Hey pallies, here's a heads up of a classic Dinoflick airin' a week from tomorrow night, Friday, August 28 at 8:00 pm ET on Turner Classic Movies. Thanks to Mr. Luke Baynes at the pad Examiner.com we have this little review of "Some Came Running."
If you goes to the site by clickin' on the tagg of this Dinogram you can then click on a link to see a clip of this stellar Dinomovie at TCM. Hopes all you pallies will takes the Dino-opportunity to catch our Dino on the small screen. Dinoreportin', DMP
Classics from the vault: Vincente Minnelli's Some Came Running, starring Frank Sinatra August 19, 9:25 PM Burlington Movie Examiner Luke Baynes
Ain't that a kick in the head: Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in Some Came Running (MGM, 1958)
If there’s one role that defines Frank Sinatra the movie star and is closest to his off-screen persona, it’s Dave Hirsh in Some Came Running.
The film’s first shot finds him passed out on a bus in his Army uniform, bound for his hometown of Parkman, Indiana. The night before he’d gotten blind drunk during a poker game in Chicago, taken a poke at a guy, and had to be put on a bus to Parkman because it was the only place his buddies knew to send him.
Along for the ride is a dame called Ginnie (Shirley MacLaine), a floozy he picked up the night before but whom he now wants no part of. She asks if they’re going to meet his family. He rebuffs her after first asking the bus driver if he’d like to grab a beer. The driver intimates that he doesn't drink on the job and besides, there’s nothing open at that hour of the morning anyway.
This is the Sinatra of legend, the guy who’d do a gig at The Sands and then booze until dawn with his Rat Pack buddies. In many ways, Some Came Running is the ultimate Rat Pack movie, although it only stars Sinatra and Dean Martin. In one scene, they sit around playing cards in the back room of the local watering hole. "How about that?" Martin chuckles after Sinatra deals him a third deuce. “Ain’t that a kick in the head,” Sinatra shoots back, a phrase Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen would turn into one of Dino’s biggest hits a couple years later.
As the solider returning home to postwar America, Sinatra’s character represents the effects the war had on the fabric of society, his presence changing everyone he comes in contact with.
Ginnie, in an attempt to improve herself, gets a job at the local brassiere factory, a symbol of the new breed of working woman who joined the workforce while the men were overseas and who remained independent in the postwar years.
Gwen French (the marvelously icy Martha Hyer) is the schoolteacher whose prudish veneer is broken down by the worldly Dave Hirsh. When she finally succumbs to his kiss, she lets her flowing blonde hair down, a moment that carries far more sexual electricity than if the Production Code had allowed her to fully disrobe.
Dave’s brother, Frank Hirsh (the always solid Arthur Kennedy), is a hopeless stuffed shirt whose nagging wife wears the pants in the household until Dave shows up and disrupts things, causing Frank to rediscover his manhood and begin an affair with his much younger secretary (Nancy Gates). In a scene that exemplifies the darker undertones that began to creep into Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s, he takes her to the local lovers lane, only to be spotted by his teenage daughter, who herself has snuck away there to neck with her horny boyfriend.
Director Vincente Minnelli, working with master cinematographer William H. Daniels, shoots in CinemaScope with bold color schemes, using the extra screen space to efficiently expose the emotional distance between the characters while also maintaining an ironic detachment from his subject matter.
And special mention must be made of the score of Elmer Bernstein, which moves from brassy jazz for the boozy barroom scenes set in the town’s underbelly, to romantic string-based pieces when Dave courts Gwen, effortlessly combining the two forms as the film careens to its tragic conclusion.
Some Came Running airs Friday, August 28 at 8:00 pm ET on Turner Classic Movies, part of a full day of films starring the Chairman of the Board.
Click here to view a clip from the film, courtesy of TCM.com
Hey pallies, likes here is 'nother blogger blog spreadin' the Dinomessage. A chick tagged Sarah at her cool blogg Art In Movies has featured the bestest of the best Dino and the kid flicks, "Artists And Models." To check this out in it's original format, just clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram.
This particular Dino and the jer adventure is filmed in such glorious color, offers wonderful songs by our Dino, and has the whittiet of whitty dialogue. Enjoys the cool pixs, the Dinoclip, and the stellar commentary of this classic Dinoflick. Dinolovin', DMP
Artists and Models (1955)
Dean Martin plays artist Rick Todd
Dorothy Malone plays artist Abigail 'Abby' Parker
Abigail Parker drawing the Bat Lady
Artists and Models on IMDB
'Rick Todd (Dean Martin) is a struggling painter. His roommate, Eugene Fullstack (Jerry Lewis), is an aspiring children's author. Fullstack has a passion for comic books, especially those of the "Bat Lady." However, each night he has nightmares which he describes aloud during his sleep. They are about "Vincent the Vulture," who is half-man, half-bird.
