Likes recently we have delightfully noted that hundreds and hundreds of virtual visits to ilovedinomartin each and every Dino-day have been comin' from the cool cool country of France. So, we are profoundly pleased to end our Dino-amore month 2018 with a powerful post from France.
From the beautiful blog, "Films Fantastiques.com - L'Encyclopedie du Cinema Fantastique" (Fantastic Films The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Cinema) comes blogger Mr. Gilles Penso's remarkable reflection on our Dino as Matt Helm in his offerin' tagged "1966 - MATT HELM, VERY SPECIAL AGENT."
Mr. Penso's swank scribin's awesomely accent Helmer numero uno, "The Silencers." One of the huge huge highlights of his post is a vintage vid clip of what appears to be a French trailer for "The Silencers." While the quality of the audio is of rather poor quality....the swingin' scenes from this fabulous flick are as cool as ever beginnin' with that stunnin' scene of our Dino as Matt on his revolvin' round bed surrounded by a bevy of beautiful clicks.
We are totally totally thrilled to share this Frenchman's notable nod to our Dino as swingin' spyster Matt Helm and thank him for sharin' this Dino-centric post at his blog. We are deeply delighted to know that so so many Dino-devotees have been tunin' in here at our humble little ilovedinomartin blog to gets daily doses of our most most beloved Dino and this particular post is to thank 'em all for there deep deep devotion to our ever lovin' Dino! And, what coulda be more appro to conclude our marvelous month of Dino-amore then to share a bit of Dino-lovin' from our King of Cool as Matt Helm?!?!?!?! To checks this out in it's original source, likes simply clicks on the tag of this Dino-gram.
We Remain,
Yours in Dino,
Dino Martin Peters
(The Silencers)
from Phil Karlson (USA)
with Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Victor Buono, Arthur O'Connell, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Nancy Kovacs
When Albert Broccoli decided to adapt James Bond's novels to screen, he proposed to his partner Irving Allen to embark on the adventure with him. Little confidence in the financial future of this project, Allen declined the offer ... and obviously bit his fingers to the elbows following the unexpected success ofe James Bond against Dr. No and Seq
they. To try to catch up, Allen bought the rights to David Hamilton's spying novels that narrated the exploits of Matt Helm, an agent at the service of the secret organization ICE. To give substance to the hero, Allen opted for Dean Martin, naturally at ease in the role of the casual playboy. From the novel "The Silencers" which he is supposed to be inspired, Matt Helm Very Special Agent
only a few disparate elements remain, and from the realistic universe created by Hamilton, this semi-parody forgets almost everything, to the chagrin of the novelist's fans. Returned to fashion photography after his good and loyal services for Uncle Sam's counterintelligence, Matt Helm is recontacted by his superiors because of the threat posed by the personalized yellow peril, in other words Tung-Tze (Victor Buono , under an Asian makeup as unconvincing as the Chinese accent he uses to declaim his replicas). Head of the Big-Zero organization, Ting-Tze hijacked a nuclear missile and plans to send it to New Mexico at Alamogordo to start a third world war.
Generously filled with pretty short-clad girls, absurd gadgets, harmless car chases and unabashed gags, Matt Helm Agent Très Spécial just caricatures what made the success of the saga 007 (then booming after the triumph of Thunderball ) without ever seeking to recreate the brutality or inventiveness. Elmer Bernstein compo suddenly a jazzy score echoing those of John Barry, the head designer Joe Wright struggles to compete with the visual madness of Ken Adam's creations, and Dean Martin wanders the film with a disillusioned air, pushing regularly the ditty in voice-over to make profitable his talents of crooner.
