DINO, SUPERSPY

Hey pallies, likes today we're steppin' 'way from the "CMH" - "Classic Movie Hub" pad to sweetly share more Dino-devotion a la Helm that we uncovered at the Brit blog pad for "INFINITY" magazine..."the magazine beyond your imagination" where Mr. Allan Bryce (pictured on the left), who is an actor, author, and horror movie expert based in the UK,  has greatly gifted all of us Dino-holics with his his excellent energetic essay simply stated "DINO, SUPERSPY."

Likes Mr. Bryce bein' the remarkable renaissance, one would not expect anythin' less then perfecto prose from his potent pen, and might we say he has done a simply stunnin', remarkly randy review of the quartet of Dino as swingin' spyster Matt Helm big screen epics.  Likes there is simply so so much powerfully profound pleasure in Allan's coolly crafted comments on our most beloved Dino as Matt Helm.

Allow us to share a few choice comments from Bryce....

"Dino played him as a lecherous, chain-smoking, permanently pickled lounge lizard who gets more crumpet than Greggs."

"Dino’s Helm is so laid back that even if a nuclear bomb went of behind him he wouldn’t drop his martini glass."

"This permanently sozzled superspy also has a fully stocked bar in his wood paneled station wagon so that he can get tanked up as he drives."

"and again Dino is obviously just playing himself, making jokes about fellow rat-packer Frank Sinatra and knocking back whisky on the rocks as he drives."

While it is clear that Mr. Bryce is not as great a Dino-devotee as all us Dino-philes, we completely credit him with usin' his terrific talents to spread Dino-magic to all those who happen 'pon these Dino-reflections a la Helm.  We are always always appreciative of truly talented pallies who ubberly use their awesome abilities to spread the Dino-word far and wide.  ilovedinomartin expresses our deep deep Dino-delight to Mr. Allan Bryce who has perfectly proclaim "DINO,SUPERSPY!"       To checks this out in it's original source, likes simply clicks on the tag of these here Dino-remarks.

We Remain,

Yours In Dino,

Dino Martin Peters

DINO, SUPERSPY

By Allan Bryce -18th July 2017

Title:  The Matt Helm Collection (1966-1969)

Directed by:  Phil Karlson

Starring:  Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi

If Austin Powers had a favourite movie spy series it would have to be the Matt Helm movies made by Dean Martin in the 1960s. Matt was a hard-as-nails U.S. government counter-agent, hero of 27 books by Donald Hamilton. Dino played him as a lecherous, chain-smoking, permanently pickled lounge lizard who gets more crumpet than Greggs. Columbia Pictures originally planned at least five Matt Helm movies, starting with The Silencers (1966), where our hero is joined by sexy Stella Stevens on a booze-fuelled mission to prevent a baddie named The Big O (played by Batman villain Victor Buono) from creating a nuclear disaster.

Dino’s Helm is so laid back that even if a nuclear bomb went of behind him he wouldn’t drop his martini glass. He has a sexy secretary named Lovey Kravesit and a small harem of stunning ‘Slaymates’ ever ready to soap his back in his king-sized tub. He’s armed with a special gun that shoots backwards, a blade-firing camera and exploding buttons.

This permanently sozzled superspy also has a fully stocked bar in his wood paneled station wagon so that he can get tanked up as he drives. Hey, it was the 60s, get over it and have one for the road.

Martin was 50 years old when he made his first Matt Helm flick and while he manages to bed every sexy woman he meets he’s not so energetic in the action scenes, But there aren’t that many of them here anyway. The critics hated this movie but Dino had the last laugh, it made a fortune at the box office and he ended up with a bigger payday than Sean Connery got from playing James Bond in the same year’s Thunderball!

Martin was back as Helm the very same year in Murderers Row (1966). The film was supposed to have been released in 1967 but Columbia’s big Christmas release, Casino Royale, was mired in production problems so the Helm pic took its place as a Yuletide treat.

This second movie in the series saw our lackadaisical hero bedding sexy Ann-Margret and trying to stop her evil dad Karl Malden (who changes his accent in every scene) from melting Washington DC with his “helio-beam.” Dino didn’t exactly knock himself out making this one. He refused to travel for Europe to do any location filming, and therefore a good proportion of the movie involves the use of an unconvincing double!

Murderer’s Row took a tip from James Bond’s You Only Live Twice and opened with Dino supposedly being murdered in his bathtub, leading to an amusing scene where his countless girlfriends all turn up to his funeral in the same outfits. The fashions here are 60s kitsch at its craziest, and again Dino is obviously just playing himself, making jokes about fellow rat-packer Frank Sinatra and knocking back whisky on the rocks as he drives. The film features a bad musical number from the pop group ‘Dino, Desi & Billy’. One member is Dean Martin’s son, and we know this because he calls out “Hi Dad!”

The gadgets here include a gun with a delayed action, so that when a baddie uses it and it doesn’t go off they inevitably look down the barrel and… that’s their lot. Cunning.

The Ambushers came next in 1967, with more off-colour jokes, scantily-clad females and plenty of lovable sexism from Dino. Meeting one well-endowed female secret agent Helm comments: “When you say you’re a ‘38’ you ain’t just kidding.”

“It’s not a gun, Mr. Helm,” she replies. “It’s the new weapon they gave me, developed right here in our labs.”

“Developed pretty well, too!” says our man with a wink to camera.