A neighbor in the complex, Abigail Parker (Dorothy Malone) is a professional artist and works for a comic book company, Murdock Publishing. Her roommate is Bessie Sparrowbush (Shirley MacLaine), who is Mr. Murdock's secretary, and the model for "Bat Lady". Sparrowbush develops a crush on Fullstack, who is unaware that she is the "Bat Lady."
Parker becomes frustrated at work and quits at the same time that Todd gets a job with them after pitching the adventures of "Vincent the Vulture" from Fullstacks' dreams. He attains success at his new job, but after falling for Parker he keeps his work a secret from her.
Unbeknownst to all of them, Fullstacks' dreams also contain a top-secret rocket formula that Todd publishes in his stories. With spies all around them, they manage to entertain at the annual "Artists and Models Ball" and capture the enemy, preserving national security.'
Hey pallies, here's 'nother amazin' Dinopost from Mr.John WIlliam Tuohy's great blogg Child Of The Sixties Forever And Ever (clicks on tagg of this Dinogram to goes there). This time Tuohy's Dinofocus is on the Rat Pack which he does cool justice to with great history and some super pixs of our Dino and the pack.
Loves to see this kind of honorin' of the past and 'specially our Dino...amazin' to see others takin' the time to remember and honor our Dino and his pallies in such a insightful way. Enjoys this retellin' of the RP history and keeps lovin' our Dino! Dinoawed, DMP
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Rat Pack was a group of popular entertainers originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a group that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, who appeared together on stage and in films in the early-1960s, including the movie Ocean's Eleven. Despite its reputation as a masculine group, the Rat Pack did have female participants, including movie icons Shirley MacLaine, Lauren Bacall, Angie Dickinson, Marilyn Monroe, and Judy Garland.
The name "Rat Pack" was first used to refer to a group of friends in Hollywood informally organized around Humphrey Bogart and including the young Frank Sinatra. Several explanations have been offered for the famous name over the years.
According to one version, the group's original "Den Mother," Lauren Bacall, after seeing her husband (Bogart) and his friends return from a night in Las Vegas, said words to the effect of "You look like a goddamn rat pack. "Rat Pack" may also be a shortened version of "Holmby Hills Rat Pack," a reference to the home of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall which served as a regular hangout.
The name may also refer to the belief that an established pack of rats will belligerently reject an outsider who tries to join them ("Never rat on a rat"). Garland's daughter Lorna Luft tells the story that a certain gossip columnist (probably Hedda Hopper or Louella Parsons) wanted to be invited to the group's parties. The group didn't want their private parties becoming the subject of the writer's next column, and so the columnist was never invited. Later, she was said to have written about "that rat pack in Holmby Hills," which Garland found incredibly funny.
Garland later had stick pins made for the group in the shape of rats with rubies for eyes.[citation needed] Thus, the "Rat Pack" was born. So called "visiting members" included Errol Flynn, Nat King Cole, Mickey Rooney and Cesar Romero.
According to Stephen Bogart, the original members of the Holmby Hills Rat Pack were Sinatra (pack master), Garland (first vice-president), Bacall (den mother), Sid Luft (cage master), Bogart (rat in charge of public relations), Swifty Lazar (recording secretary and treasurer), Nathaniel Benchley (historian), David Niven, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, George Cukor, Cary Grant, Rex Harrison, and Jimmy Van Heusen. In his autobiography The Moon's a Balloon, Niven confirms that the Rat Pack originally included him but not Sammy Davis Jr. or Dean Martin.
The 1960s version of the group included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, and for a brief stint, Norman Fell. Marilyn Monroe, Angie Dickinson, Juliet Prowse, and Shirley MacLaine were often referred to as the "Rat Pack Mascots", a title which reportedly made these ladies feel like "one of the boys".
The post-Bogart version of the group (Bogart died in 1957) was reportedly[citation needed] never called that name by any of its members — they called it the Summit or the Clan. "The Rat Pack" was a term used by journalists and outsiders, although it remains the lasting name for the group.
Lawford was a brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy, and the group played a role in campaigning for him and the Democrats. Sinatra expected that he would be part of Kennedy's inner circle after the election but was excluded due to JFK's concerns about Sinatra's perceived ties to the mafia. This in turn led to Peter Lawford's exclusion from the group after 1962.
