclear scientist has decided to defect to the criminal organization known as the "Big O". His intent is to give the "Big O" a tape which will detail plans concerning an upcoming American nuclear test which the "Big O" will exploit to create a massive radioactive disaster within the United States. If everything goes as expected the United States will blame the Soviet Union and a nuclear war between the two will erupt with the "Big O" as the eventual winner. Only the government organization known as "I.C.E." can stop them and so Matt Helm (Dean Martin) is coaxed out of semi-retirement to work with a former partner named "Tina" (Dahlia Lavi) to get the tape and stop the "Big O" from completing their nefarious operation. Now, while this film is obviously meant to imitate "James Bond" movies, it doesn't have nearly the style or the substance to compete against them. The humor isn't sharp, the acting isn't as good and the action sequences are third-rate in comparison. Still, there are several beautiful women, most notably Stella Stevens (as "Gail Hendricks"), Beverly Adams ("Lovey Kravezit"), Nancy Kovak (as the assassin "Barbara") and the aforementioned Dahlia Lavi to add to the scenery. All in all, this is an okay movie, but it's not in the same league as any of the James Bond films.
yanks23
My favorite part of this "tongue-in-cheek" espionage flick, is when Dean Martin, convinced that Stella Stevens has the micro-film tape on her, completely rips her dress off of her, leaving the sexy Stevens standing there in her bra, gartered-panties, nylons and high-heels. Great scene !! I'm sure it was Stella Stevens who kept the attention of male viewers throughout this silly movie. Sure , there were other attractive women in the movie. But Stevens was tops !! Dean martin, pretty much being himself as opposed to acting, was entertaining to a degree. However, it was Stella Stevens who stole the show. I didn't even consider being annoyed by her "flighty" character. She's just too damn pretty.
ShadeGrenade
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 ).