The plot of this one had Dino traveling to Mexico to retrieve a flying saucer stolen by a rogue beer manufacturer! At one point the baddies try to kill Helm by chucking him into a huge vat of ale. How daft is that? The guy who has been thrown in with him glugs frantically that he can’t swim, and Dino coolly advises him: “Drink your way to the bottom.”

Amazingly The Ambushers made a big profit at the box office and so the Helm bandwagon rolled on with The Wrecking Crew (1969). This time our hard-drinking hero linked up with sexy Sharon Tate (a tragic victim of the Manson murders only a few months after this hit cinemas) to save the world’s economy from the meltdown that seems imminent when dastardly crime baron Nigel Green hijacks $1 billion in gold.

Chuck Norris turns up in a small role and Columbia hired Bruce Lee to train Sharon for her kung fu fight with sexy Nancy Kwan – the undoubted highlight of the film. Otherwise it’s all extremely lame, with very tacky production values – at one point Dino lands on a lawn and it bounces!

While The Wrecking Crew was utter rubbish it was not much worse than previous entries, and the only reason it became the final entry in the series was because Dean Martin himself decided to call it a day.

It is believed that he was so distraught over the murder of his Wrecking Crew co-star and friend Sharon Tate that he abandoned the next already-announced Matt Helm motion picture series installment (to be titled The Ravagers), and never played the character again, though there was a short-lived TV series in the 70s starring Anthony Franciosa in the part.

If you’re a fan of Dino himself or maybe just of really trashy 60s spy flicks with swinging chicks and groovy tunes then you’ll probably get a kick out of the Matt Helm movies despite their ineptitude. All four movies are available as a box set from Amazon. Pour yourself a large martini and enjoy.

 

"cigarette-smoking, Scotch-drinking ladies man played by Dean Martin."

Hey pallies, likes guess what Dino-holics, we're headin' back to "CMH" - "Classic Movie  Hub" for yet 'nother huge helpin' of purely potent deeply deep Dino-devotion a la Matt Helm this very Dino-day. Likes today we venture forth with a groovy glance at Helmer quatre, none other then "The Wrecking Crew."  Likes today we meet and greet with blogger "Rick 29" (pictured on the left) who holds forth at the "Classic Film & TV Cafe."

Like this Rick dude openly opines on the bountiful pleasures of "The Wrecking Crew" and youses guessed it Dino-philes we deeply digs it dudes!   Likes with yesterday's Dino-salute to "The Silencers," we delightfully discovered that we had shared Rick's reflections previously here at our humble little ilovedinomartin waterin' hole  HERE way back on January 17,  2014 in a Dino-gram we tagged ".....the cigarette-smoking, Scotch-drinking ladies man played by Dean Martin."

Today we have made the Dino-decision to simply repost our original Dino-adulation of Rick worthy words and they simply follow below.  'Nother note pallies is that we did a wee bit of Dino-searchin' at Rick's rag and we discovered he has shared a number of other Dino-reviews of our most beloved Dino's big screen efforts, so likes don't be surprised it we shares them in the not-to-Dino-future. And now to our ravin' reflections of Rick's wonderful words on our Dino in "The Wrecking Crew".....

Hey pallies, likes fewer and fewer Dino-'lerts are comin' up from our pallies at google, but likes every now and then a true Dino-treat does come up and today's Dino-post is one of 'em.  Today we takes all youse Dino-holics to a new-to-ilovedinomartin-pad tagged "Classic Film and TV Cafe," where Administrator Rick just shared  his wise words on Helmer numero quatre, "The Wrecking Crew."

Tagged, "Dean Martin Ogles the Ladies in 'The Wrecking Crew,'" likes we love how Rick tags this Dino-flick a "guilty pleasure" and further states, " Guilty pleasures don't get much guiltier than this fourth entry in Dean Martin's Matt Helm series."   Our newest Dino-devotee has scribed a remarkable review of said big screen Dino-effort and we knows you will enjoys readin' all of Rick's patter.

We here at ilovedinomartin are particually smitten with Rick's Dino-description of Helm, and we couldn't resist taggin' our post with it....."cigarette-smoking, Scotch-drinking ladies man played by Dean Martin."

And likes we knows that Rick is truly very very Dino-wise when he states, "......A follow-up, Murderers Row, appeared later that year. It's probably the best of the four films."  We simply couldn't 'gree with him more.

Well, likes 'nough said by us, simply enjoys readin' Mr. Rick's ruminatious review of the last of the spyster Matt Helm flicks.  We salute Mr. Rick of  "Classic Film and TV Cafe," for addin' to the Dino-devotion of his readership by sharin' this total total guilty Dino-pleasure with 'em.  To checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-gram.  Always Dino, DMP

We Remain,

Yours In Dino,

Dino Martin Peters

Dean Martin Ogles the Ladies in "The Wrecking Crew"

I was in the mood for a guilty pleasure recently and up popped The Wrecking Crew (1968) on TCM. Guilty pleasures don't get much guiltier than this fourth entry in Dean Martin's Matt Helm series. With spy movies all the rage in the 1960s, Columbia tried to posture Helm as a poor man's James Bond, Well, sort of. The Helm pictures were actually spoofs--not clever ones like Our Man Flint--but broad tongue-in-cheek efforts. That approach suited Dean Martin, who appeared as the turtle-necked protagonist while still doing his weekly variety TV series on NBC.