Lawford's role in Robin and the Seven Hoods was given to Bing Crosby and beefed up with several songs added.(It wasn't the first time Sinatra had treated a Rat Packer that way; Davis's role in Never So Few was given to Steve McQueen when Sinatra and Davis had a temporary falling-out.)
The Rat Pack often performed in Las Vegas and were instrumental for its rise as a popular entertainment destination. They played an important role in the desegregation of Las Vegas hotels and casinos in the early 1960s.Sinatra and the others would refuse to play in or patronize those establishments that would not give full service to African American entertainers, including Davis. Once Rat Pack appearances became popular and the subject of media attention, the Las Vegas properties were forced to abandon segregation-based policies
Sinatra and friends had no idea this band of five would make entertainment history. The group was remarkable for its upbeat entertainment style and smooth musical and comedy routines, many of which were ad-libbed. Davis said when Sinatra called the initial gathering of the Rat Pack, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, French President Charles de Gaulle, and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev were planning a Paris Summit Conference. Not to be outdone, Sinatra observed, "We'll have our own little Summit meeting." The Vegas Summit did not draw diplomats, but it did draw high rollers, VIPs, celebrities, and entertainment buffs, who responded by the thousands.
Often, when one of the members was scheduled to give a performance, the rest of the Pack would show up for an impromptu show, causing much excitement among audiences, resulting in return visits. They sold out almost all of their appearances, and people would come pouring into Las Vegas, sometimes sleeping in cars and hotel lobbies when they could not find rooms, just to be part of the Rat Pack entertainment experience. The marquees of the hotels at which they were performing as individuals would read, for example, "DEAN MARTIN - MAYBE FRANK - MAYBE SAMMY" as seen on a Sands Hotel sign
On June 20, 1965 Sinatra, Martin and Davis with Johnny Carson as the emcee (subbing for Bishop who was out with a bad back) performed their only televised concert together during the heyday of the pack at the Kiel Opera House in St. Louis, a closed-circuit broadcast done as a fundraiser for Dismas House (the first halfway house for ex-convicts). After being thought lost for thirty years Paul Brownstein tracked down a print of the show that had been sitting in a closet in St. Louis. It has since been broadcast on Nick at Night (in 1998) as part The Museum of Television & Radio Showcase series [2] and released on DVD as part of the Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live & Swingin.
Although the Rat Pack members remained close (with the exception of Peter Lawford), the Rat Pack began to fade in popularity with the rise of the 1960s counterculture, which sent their form of sophisticated "Establishment" entertainment into decline.[citation needed] While its individual members remained popular with the public, the Rat Pack, as such, had ceased to exist by the end of the 1960s.
Many years later, Martin and Davis appeared together in the movie Cannonball Run, and were joined by Sinatra in the movie Cannonball Run II. This would be the last time that the three would appear in a movie together. (Shirley MacLaine also appears in the latter film).
Lawford died on December 24, 1984 of cardiac arrest complicated by kidney and liver failure at the age of 61. Sammy Davis, Jr. died at the age of 64 on May 16, 1990, of complications from throat cancer. Dean Martin died at home on Christmas morning 1995, aged 78. Frank Sinatra died on May 14, 1998, at the age of 82. Joey Bishop, the last surviving and longest-lived (89) male Rat Pack member, died on October 17, 2007. Posted by John WIlliam Tuohy at 5:58 AM
Hey pallies, likes loves how 'lert the google pallies are to helpin' me find more cool bloggs where our Dino is bein' lifted up. Today's find is a great blogger blogg tagged Child Of The Sixties Forever And Ever where blogger John WIlliam Tuohy has shared several posts featurin' our Dino. The first one below (which you can see the original of if you clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram) features a great piece of Dinoprose on our Dino's boypallie Dino Jr. gig band Dino, Desi, and Billy with most of the accent of this fine trib on Dino Jr. Glads to see others showin' Dinoadmiration of our Dino's boypallie's very successful band. The next post as well will come from Mr. Tuomy's pad. Dinodelightedly, DMP
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Dino, Desi and Billy
Dino, Desi & Billy was a 1960s singing group featuring "Dino" Martin (Dean Paul Martin, the son of traditional pop singer Dean Martin), Desi Arnaz, Jr. (Desiderio Arnaz IV, the son of television stars Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball), and their friend Billy Hinsche. Hinsche went on to tour and record with the Beach Boys periodically throughout the '70s and beyond.
