I have always loved Dean Martin.

Hey pallies, likes we continue to search the web as far and wide as possible for great Dino-prosin', likes 'specially a la Matt Helm that we have missed sharin' in the past, and as we are faithful to that task our Dino always faithfully  helps us to find cooler and cooler Dino-devotion to pass 'long to all youse Dino-holics.  Case in point woulda be today's Dino-post that was shared by an absolutely awesomely sold-out to Dino dude tagged Terence Towles Canote who hangs his hat at the blog "A SHROUD OF THOUGHTS - DEDICATED TO POP CULTURE IN ALL ITS FORMS.

Likes today we share with youse his potent prose praisin' our most beloved Dino as swingin' spyster Matt Helm in Helmer numero uno "The Silencers.  His post was published way back on August 21, 2008 and tagged "Guilty Pleasures" and leadin' off his energetic essay is our one and only Dino in "The Silencers."   Glancin' back to check out whether we had visited with Mr. Canote previously, we found this wonderful post on our Dino's Variety Show that we shared on November 9, 2009 and  LOCATED HERE.

That first postin' is proof positive that Terence is solidly solidly sold-out to our Dino, and the followin' Dino-essay just adds to his great glorification of our one and only Dino.  As your read Mr. Canote's wise writin's it is clear that he "gets Martin," 'specially as swingin' agent Matt Helm.   His deep deep devotion to our Dino is crystal clear as his quotation that we use as the tag of this post powerfully proclaims..."I have always loved Dean Martin"  Terence' final paragraph includes this as well as a number of swank sentences pleasin'ly proclaimin' the greatest of our Dino!

We shouts out our awesome appreciato to Dino-devotee Mr. Terence Towles Canote for such delightful devotion to our Dino.  We are so so sorry that it has taken us so long to shares it with all youse digger of our main man.  To checks this out in it's original source, simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-message.  Dino-lovin', DMP




THURSDAY, 21 AUGUST 2008

Guilty Pleasures

When it comes to movies, everyone has their share of guilty pleasures. These are movies that we realise are bad and so we feel guilty about watching them, but we enjoy them nonetheless. And often people will list their guilty pleasures in their blogs, but sadly I have to wonder if many times these are truly that person's guilty pleasures. After all, such lists often include films that are admittedly left of centre, but are good nonetheless. For instance, if I was going to make such a list, I might include Phantom of the Paradise, Motel Hell, and Phantasm, even though all three films are rated "Fresh" at Rotten Tomatoes. What I have chosen to do instead is to list what are truly my guilty pleasures, movies that are truly so bad that I feel guilty enjoying them. I do hope that your opinion of my critical judgement does not suffer from knowing that I like these movies...

The Silencers (1966): The Silencers was the first of the short lived series of Matt Helm movies featuring Dean Martin in the lead role. And even from an adaptation of the Matt Helm novel, it fails. Italian descended Dean Martin is horribly miscast as Matt Helm, who was fiercely proud of his Nordic heritage. And it should be pointed out that Matt Helm was not exactly a spy. Technically he was a counteragent for the United States government, the man whose job it was to neutralise or kill enemy agents. More simply put, he was a government assassin. Needless to say, the movie departs a good deal from the novel. The novel centres around Helm, sent to Mexico to extract an agent, who then finds himself involved trying to save a group of American scientists and Congressmen.

In the movie Matt Helm is more or less a straight forward secret agent. As to the plot of the movie, it centres on Helm's efforts to stop an evil organization called "Big O" from detonating an atomic bomb over New Mexico. Further distancing the film from the novel is its style. The Matt Helm novels are very gritty and realistic--they actually have more in common with hard boiled detective stories such as those of Philip Marlowe than the bigger than life adventures of James Bond. On the other hand, the movie is done in a tongue in cheek style.

From all appearances, The Silencers was contrived simply as a vehicle for Dean Martin to act like, well, Dean Martin. He womanises. He boozes. There are even a few of his songs. The rest of the cast are merely window dressing, from beautiful women like Stella Stevens to the villain Victor Buono. The plot is paper thin and many of gadgets and technology are simply downright silly. The film is even outright racist, with Victor Buono in yellowface.

Still, I cannot deny to enjoying this movie every time I see it. I have always loved Dean Martin. He is one of my favourite actors and singers of all time. And I have always loved to see him going through his schtick--boozing, womanising, and making easy going jokes. The silliness of much of what goes on only adds to my enjoyment. So much of the movie is so unbelievably silly that I cannot help but laugh. As a Matt Helm adaptation and a serious spy drama, The Silencers fails miserably. As an unintentional comedy, it succeeds admirably.