The plot resembles Goldfinger with Matt's agency, Intelligence and Counter Espionage (ICE), sending the secret agent to recover $1 billion in stolen gold bullion. Villain Count Contini (Nigel Green) plans to flood the financial markets, thus devaluing the economies of Great Britain and the U.S. Throw in some chases, fisticuffs, and plenty of pulchritude and you have The Wrecking Crew.

Dean sniffs Sharon Tate.

It's a far cry from Donald Hamilton's 1960 novel, the second of 27 Matt Helm spy thrillers. Indeed, the only resemblance is that Helm's cover was as a photographer in both the book and film. Otherwise, Hamilton's tough-minded hero had little in common with the cigarette-smoking, Scotch-drinking ladies man played by Dean Martin.

Martin's film series kicked off in 1966 with The Silencers, which co-starred Stella Stevens as Matt's klutzy cohort (the poster proclaimed: "Girls, Gags & Gadgets! The best spy thriller of Nineteen Sexty-Sex!"). A follow-up, Murderers Row, appeared later that year. It's probably the best of the four films, simply on the basis of a cast featuring Ann-Margret and an over-the-top Karl Malden as the bad guy. Still, the formula was wearing thin by the time The Ambushers (with Senta Berger) was released a year later.

Elke Sommer's "come hither" look.

What redeems The Wrecking Crew is its cast. Tina Louise and Nancy Kwan have little to do other than look glamorous (or, in Kwan's case, also manage a few karate kicks). However, Elke Sommer and Sharon Tate are perfectly cast. Sommer's European sultriness poses a perfect counterpoint to Martin's lecherous looks. In addition, she has a grand time playing a villain and (spoiler alert!) "dies in perfect beauty" (as she described in her interview with the Cafe). In contrast, Tate mixes kooky charm with buckets of sex appeal as Matt's female sidekick. I'm not sure that Tate would have evolved into a major star, but she shows her potential as an appealing comedienne in The Wrecking Crew.

While the karate fights leave much to be desired, they were still choreographed by a young Bruce Lee (granted, he didn't have much to work with). Also, if you look closely at the henchmen in the House of 7 Joys fight, you may notice Chuck Norris (in his film debut).

Dean takes a look at Sharon.

Although the closing credits of The Wrecking Crew promise a fifth installment to be called The Ravagers, another Matt Helm film was never made. Weak boxoffice receipts doomed the franchise and Martin, tired of the series, wanted out. Sharon Tate's murder, which occurred just a year after The Wrecking Crew, also cast a shadow over the series.

Still, decades later, the spirit of Dean Martin's Matt Helm movies lives on. It's hard to watch Mike Myers in his Austin Powers spy spoofs without concluding that he's channeling a lot of Matt Helm.

Follow Matt Helm secret agent from bedroom to bedlam with guns, girls and dynamite!

 

Hey pallies, likes we are back once Dino-'gain with 'nother stunnin'ly stellar Dino-as-Matt-Helm review as found on the greatest of great fine flick blog "CMH" - "Classic Movie Hub."  Likes this time we meet with a Dino-holic tagged Orson DeWelles who has coolly coolly crafted a radiantly rad review of Helmer numbero uno, "The Silencers," which btw is our most delightful Dino-phile pallie Danny-o's fav Helmer....so this Dino-gram goes out to youse Danny G..

This post was first shared at a blog pad tagged "Classic Film Freak" which can be located HERE.  And, likes we discovered that we previously did an excellent essay on this superb scribin's a la Dino on March 3, 2014 that youse can lovin'ly locate HERE.

Likes we were superbly smitten by Mr. DeWelles wonderfully wise 'n witty Dino-thoughts back in 2014 and we likes remain awesomely attracted to his Dino-reflections over seven years later...this very Dino-day.  What we have decided to share with all youse Dino-holics are our potent praise of Orson's Dino-efforts when we first imbibed 'em which follow below:

DINO MARTIN PETERS

March 13, 2014 at 9:10 am

Man-o-man what perfectly primo prose on Helmer numbero uno. Thanks for homagin’ our most beloved Dino in this perfectly perfect way. You capture Dino as swingin’ spyster Matt when these wonderful words….”His performance, though not by any means Academy worthy, is perfect for the picture. It is challenging if not impossible to see where the acting ends and the reality of his own self crafted image begins. He leers, kvetches, and spouts one liners with equal ease. The entire series is a ribald blend of one-liners, booze, women, and impromptu song parodies, all sung by Martin of course.” Never was, never will be anyone as cool as the King of Cool….oh, to return to the days when Dino walked the earth. Know that your reflections are being shared this day at ilovedinomartin. btw….gotta ‘fess up that I am among those who digs “Murder’s Row” the mostest!

We're guessin' that many many of our Dino-readership may have missed this Dino-action back in 2014 and even if you did partake then...it is certainly worthy of our Dino-devotion to simply soak in Mr. Orson DeWelles powerfully potent praise of our most most most beloved Dino in Helmer numero uno, "The Silencers."  Kudos to our pallie Orson for deeply deeply diggin' our Dino and for sweetly sharin' his Dino-adulation with his blog readership.  The world coulda use a ton more Dino-devotees of the quality of Mr. DeWelles!