Dino, Desi & Billy's best known songs included
"I'm A Fool" (1965) U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #17 "Not The Lovin' Kind" (1965) U.S. #25
In 2002, Hinsche's website stated that Desi and Billy had formed a "new configuration of the original band" known as "Ricci, Desi, & Billy", performing original material and the original songs. Ricci Martin is the youngest son of singer Dean Martin
Dino Martin later began to go by his given name Dean Paul instead of the nickname "Dino". He became a successful tennis player (he competed in a junior competition at Wimbledon) and actor. He appeared in the 1979 film Players, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best New Star of the Year — Male, and later starred in the TV series Misfits of Science which aired during the 1985-1986 television season.
Martin was also an avid pilot. He obtained his pilot's license at age 16 and earned his wings with the California Air National Guard in 1981. Martin died in 1987 when his National Guard F-4 Phantom fighter jet crashed in California's San Bernardino Mountains during a snowstorm, killing him and his WSO (Weapons Systems Officer), Ramon Ortiz. The singer Dean Martin never recovered from the loss of his son, retiring from show business a few years later. Dean Paul Martin was married to and divorced from actress Olivia Hussey (mother of his son, Alexander) and Olympic skating gold medalist Dorothy Hamill.He is buried in the Los Angeles National Cemetery, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
Hey pallies, likes here is an update on the proposed new Matt Helm flick from the site Sci Fi Wire (just clicks on tagg of this Dinogram to goes there).
Mostly sharin' this 'cause you will not they have included this stellar pix of of our Dino in all his glory on the round bed with all those beautiful chicks....not in favor of redoin' of the Matt Helm series, but if they do it looks like they are goin' to do it totally differento then the perfect ways our Dino did MH.
So here is the latest and of course this marvelous pix of our Dino and company. Dinodiggin', DMP
Producer says Matt Helm spy film moves ahead
Dean Martin (center) as Matt Helm
Steven Spielberg was circling a Matt Helm feature film, but he chose to direct Harvey as his next film instead; nevertheless, producer Roberto Orci said Spielberg is still creatively influential in the Helm project.
"He has still been very involved," Orci said in a group interview earlier this month in Pasadena, Calif., where he was promoting his Fox TV series Fringe. "He helped us develop it. It's something we all are still working on together, and he is no less excited about it."
Donald Hamilton's literary spy character made it to Hollywood in a series of films in the 1960s starring Dean Martin. A TV series in the '70s turned Helm into a private detective. Orci wants a new film to do Helm right.
"It was an old series of great books about kind of an American James Bond," Orci said. "Dean Martin played him, very much in a tongue-in-cheek kind of Austin Powers kind of way: automatic bed, would take his martini in the morning when he wakes up, kind of campy. The idea of updating it is for now and making it kind of a cool, sophisticated [story]. America's answer to James Bond is the way we're thinking of it."
But Jason Bourne seems to be America's answer to James Bond, and even the recent Bond films took a more gritty, realistic approach. Orci wants to create the American equivalent of the 20 more fantastical James Bond films that came before Daniel Craig.
"Yeah, just there hasn't really been an American James Bond that has that slight swingin' sensibility without it crossing over into parody," Orci said.
Helm is not out to any more directors yet, but development is progressing fast. "We're producing that with Jerry Weintraub, who's amazing, and Paul Attanasio writing," Orci said. "We'll see if that's one of the ones we can get up and running soon." By Fred Topel 7:53 AM ON 08/18/09
Hey pallies, likes loves findin' more bloggs liftin' of the name of our Dino. Today's Dinofind is a blogg tagged Bar Stool Mountain (clicks on tagg of this Dinogram to go there)...where our Dino is listed as their Patron Saint. Likes how cool is that! And this post is devoted to how great our Dino sings "Little Ol' Wine Drinker Me." Loves how they call our Dino "our hero."
With pallies likes this lovin' and honorin' our Dino, certainly more and more pallies everyday are bein' brought to knows and loves our great man. Dinodelightedly, DMP
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Sittin' In A Honky In Chicago
"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me..." Go on, finish it.
Today we're gonna feature a tune that could very well be our theme song 'round these parts, if it weren't for our "title" song, which maybe deserves the next post. It's about time.
It takes a cool cat to carry off a brilliant tune like "Little Ol' Wine Drinker Me". It's a swingin' little boozer about, well, gettin' dumped. And grapes. Yummy yummy grapes. And the song takes us from California to Chicago (hooray!) to Florida (where we used to think "his" baby left a "floater" on the train...don't ask) to Tennessee. But it's all about a guy in the corner, listening to the jukebox and hugging the bottle of vin. It doesn't get much better than that.