This sweetened imitation of 007 gives way to a lot of allusions to James Bond against Doctor No , especially with the presence of the young woman who interferes with Helm with all her clothes for one of her shirts (like the memorable Sylvia Trench played by Eunice Gayson), but also the Chinese super-villain played by a Caucasian comedian and his futuristic haunt during which a moderately explosive climax takes place. The only real joy of the film is due to the two main female actresses, the stunning Dahlia Lavi playing the role of the ambiguous teammate and the delicious Stella Stevens that of the tourist grossly clumsy. Despite his weak artistic ambitions and the excessive lightness of his treatment,Matt Helm Very Special Agent was a great success - helped of course by Broccoli's espionage movies - and was followed by three sequels with the same recipes.
1966 - MATT HELM, AGENT TRES SPECIAL
(The Silencers)
de Phil Karlson (USA)
avec Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Victor Buono, Arthur O’Connell, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Nancy Kovacs
Lorsqu’Albert Broccoli décida d’adapter les romans de James Bond à l’écran, il proposa à son partenaire Irving Allen de se lancer dans l’aventure avec lui. Peu confiant dans l’avenir financier d’un tel projet, Allen déclina l’offre… et s’en mordit évidemment les doigts jusqu’aux coudes suite au succès inespéré de James Bond contre Docteur No et ses séquelles. Pour essayer tant bien que mal de rattraper le coup, Allen acheta les droits des romans d’espionnage de David Hamilton qui narraient les exploits de Matt Helm, agent au service de l’organisation secrète ICE. Pour donner corps au héros, Allen opta pour Dean Martin, naturellement à l’aise dans le rôle du playboy décontracté.
Du roman « The Silencers » dont il est censé s’inspirer, Matt Helm Agent Très Spécial ne conserve que quelques éléments disparates, et de l’univers réaliste créé par Hamilton, cette semi-parodie oublie quasiment tout, au grand dam des amateurs du romancier. Reconverti à la photographie de mode après ses bons et loyaux services pour le contre-espionnage de l’Oncle Sam, Matt Helm est recontacté par ses supérieurs à cause de la menace que représente le péril jaune personnalisé, autrement dit Tung-Tze (Victor Buono, sous un maquillage asiatique aussi peu convaincant que l’accent chinois qu’il utilise pour déclamer ses répliques). Chef de l’organisation Big-Zero, Ting-Tze a détourné un missile nucléaire et projette de l’envoyer sur le Nouveau-Mexique, à Alamogordo, afin de déclencher une troisième guerre mondiale.
Généreusement empli de jolies filles court-vêtues, de gadgets absurdes, d’inoffensives poursuites automobiles et de gags sans finesse, Matt Helm Agent Très Spécial se contente de caricaturer ce qui fit le succès de la saga 007 (alors en plein essor suite au triomphe d’Opération Tonnerre) sans jamais chercher à en retranscrire la brutalité ou l’inventivité. Elmer Bernstein compose du coup une partition jazzy faisant écho à celles de John Barry, le chef décorateur Joe Wright peine à rivaliser avec la folie visuelle des créations de Ken Adam, et Dean Martin déambule dans le film d’un air désabusé, poussant régulièrement la chansonnette en voix-off pour rentabiliser ses talents de crooner.
Cette imitation édulcorée de 007 se laisse aller à bon nombre d’allusions à James Bond contre Docteur No, notamment avec la présence de la jeune femme qui s’immisce chez Helm avec pour tout vêtement une de ses chemises (comme la mémorable Sylvia Trench interprétée par Eunice Gayson), mais aussi le super-vilain chinois incarné par un comédien caucasien et son repaire futuriste au cours duquel se déroule un climax modérément explosif. Les seules véritables réjouissances du film sont dues aux deux principales actrices féminines, la renversante Dahlia Lavi assurant le rôle de la co-équipière ambiguë et la délicieuse Stella Stevens celui de la touriste exagérément maladroite. Malgré ses faibles ambitions artistiques et l’excessive légèreté de son traitement, Matt Helm Agent Très Spécial remporta un franc succès – aidé bien évidemment par la vogue des films d’espionnage provoquée par Broccoli – et fut suivi par trois séquelles obéissant aux mêmes recettes.