We Remain,

Yours In Dino,

Dino Martin Peters

The Silencers (1966) with Dean Martin

 January 4, 2014  Orson DeWelles  Comedy, Martin, Dean, Movies of the 1960s

1966 the silencers

Follow Matt Helm secret agent from bedroom to bedlam with guns, girls and dynamite!

Although the last generation would think of the Austin Powers series as perhaps the most popular of all the humorous tongue-in-cheek parodies of the James Bond film franchise, it is not the best.

That claim rightfully falls to the ingenious if ever so campy Matt Helm series of the late 1960s.  Written by Donald Hamilton, the written canon of the Matt Helm novels span twenty seven entries, quite a bit more than even Fleming’s own 007.  Unlike Fleming’s creation, the films bear almost no relation to the books, outside of Matt Helm’s presence in them.  Even the most tepid of the Bonds (at least those based on a Fleming originals) has a few points of similarity.  Hamilton’s original writings are rather hard hitting spy novels, and nothing could be farther from the truth in the Matt Helm series.  If anything, the exact opposite is the case.  However, that doesn’t make the films anything less than fun.

Like their successor Austin Powers films, the Matt Helm is a blending of camp, humor, and action.  The blend for Helm is a bit more even with the action being quite a bit less comical.    The Silencers was the first of the four Helm pictures.

The Silencers 1966 2The Silencers opens with our semi-retired hero, played by Dean Martin, enjoying himself in the swankiness of his 1966 bachelor dive, which is full of all of the latest gadgets.  There’s a spinning bed which also transports Helm- and any potential lady love- to a good sized swimming pool.  It can even tilt to dump its occupants in as well for a nice touch.  Other comforts of home are dual automatic coffee makers, rotating drying spindles (making bath towels unnecessary), and automated dressing devices.  Way too cool and you’ll see variants in later Helm films in addition to various homages in the Austin Powers films.

Though it looks dated now, and if you didn’t know better you’d think The Silencers came out in the last few years given the current trend for retro campiness.  Helm also has his own version of “Q” branch which provides a camera with throwing knives, a gun which shoots backwards, and a coat with detachable grenades disguised as buttons among other things.  Again, everything is a parody, but we are all in on the joke.

Helm too has a veritable bevy of women around him, with Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavo, Nancy Kovack, and Cyd Charisse all sharing screen time with the Ohio-born crooner.  There is more than enough skimpy clothing to go around and between the flashes of flesh, repeated dousing of women with water, and dialogue full of double entendres the sexual tension gets pretty well stoked, especially given the times.  But again, it was the last 60s.  There are also other “A” listers involved, ranging from the score by Elmer Bernstein to the producer, the infamous Irwin Allen.

Then there is Dean Martin himself, who hams it up wonderfully for the picture.  Though his spirit for the series flagged as time went on, here he is fresh and fully engaged.  His performance, though not by any means Academy worthy, is perfect for the picture.  It is challenging if not impossible to see where the acting ends and the reality of his own self crafted image begins.  He leers, kvetches, and spouts one liners with equal ease.  The entire series is a ribald blend of one-liners, booze, women, and impromptu song parodies, all sung by Martin of course.

Helm is drawn out of retirement to help his old employer, ICE (Intelligence and Counter Espionage).  The overall plot is for him to defeat the BIG O organization (Bureau of International Government and Order) from starting the next World War with a rogue atomic bomb.  The plot really doesn’t matter, just buy into it knowing Martin’s style and that he will eventually win out and you will find The Silencers enjoyable fun.

There is also a nice jab directed at fellow Rat Packer Frank Sinatra.  While in a car one of his many loves tunes the radio to Sinatra singing “Come Fly with Me.”  On hearing it Martin grimaces “Oh turn him off, that guy’s terrible!,” and has her change the station.  On comes Martin’s own “Every Loves Somebody Sometime.”  Martin relaxes and coos, “Now that’s a guy that can sing!”  A cheap joke but a good one.

Like all of the Helm pictures the production values are questionable, though perhaps this was intentional.  There are lots of poorly shot rear projection shots, mainly of car chases.  Many of the sequences are obviously sped up as well, though strangely it seems to work.  The sets also bear a rather cliched resemblance to the vast underground lair’s of the early Bond films.  And the BIG O looks a lot like a SPECTRE knockoff as well.  At the film’s conclusion too is another steal from the Bond series, though here Helm expands it a bit.

Each Bond film from first to last (I think), has stated either “JAMES BOND WILL RETURN IN [Insert Title Here]” or simply “JAMES BOND WILL RETURN,”  with the second of the two being used since original Fleming titles got scarce.  For Helm, we not only get a similar tease, but we also get a video tease from Martin and an additional bevy of beauties.  This continued for the entire length of the series, with the last Helm picture teasing The Ravagers as the next installment.  As we all know, The Ravagers was never made, in all probability to Martin’s diminished enthusiasm for the project.

But the overall quality of the series dropped significantly from before that time, with The Silencers being the strongest by far of the series- though in the interests of full disclosure some prefer the immediate sequel, Murderer’s Row.  As the series progressed, Dean Martin gets visibly tired of the bit, and there is more than a little redundancy in the films.  The Silencers also has the closest semblance to a plot, such as it is.

 

Just watched the guilty pleasure that is Murderers' Row, the second film in the Matt Helm 60's era spy series that starred the ever reliable Dean Martin.