We said it takes a cool cat to sing this song. Well, it doesn't get much cooler than our hero, Dean Martin, all laconic slurred fuck-off attitude, and heart-broken self-pity. We've been there, each and every one of us. Far as we're concerned, his is the definitive version. You may disagree.
But then you've got Robert goddam Mitchum, mighty Merle Haggard, Lefty Frizzell, and Charlie Walker adding their cool as ice renditions, and you've got one of the greatest sot-sodden tales of woe and wine ever crafted.
Frankly, the song is a Country song. I can't imagine another scenario where the tune would work. All these artists give it their best drawl'n'twang, and take a so-called novelty and turn it into a classic tavern turned gem of stem and drank.
I'm praying for a rain in California So the grapes can grow and they can make more wine And I'm sitting in a honky in Chicago With a broken heart and a woman on my mind.
I'll ask the man behind the bar for the jukebox And the music takes me back to Tennessee And when they ask who's the fool in the corner, crying I'll say, little old wine drinker, me.
I came here last week from down in Nashville 'Cause my baby left for Florida on a train I thought I'd get a job and just forget her But in Chicago a broken heart is still the same.
I'll ask the man behind the bar for the jukebox And the music takes me back to Tennessee And when they ask who's the fool in the corner, crying I'll say, little old wine drinker, me...
Recommended Reading: The Alcoholics by Jim Thompson
Hey pallies, likes don't think I have ever Dinogrammed this cool Dinotale here at the ilovedinomartin Dinoblog before....it is by cool comedian and actor Denis Leary and how he was invited to spend an evenin' with our Dino. This was very late in our Dino's journey and shows that he was likes totally with it to the end. Enjoys this revealin' Dinoaccount all my Dinoholic dudes.... Dinosharin', DMP
Denis Leary Meets Dean Martin
My most mondo experience wasn't so much a year but the first four weeks I spent in Hollywood, back in 1993. I was making Demolition Man in L.A., which was bizarre enough - I mean, me in a big budget movie with Stallone and Snipes? It was also Sandra Bullock's first big flick. My agent told me he got a call from Dean Martin. Apparently, Dean loved my show No Cure for Cancer and wanted me to come over and have dinner with him.
"You gotta be kidding me," I thought, figuring Martin was probably drunk when he said it. So I drove over to his house in Beverly Hills. Sure enough, the door popped open and there was Dean fucking Martin, wearing a Members Only jacket. He looked magnificent: trim and tan with a big head of hair and the whole cigarette thing going. It was kinda strange, because he looked just like my dad, who had passed away a long time before. He came over and gave me a hug -this was the first time I ever met the guy.
We had drinks, ate dinner, then had a few more drinks. For seven hours straight. Dean was smoking cigarettes twice as fast as I was, and pounding 7&7's like they were soda. One "7" was heavily favored over the "7," but he never slurred his words or looked unsteady. Meanwhile, I was drinking beer because I wanted to remember all the details. About halfway through the night, he asked me to have a whiskey. When I told him I was okay, he said, "What are you, a pussy?"
I couldn't believe it - I had just gotten called a pussy by Dean Martin! That was, like, one of my lifetime goals realized.
Hey pallies, our pallie Miss Gayle Carline took our Dino along with her when on Saturday past she was part of the Placentia Library Summer Readin' Celebration. If you clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram you can goes to her blogg and read all the details of what happened.
Below is a cool pix of Miss Gayle Carline and our Dino and her "Freezer Burn" display. Loves how Miss Gayle took such good care of our great man when the winds kicked up....ain't that a kick in the head. BTW, pallies likes if you haven't read Miss Gayle Carline's murder mystery that features Mr. Benny Needles who hearts our Dino, you just gotta gets it. Dinodelightedly, DMP
This brings me to Mr. Martin, whom I adore and wanted to include in this event. He was, as always, a delightful and gracious guest, until the winds kicked up. No amount of heavy boxes and wedging could keep him upright when the breeze blew through the courtyard. He spent most of the last hour close to my side so I could catch him when he fell. After all, what are friends for?
Hey pallies, likes gotta 'fess up that I have been so Dinowonderin' how mucho bread was spent to acquire our Dino's 1962 Ghia L6.4 Coupe. Well found the Dinoanswer at a pad tagged CarMK (clicks on tagg of this Dinogram to go there).
