Hey pallies, likes we gotta 'fess up that as we makes our return to sharin' our deepest of deep devotion to our most most most beloved Dino we can't  likes helps ourselves but to continue in a Dino-Helmer state of mind.  So here's a second helpin' of Dino as Matt Helm potent prose from 'nother new-to-ilovedinomartin blog pad tagged "Let's Play Something Else - Cult Films: Retro Reviews for Now People" where nouveau hipster Mr. I.M. Clarke holds forth.

Likes we deeply deeply digs Clarke's tag on his Dino-prose, "The Wrecking Crew: Menefreghismo at its Best," beautifully bowin' to our Dino's beautiful biographer Mr. Nick Tosches' revelatory reference to our great great man in his vital volume, "DINO: Living High In The Dirty Business Of Dreams," as a purely potently perfect "menefreghismo."   

As in yester-Dino-day's devotion we, of course, wishes that likes this Clarke dude  saw more eye to eye with all us Dino-devotee's on the wonderful wonder of our delightful Dino playin' his coolest of cool, hippest of hip, randiest of randy persona as swingin' spyster Matt Helm, but perhaps I.M. is in his early stages of knowin', lovin. and sharin' our mighty marvelous majestic Dino.  And, we gotta 'fess up that we thinks this Dino-prose is worthy of sharin' if only for the coolest of cool incredible of image of our Dino with his loviest of lovely co-star, Miss Sharon Tate.

We continue to stand in absolute awe that our Dino's big screen presence in the quartet of Helmer flicks is continuin' to be largely lifted up on the ol' net after half of century of their original releases proudly professin' that the transformational power of our Dino continues to be coolly celebrated here, there, and likes every Dino-where!

Likes ilovedinomartin gives our thanks to Mr. I.M. Clarke for his cool contribution to spreadin' some Dino-love at his bodacious blog.  To checks this out in it's original format, likes simply clicks on the tag of this Dino-report.

We Remain,

Yours In Dino,

Dino Martin Peters

The Wrecking Crew: Menefreghismo at its Best

                                                                                 “Hey, if the smoke bugs ya, crank a window!”

In the biography ‘Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams’, author Nick Tosches sums up Dean Martin’s approach to life and work with the noun menefreghismo, which translates from the Italian as – roughly – ‘Don’t give a shit’.

There’s no surviving evidence that Dean Martin ever gave a shit about anything, including the movies he made.

Which brings us to The Wrecking Crew, Martin’s blessedly last outing as the priapic super spy Matt Helm, and the final film of Sharon Tate’s to be released during herlifetime.

There’s a cosmic unbalance to cite The Wrecking Crew as Sharon Tate’s last film – for she was capable of playing more than Dean Martin’s bimbo stooge.

The film is so inexorably horrible that it induces a kind of self-immunizing hypnosis.

It is unfair, even mean, to seriously review a film like The Wrecking Crew – for it was never the intent of anyone involved that its shelf-life extend beyond that of sliced bread: it’s simply a Dean Martin vehicle, like Speedway was an Elvis vehicle.

But for us, and Sharon Tate, it is perhaps a little more. She was being backed by a major studio and groomed for the big time. In 1968, Dean Martin was a huge star. In professional terms, she made a smart career move.

However, it is not possible to watch a Sharon Tate film without somehow considering her murder. In that way, though the Wrecking Crew was indeed work for Sharon Tate, it was also a waste of time. James Dean made only three motion pictures, yet all had good directors, compelling scripts, and strong casts.

            Sharon Tate. Bruce Lee. Nancy Kwan. Doesn’t get better.

 

 

 

Menefreghismo does indeed exhibit a limited charm. And it bolstered Dean Martin’s boozy persona. But given her lifespan, and her ambition, it’s unfortunate that Sharon Tate was never offered, or perhaps couldn’t achieve, lasting work. She’s now remembered for how she died, not for how she lived or what she accomplished.

“My whole life has been decided by fate,” Tate once said. “I’ve never planned anything that’s happened to me.” Sounds like Menefreghismo Lite. That’s the thing about Fate – it’s never to be trusted.

 

I.M. Clarke’s musings on 1960s pop culture can be uncovered at http://60spop.blogspot.ca