 

http://www.classicmoviehub.com/article/2701/

Hey pallies, likes today we return to the bodacious blog, "CMH" - "Classic Movie Hub" where we shared those grooviest of groovy Dino-quotations from "Murders' Row" Dino-day before yesterday. Likes it turns out that "CHM" is the greatest of great goldmine of Dino-delights and we know that we are goin' to be sharin' tons and tons of Dino-treasures.  Today we fabulously feature a rad review of our fav of fav Dino-Helmer caper, "Murders' Row" scribed by a true blue Dino-phile tagged Monty, originally found on the blog "Noir and Chick Flicks."

Likes we knows we have made the acquaintance of Monty before and likes we just did a little Dino-searchin' to find this remarkable review at it's original pad https://dawnschickflicks.blogspot.com/2010/05/dean-martin-as-matt-helm-in-murderers.html

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Dean Martin as Matt Helm in Murderers' Row (1966)

Just watched the guilty pleasure that is Murderers' Row, the second film in the Matt Helm 60's era spy series that starred the ever reliable Dean Martin. This series came about all due to that English gent across the water..James Bond. That franchise ignited the whole spy craze of the 60's and everything from Get Smart, I Spy, The Man From UNCLE, In Like Flint, and Helm all enjoyed success. Dean Martin's take as a super spy who always saved the world but he did it with a cavalier attitude. Always had time to drink and make merry for the women. And quick to drop a witty one liner. You ask how is that different from Bond. Well, where as Bond for the most part kept the humor and comedy to a minimal, that is until Roger Moore came along, Helm thrived on it. He seemed to be itching to crack a joke or take a drink even while the action is going on. And seemed to be having fun doing it.

In his second adventure, he travels to Monte Carlo to find out what happened to a Doctor Solaris, who has created this destructive helio beam that bad guy Julian Wall (a gung ho Karl Malden) wants to use to destroy Washington, DC. In Monte Carlo, Matt befriends Solaris daughter Suzie (Ann-Margret) and together they team up to find her missing dad. Matt also has to deal with a henchman who has a steel plate on his head (very Bondian) and a beguiling femme fatale named Coco (the fetching Camilla Sparv).

Murderers' Row is a lightweight caper, on par with the weakest Bond films. You could almost label it a comedy with some action scenes because there is an abundance of humor, mostly supplied by Martin, who is definitely the center of the movie. Ann-Margret gets several high energy dance scenes that you can tell the directors told her to go and just have fun. The age difference between Martin and Ann does make their relationship a tad creepy. Dean was 48 and Ann was 24. But they still make quite the team. It's strange seeing Malden as the villian but he is effective. His assistant Coco is a striking presence in the film. Every time she appears it seems the camera follows her around like a puppy in love. Sparv probably gives the best performance out of all the actors present here. And let me not forget Matt's assistant Lovey Kravezit (great name and played by Beverly Adams). She is like the 60's version of Iron Man's assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

This film is not be taken seriously, a film to be seen to have some laughs with and view a good representation of the 60's. Dean croons the energetic I'm Not The Marrying Kind which plays out several times during the film. And I'm not the one to point out fashion in film, but Ann-Margret wears this killer black and white top with pants that is to die for.

Check out the pic to your right. You know your clothes are awesome when the villianess says "I must say the girl

has great taste in clothes". Classic.

B-

Posted by monty at 1:25 PM 

 

 

Miss January: Well what shall I do with the costume? Matt Helm: Drop it in the ashtray.

 

Hey pallies, likes searchin' for  more 'n more Dino-treasure a la Matt Helm on the ol' world wide web, likes we felt so so deeply delightedly Dino-directed to a blog pad tagged "CMH" - "Classic Movie Hub" where we happened 'pon a perfect post awesomely accentin' some of our most most beloved Dino's coolly classic quotations from Helmer numero duo, "Murders' Row."  

Likes it is likes fantastic fun to sit back and groove on our King of Cool's powerfully potent patter as Matt Helm aka Jim Peters in what we have always always considered the bestest of the best of the quartet of Helmers... none other then "Murders' Row" with the loviest of lovely lady Miss Ann-Margret. Enjoys our Dino makin' funny and likes we are wonderin' which of these Dino-isms is your fav dudes?!?!?!  Likes we have tagged this here Dino-gram with our fav...Miss January: Well what shall I do with the costume?   Matt Helm: Drop it in the ashtray.

And pallies, likes as we were searchin' this "Class Movie Hub" we discovered that it is a veritable groovy goldmine of Dino-treasures to be mined and shared with all youse Dino-philes...so likes stay tuned for mucho more Dino-delights!  ilovedinomartin gives our hats off to the pallies at "CMH" for sharin' so so much Dino-pleasure in one location on the ol' world wide web.  To checks today's Dino-quotations out in their original source, likes simply clicks on the tag of this Dino-report.

Matt Helm aka Jim Peters: [after a bomb has blown up near a picture of Frank Sinatra] Sorry Frank.

 

Matt Helm aka Jim Peters: [as Matt Helm and Suzie are being shot at by French cops] That's the French for you. They don't think any girl is innocent.

 

Matt Helm aka Jim Peters: [having dispatched of Ironhead] I hate a guy that wears jewelry.

 

Matt Helm aka Jim Peters: [to Ironhead] "Crazy fraternity ring. What? Phi Beta Ripper or something?"

 

Matt Helm aka Jim Peters: [under arrest by the French police] Now, wait just a doggone minute. I have some rights, too. I'm an American citizen.