The pallie who wrote the previous article that I posted 'bout the sale of Rat Pack cars predicted.."While the Ghia is the unquestionably the more beautiful of the two, a Sinatra auto packs more provenance, so the Caddy will command a higher price; $275,000 - $325,000 as opposed to $185,000 - $225,000 for the Ghia, which was something of a Rat Pack ride of choice."
Well this dude was wrong on all counts....'cause both our Dino's and the frankie's autos both sold for the same 'mount $117,000. Woulda loves to have seen our great man's car sold for more then the frankie's...but at least they tied.
Now, 117 thousand is lots of bread to this dude...but if I had known the prices were goin' to be this low, woulda done all in my Dinopower to have gots it. Dinoreportin', DMP
227 The ex-Gary Morton, & ex-Dean Martin,1962 Ghia L6.4 Coupe Chassis no. 0325 $117,000
Hey pallies, likes as we close out this ilovedinomartin Dinocelebration of the August 15, 1964 date when our Dino beat up the Beatles on the charts, we share 'nother stellar Dinoversion of our Dino singin' his numero uno song of amore, "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime."
This time it is a clip of a life performance of our Dino doin' a charity event at the Kiel Opera House in St. Louis in 1965. Gotta tell ya, it does get better then this pallies.... So sits back and enjoy our Dino croonin' the tune that declared his championship over the mop tops. Long live our King of Cool, our Master of Hip, our Ruler of Randy! Dinohonorin', DMP
Hey pallies, here's 'nother hot Dinopost by Maria. As usual, just clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram to goes there. What advice woulda you gives Maria. Likes pallies, I don't believe in givin' advice to anyone, so I won't...never had a 'too myself, it just is so permanant...but likes if I ever was to take that leap, I can think of no one else I woulda wanna honor then our Dino... Dinosharin', DMP
15. august 2009 Dean Martin / Rat Pack Tattoo? I am soon 18 and i thought maybe i will get my self a nice present? Dean Martin/ Rat Pack tattoo? This guy's tattoo looks sooo cool :O Too crazy? What do you think?
Hey pallies, our pallie Maria is likes turnin' of the heat at your blogg (clicks on tagg of this Dinogram to goes there)...I woulda say she is on Dinofire and has certainly caught Dinofever....I loves this particular Dinopost where she shares with her peers her answer "Why Dean Martin." Checks it out pallies, this Deanager speaks such Dinotruth...certainly she is goin' be one of the international pallies of our Dino who will fire the Dinorevolution to a Dinofrenzy. Way to go Maria.... Dinoregards, DMP
14. august 2009
Why Dean Martin and not pop music and "normal" music ?
Well, lately a lot of people began to ask me why i love Dean Martin as much as i do.Well i will be more that glad to anwser them : )
Well, i think in the beginning i just wanted to be kind of different from every one else, but then after finding out more and more about Dean i just fell in love with both his musical style, his style, his personality and just Dean Martin. I know, i know everybody thinks it's weird that 17, almost 18 years old girl is head over heals in love with a old, dead guy. Well for the first of all, he is NOT some old, dead guy.. I think that he is, at least for me, perfect man without any flows. I personally think that he is everything a man should be. He is funny, cool, down to earth, has not just great looks but he is HOT!! He has a kind of personality and a way of living that i can only dream to have. He is a kind of person who just doesn't give a f**k. He lives the way he wants and never cares about troubles. I first heard his song when i was 10 i think, and i just couldn't stop listening. Then i started to listen too Frank, Dean, Perry Como. After a while i discovered Frank's movies and Duke. Then came Rat Pack and then Martin and Lewis, Dean Martin Show/ Celebrity Roasts. And now i am 2000% addicted to Dean Martin. I listen to him when i am down, when i am happy, when i go out for a walk or run, i listen to him before i go too sleep. But off course it's not Dean Martin music/films 24/7, there is Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis and "normal" music. But whenever i am sad, angry or just in normal mood, Dean Martin is always my Top 25 songs on IPod. So for you people who like to say that it's weird music, music for older people and that i was born in wrong century. Well this is what i would like to say: I am not like to be like every one else, i don't want too follow the same music taste or books or movies/tv. It's perfectly fine to be different and do other things. I bet that every one does totally other things at home, other music, other books and just other things. So don't judge people for being different, just because i am not afraid of that! Because nobody is 100% normal, or perfect. So you just think about that for a while.
And by the way, The King Of Rock and Roll, Elvis him self said that Dean Martin is and always would be the one and only The King Of Cool.