Police Capt. Deveraux: We will play the Star-Spangled Banner while you are in the electric chair.

Matt Helm aka Jim Peters: Ahhhh - then I have to stand up!

 

Matt Helm aka Jim Peters: Just remember, Suzie, nobody dies for nothing. Not me, not your father, nobody.

Matt Helm aka Jim Peters: This is dancing?

Suzie Solaris: It's called a discotheque. You want to try?

Matt Helm aka Jim Peters: Well, I don't disc...

 

Matt Helm: [Suzie is kissing his face all over] Easy, I get a little ticklish west of the Mississippi.

 

Matt Helm: What a way to finish. For a guy that drank booze all his life to end up like a milkshake.

Miss January: Well what shall I do with the costume?

Matt Helm: Drop it in the ashtray.

  

Billy Orcutt: I demand an explanation. What is the meaning of this nocturnal assignation?

Matt Helm aka Jim Peters: Is he rehearsing for a play?

 

Suzie Solaris: [as they're being picked up by helicopter, Suzie pulls down Matt's pants to reveal his shorts] Polka dot shorts?

Matt Helm aka Jim Peters: It's the only way to fly.

 

Dean Martin

Suzie Solaris: He's yawing!

Matt Helm: I don't feel so good myself.

 

Slaygirl: We're here if you need us.

Matt Helm aka Jim Peters: I got the wife with me!

 

 

Danny G's Sunday Serenade with Dino: "Go Go Go Go"

 Hey there, ol' pals o' mine! 

How's thins? 

Hopefully all is well, my friends. 

Life's up's & down's can be dizzyin'! Believes me...I know! Haha!! 

Let's concentrate on the Up's. 

Obviously there's a HUGE Up this week! 

Yes, mi amici...the return of our fearless leader & guru of all thins' Dean Martin...Dino Martin Peters!!! 

I thinks I went into shock when I seen his post, Monday! Hahaha!!! 

It was TRULY the highlight of my week. 

Anyways, without gettin' TOO serious at our Fun & Silly little Dino-blog...I just wanted to give youse an official "Welcome back, Pal!" It's GREAT to read your Dino-postins' & feel your energy for spreadin' the Dino-message. Truly inpirin', my friend. The blog needs you & missed you. Welcome back. 

Now...'nough with all that "adult" stuff! 

Let's get to the Fun & Silly thins', we all love! 

Dino-jams! 

I mentioned on a comment the other day...how I heard 'nother Dino-tune bein' used for a new TV commercial. A video game, "Candy Crush". 

The very wise "higher ups" no doubt knew the perfecto & catchy little jam to promote the fun fun vibe of their product..."Go Go Go Go". 

Yup! 

Couldn't help but boast to my kiddies how even after our great pal, Dino, has been gone for over a quarter century...his music is STILL bein' chosen to titillate the masses! Haha!! 

Hey, pallies o' mine...this speaks VOLUMES 'bout the spreadin' of the Dino-message. 

With so so many new, young, trendy Pop-artists out there today...Dean friggin' Martin is STILL a "Go to" fella...to grab the youth's attention! 

Yes, mi amici...the Dino-vibe is burnin' like a flame! 

Cool Cool feelin' too...knowin' that we is also doin' our part to keep Dean's spirit alive & thrivin'...just by bein' here...at our Dino-blog. 

So thanks for your help pallies! 

Truly a blessin' to me, my friends. 

OK. Are youse ready for this week's Dino-Serenade?! 

Good! 

Me too! 

This one's goin' out to the Boss man! DMP! Haha!! 

I know he dosen't like the attention on him...but this is a celebration!! 

So...deal with it! 

Hahaha!!! 

And now...let's get the party started! 

Let's "Go Go Go Go"!!! 

Enjoy! 

Meet Matt Helm. He’s a smooth-talking, smooth crooning, hard drinking womaniser with an eye – and a camera lens – for a beautiful girl in a well-filled bikini.

 Hey pallies, likes we warmly welcome all youse Dino-devotees back for yet 'nother installment of purely potent pleasure a la our most most beloved Dino as the swingin'est of swingin' spyster Matt Helm with today's awesome accent on Helmer numero uno "The Silencers.  Today's deeply delightful Dino-devotion comes coolly courtesy of an unnamed blogger whose blog pad is tagged "all my reviews in one place," that features this delightful dude's remarkable reflections on both music & music (note to self that we gotta be sure to checks out what other Dino-remarks this blogger may have blessed his readership with on other Dino-flicks and Dino-croons.)

Likes while we don't know the name of this beautiful blogger we do know a wee bit 'bout them, as they share their powerful passion for big screen epics sayin'... "About me… I’ve been an avid movie fan for as long as I can still remember.  Since before the days of DVD, Blu Ray and Netflix, even before the days when VCRs were big, clunky mechanical things with analogue clocks and buttons you had to engage with both thumbs, before even the battle with Betamax, I’ve been in front of the screen."

Likes well today's Dino-thoughts are more on the shorter but sweeter Dino-side as this radiant review is somewhat short of Dino-prose but greatly great in Dino-appreciato for our King of Cool playin' his ol' so cool, hip, and randy personal persona as Matt Helm.

These Dino-remarks begin with a truly truly powerfully potent pix of our Dino with his leadin' lady Miss Stella Stevens as he helps her remove her nylons after her comin' in from the rain.  Likes the deeply delightful detail 'bout this incredible image besides our Dino's lovin' attention to Miss Stella is that if youse looks closely below Miss Stella's propped up leg you will know a pack of Kent smokes on the counter....proof positive that our Dino's smoke of choice was Kents.

Permit us to briefly share some of this rad reviewer's best thoughts on our Dino as Helmer....

 Meet Matt Helm. He’s a smooth-talking, smooth crooning, hard drinking womaniser with an eye – and a camera lens – for a beautiful girl in a well-filled bikini.

Indeed, it’s hard to say how seriously Martin took the role, as there is ample evidence of humour and action present throughout the series. One thing is for certain – he sure enjoyed playing the role.

The main thing about this movie is the spark between Martin and Stevens. Their scenes together (especially the part where they pull off the road to sleep in the car overnight) are great.

To be as enjoyable, timeless and watchable as The Silencers, it’ll have to be damn good…. (referrin' to a possible reboot of the Helmer flicks)

Likes pallies, it makes our Dino-heart thrill to find more and more Dino-diggin' pallies out there in the Dino-universe proudly proclaimin' this Dino-adulation of our one and only Dino in his coolest of cool big screen role as Matt Helm.  

ilovedinomartin shouts out out of thrillin' thanks to the blogger at  "all my reviews in one place" for this deeply delightful Dino-prose that is sure to help many many of their readership be drawn into the Dino-fold of Dino-bliss." 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

SEPTEMBER 16, 2012  Posted in 1960S, MOVIES Tagged 1960S, COMEDY, DRAMA, MOVIES, REVIEW

 

Year: 1966

Director: Phil Karlson

Stars: Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, Victor Buono, Daliah Lavi, James Gregory

Meet Matt Helm. He’s a smooth-talking, smooth crooning, hard drinking womaniser with an eye – and a camera lens – for a beautiful girl in a well-filled bikini. Thing is, he’s also a secret agent, in fact one of America’s finest, and it’s time for him to crack his next case.

Dean Martin turned his hand to the spy genre in the mid sixties, starting with The Silencers, based on one of the 27 books written by author Donald Hamilton. Where Hamilton’s books were dark, gritty and very realistic, the movies took a more light-hearted view, such as was seen in the Flint movies and in the original Casino Royale. Indeed, it’s hard to say how seriously Martin took the role, as there is ample evidence of humour and action present throughout the series. One thing is for certain – he sure enjoyed playing the role.

In The Silencers, Martin is pitched, along with his fellow I.C.E agents, against the organisation known only as Big O. There’s a nuclear test taking place in three days time, and there’s also a test of a new missile. Big O plan to disrupt both, sending the missile off course to crash into the nuclear test, causing much of America to be engulfed in radioactive fallout. They just need the final piece of the jigsaw – computer tapes from a traitorous scientist. Helm is sent to intercept the handover, and whilst they are successful, the trail leads him on to San Jose in the company of the innocently ditzy Gail Hendricks, wonderfully played by Stella Stevens.

Of course, they sort it out in the end, but that’s not important. The main thing about this movie is the spark between Martin and Stevens. Their scenes together (especially the part where they pull off the road to sleep in the car overnight) are great.

Martin went on to play Helm in three sequels: Murderers Row, The Ambushers, and The Wrecking Crew. Rumour has it that there are also plans for a Spielberg-led reboot.

To be as enjoyable, timeless and watchable as The Silencers, it’ll have to be damn good….

 

Matt Helm Lounge Returns In Blue Ray And DVD from the Brits

Hey pallies, likes we're back yet 'gain with a fourth incredible installment of Dino-Helmer fun with noteworthy news of of a Brit dvd release of the Matt Helm quartet in BLUE RAY!  From the flick blog "The Hannibal 8 DRIVE-IN Theatre," where a dude tagged Toby hangs his hat comes the post "Blu-Ray News #330: The Matt Helm Movies (1966-69)."  

Likes as most of youse Dino-philes know all to well, the original release of Matt Helm Lounge has been out of print for quite some time and it now takes a small fortune to acquire (new or used) from pads likes Amazon and Ebay, so this is wonderfully welcomin' news of the recent release of this swank set on Blue Ray and by searchin' we discovered also on DVD.  The problemo we knows of is that these discs will not play on most BlueRay/DVD players available in the ol' USA.  Perhaps with this Brit release it may stir interest in a re-release of this discs by Sony...we can only hope.

Likes Toby has shared some delightful details 'bout the Helmers 'long with a couple of vintage adverts, a trio of potent pixs...includin' one that we never spied before with our Dino and Miss Stella with director Mr. Phil Karlson of Helmer uno, "The Silencers" lookin' on.  And Toby includes a trailer for Helmer quartre, "The Wrecking Crew" that do ain't rememberin' seein' before either.

We sez our thanks to Mr. Toby for sharin' this Dino-news with us and let's all hope that a re-release of the Matt Helm Lounge will be in our Dino-future here in America.  To checks this out in it's original format, likes clicks on the tag of this Dino-gram.

We Remain,

Yours In Dino,

Dino Martin Peters

 

FEBRUARY 18, 2021 · 5:03 PM

 

Blu-Ray News #330: The Matt Helm Movies (1966-69).