Hey pallies, 45 years ago this glorious Dinoday, our Dino declared his might and knocked the Beatles off the top of the recorded music charts with his amazin' rendition of "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime." 'Nother true Dinoholic, actor Mr. Eddie Deezen at his cool blogg by the same tagg (clicks on tagg of this Dinogram to goes there...) shares the Dinotale of how our Dino predicted his conquest of the Beatles and we thanks him for showin' his true Dinodevotion in sharin' this.
Only thin' pallies is the boypallie ref oughta be to Dino Jr. then Ricci...accordin' to the def Dinobio, "DINO: Living High In The Dirty Dreams Of Living" it was our Dino's boypallie Dino Jr. who was so awed by the mop tops and the Dinolegend is it was to him that our great man said, "I'm goin' to knock your pallies off the charts."
So on this historic day in Dinohistory we salute our Dino and his abilty to take on all comers and rule as King of Cool....never was, never will be anyone as cool...or as powerful as our Dino.... Hopes all of you pallies will takes some time this very Dinoday to pause and honor our Dino and what he means to you...where woulda we be without our Dino...nowhere pallies...for truly, ONLY DINO MATTERS!!!!!! Dino-only, DMP
May 12, 2009 DEAN MARTIN KNOCKS THE BEATLES OUT OF #1 SPOT - AUGUST 15, 1964
I'M GONNA KNOCK YOUR PALLIES OFF THE CHARTS
- DEAN MARTIN
RICCI MARTIN, WAS JUST LIKE MOST ANY OTHER TEENAGER IN THE EARLY MONTHS OF 1964. RICCI WAS TOTALLY CRAZY ABOUT AND OBSESSED WITH THE BEATLES. EVER SINCE THEIR ARRIVAL IN AMERICA, THEY HAD CAPTIVATED TEENAGERS FAR AND WIDE AND TAKEN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY BY STORM. THEY WERE MAKING APPEARANCES ON TV, THEIR NEW FILM A HARD DAY'S NIGHT WAS A SMASH HIT, AND THEIR SONGS WERE BLASTING OUT OF EVERY RADIO ON THE CONTINENT.
DURING THIS WAVE OF BEATLEMANIA, RICCI WAS RAVING ON AND ON ABOUT THE BOYS FROM LIVERPOOL. HIS FATHER, DEAN MARTIN, STAR OF STAGE, SCREEN, TELEVISION, LAS VEGAS, AND THE RECORD WORLD, GOT FED UP ONE DAY AND TOOK RICCI TO THE SIDE AND TOLD HIM:
I'M GONNA KNOCK YOUR PALLIES OFF THE CHARTS.
RICCI SMIRKED AND BARELY HELD BACK FROM ROLLING HIS EYES RIGHT TO HIS FATHER'S FACE. SURE, HIS DAD WAS THE GREAT DEAN MARTIN, BUT DINO HADN'T HAD A HIT RECORD IN SIX YEARS - AND COME ON - THESE GUYS WERE THE BEATLES!
IN 1962, DEAN MARTIN HAD SIGNED A RECORDING CONTRACT WITH REPRISE RECORDS, A COMPANY OWNED BY HIS CLOSE FRIEND AND COMRADE-IN-ARMS FRANK SINATRA. IN 1963, REPRISE SIGNED A MAN NAMED JIMMY BOWDEN TO THEIR A & R DEPARTMENT. JIMMY VERY MUCH WANTED TO RECORD AN ALBUM WITH DEAN MARTIN. DEAN, ALWAYS AN EASY-GOING GUY, AGREED TO WORK WITH BOWDEN, BUT DEAN, A MAN WHO DID NOT LIKE CHANGE, WANTED TO RECORD AN ALBUM OF SOFT, MOODY, "LAS VEGAS-TYPE" SONGS.
IT WAS TO BE A TYPICAL "DEAN MARTIN ALBUM" - SLOW BALLADS AND LOVE SONGS SUNG BY THE DROOPY-EYED CROONER AND WAS CALLED DREAM WITH DEAN.
BOWDEN WANTED TO RECORD DEAN AND TRIED TO SET AN ATMOSPHERE THAT WAS PLEASING TO HIS ARTIST. THE RECORDING STUDIO WAS SET UP WITH MOODY LIGHTING TO CREATE THE PROPER ATMOSPHERE. HE GOT TOGETHER A SMALL BAND AND DINO QUICKLY AND SMOOTHLY RECORDED THE FIRST 11 SONGS FOR THE ALBUM.