Dean’s Martin’s Matt Helm series of James Bond spoofs, based on Donald Hamilton’s hard-boiled spy novels, is coming to Blu-Ray in the UK, thanks to Mediumrare Entertainment. The set’s called The Matt Helm Lounge, the same name Columbia called the set they released on DVD in the US.

In 1966, it seems that the only way to compete with the James Bond juggernaut was to spoof it, as these films, the Derek Flint pictures and countless one-offs show. The lone exception might be the Harry Palmer films, starting with The Ipcress File (1965). 

The Helms bear almost no resemblance to the novels, aside from Helm’s name the the book titles. (Actually, The Silencers borrows a couple things from Hamilton’s Death Of A Citizen.) Love ’em or hate ’em, the Matt Helm films are exactly what you’d expect from James Bond spoofs starring Dean Martin. While the Helm pictures were meant to make fun of the James Bond films (and cash in on the spy craze), the Bond pictures themselves would eventually adopt the tone of spoofs like these. 

The Silencers (1966)
Directed by Phil Karlson
Starring Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Victor Buono, Arthur O’Connell, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Nancy Kovack, Beverly Adams

Opening around the same time as Martin’s TV show, The Silencers was a huge hit. Believe it or not, at one point it was going to be a serious film, with a screenplay by Oscar Saul. It was director Phil Karlson’s idea to go for the tongue-in-cheek approach, and Saul’s script was rewritten by Herbert Baker, who was writing for The Dean Martin Show. Baker does not get credit. By the way, Baker wrote the incredible The Girl Can’t Help It (1956).

Dean Martin, Nancy Kovack and Phil Karlson.

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Stella Stevens is terrific as Gail Hendricks, a bumbling agent Matt gets stuck with. She shows a real flair for comedy. It’s a shame Ms. Stevens was never recognized as the talent she was.

Dean/Matt has a tricked-out station wagon, complete with a bed and a bar, and a pistol that shoots backwards. The picture was shot by the great Burnett Guffey, a year before he’d head to Texas to shoot Bonnie And Clyde (1967). Elmer Bernstein provides a great score, that somehow mixes a little Rat Pack swing with the appropriate secret agent feel.

Murderers’ Row (1966)
Directed by Henry Levin
Starring Dean Martin, Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Camilla Sparv, James Gregory, Beverly Adams

Oscar Saul wrote a draft or two for this one, too, and Herbert Baker rewrote that. The credits are the reverse of the last one; this time, Saul is not credited.

Murderers’ Row was supposed to be shot on location, but Dean Martin refused to go to Europe, and being that he was a co-producer, he got his way. Ann-Margret is a real firecracker, as always, and Karl Malden looks like he’s having fun. James Gregory and Beverly Adams are back from ICE HQ. The gadgets this time include a cigarette that launches a tiny missile, something that would turn up in the next Bond film, You Only Live Twice (1967).

The score this time comes from Lalo Schifrin, and it’s a good one. The group Dino, Desi & Billy (Dino is Dean Paul Martin, Dean’s son) appear in a discotheque scene.

The Ambushers (1967)

Directed by Henry Levin
Starring Dean Martin, Senta Berger, Janice Rule, James Gregory, Albert Salmi, Beverly Adams

Every series has a low point, a weak link, and in the Matt Helm movies, The Ambushers is it. Again written by Herbert Baker, it doesn’t have quite the sense of fun of the previous two. Doesn’t have much of a plot, either. As Roger Ebert put it in his review back in ’67, “Dean plays Matt Helm again, and goes to Acapulco, and drives up and down scenic highways with ravishing beauties, and occasionally gets shot at.” There’s a UFO, by the way.

This time, Hugo Montenegro composed the score. There was no soundtrack album, unfortunately. The music’s the best thing in the movie.

The Wrecking Crew (1969)
Directed by Phil Karlson
Starring Dean Martin, Elke Sommer, Sharon Tate, Nancy Kwan, Nigel Green, Tina Louise

Getting Phil Karlson back as director was a good idea, as The Wrecking Crew is easily the best in the series, except for maybe The Silencers. A new writer was brought in, William P. McGivern, who wrote the stories that became The Big Heat (1953) and Shield For Murder (1954) and the script for William Castle’s I Saw What You Did (1965). He also wrote a couple of episodes of Adam-12.

There’s some other interesting casting. James Gregory is replaced as MacDonald by John Larch. Bruce Lee provided choreography for the martial arts scenes. And Chuck Norris appears as a henchman in a scene or two.

Bruce Lee trains Nancy Kwan and Sharon Tate train for thier fight scene.

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The film’s claim to fame today is that it the last Sharon Tate released in her lifetime. She was murdered by the Manson family in August of 1969. She’s very good here as an incompetent aide to Helm similar to Stella Stevens in the first one. There were plans to make a fifth Matt Helm picture, The Ravagers, with Tate back as Miss Carlson. Some say The Ravagers was cancelled due to lackluster grosses for The Wrecking Crew, but after Sharon’s murder, Dean Martin pulled the plug on it.

I remember sitting in the back seat of the family Chevrolet and seeing this trailer for The Wrecking Crew at The Hi-Way Drive-In in Thomasville, Georgia. I was five. Funny, but I don’t remember what movie we saw, just this trailer.

Bright and breezy with great modern architecture and furniture, these films will look terrific in high definition when they arrive in April. They were originally 1.85. Not sure what the set’s region status will be, but it comes highly recommended anyway.