THE 12TH HE JUST HATED - IT WAS A SONG CALLED EVERYBODY LOVES SOMEBODY SOMETIME. THE SONG HAD BEEN WRITTEN AROUND 15 YEARS PREVIOUSLY BY DEAN'S CLOSE FRIEND AND PIANO PLAYER, KEN LANE (THIS FACTOR, I'M SURE, HAD A LOT TO DO WITH DEAN RECORDING A SONG HE COULDN'T STAND. DEAN WAS A VERY NICE, EASY-GOING GUY AND HE PROBABLY JUST WANTED TO HELP A PAL GET SOME ROYALTIES). DEAN HAD TO BE COAXED INTO RECORDING THE NUMBER, BUT AFTER SOME PUSHING, HE FINALLY AGREED TO RECORD THE TUNE THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN RECORDED BY SEVERAL OTHER ARTISTS INCLUDING SINATRA, PEGGY LEE AND DINAH WASHINGTON, AND HAD NEVER GONE ANYWHERE.
WHEN DEAN'S ALBUM CAME OUT, THE SONG WAS GIVEN LITTLE NOTICE AND RAISED NO STIR, BUT IN, EARLY IN 1964, DEAN RECORDED THE SONG AGAIN AS A SINGLE. IT WAS GIVEN A NEW ARRANGEMENT, DEAN SPED UP THE TEMPO A BIT, AND ADDED A MORE CONTEMPORARY SOUND TO IT. AT FIRST, THE SONG WENT NOWHERE AND REPRISE DECIDED TO STOP PROMOTING IT. BUT RADIO STATIONS IN NEW ORLEANS AND WORCHESTER, MASS. STARTED PLAYING IT.
IT SOON SPREAD TO OTHER STATIONS AND GAINED POPULARITY, AND ON AUGUST 15, 1964, JUST AS HE HAD BOASTED TO HIS SKEPTICAL SON, EVERYBODY LOVES SOMEBODY SOMETIME ACTUALLY KNOCKED THE BEATLES OUT OF THE #1 SPOT ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 100 RECORD CHART.
SEE, I TOLD YOU I WAS GONNA KNOCK YOUR PALLIES OFF
SAID DEAN CASUALLY TO HIS AWESTRUCK SON. RICCI MARTIN SAID HE LOOKED ON AT HIS FATHER WITH PRIDE, WONDER AND AMAZEMENT. AND THUS, DEAN MARTIN, IN ALL PROBABILITY, BECAME THE ONE AND ONLY PERSON TO CORRECTLY PREDICT THAT HE WAS GOING TO KNOCK THE BEATLES OUT OF THE NUMBER ONE SPOT ON THE CHARTS AND ACTUALLY DO IT!
Hey pallies, our celebration of the Day that our Dino knocked the Beatles off the charts, August 15, 1964 continues with 'nother version of "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime," the tune that beat up the Beatles.
This is one of my fav Dinorenditions of it taken from that stellar DinoDVD "That's Amore," featurin' fav moments from the Dinoshow. Here you will catch Greg Garrison speakin' of how "I just love this guy" and how much he misses our Dino. Some great pixs from the Dinoshow are intertwined with the Dinosong and at the end loves how our Dino sez, "everybody loves somebody sometime, and I love all of you, so takes care of yourselves....."
How wonderful to know that we are loved by our Dino. Sits back and enjoys watchin' our great man sings the great song that shows our Dino to be superior to all comers.. Dinoadmirin', DMP
Hey pallies, our Dinolovin' pallie Republibot 3.0 has done himself proud 'gain with a very way cool Dinoreview of "Murder's Row." This dude has a gift for sharin' details that I had totally missed from this Dinoflick...so reads on and enjoys learnin' more 'bout numero duo in the Matt Helm franchise.
So grateful to this dude for helpin' to lift up the name of our Dino and sharin' some Dinolove to bring others to know, love, and honor our Dino. Please takes the time to read Mr. R's take on this flick and leaves some Dinopatter here and at his blog as well...
To view this in it's original form, likes just clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram to goes there. Dinodevotedly, DMP
MOVIE REVIEW: “Murderer’s Row” (1966) August 14, 2009 by Republibot 3.0 Ok, last week’s review of “The Silencers” was a bit of a ramble, so let’s see if I can stay a bit more focused this time out. “Murderer’s Row” was the second movie in the Matt Helm series, released barely ten months after the first film, and in the same year. They really cranked ‘em out in the sixties.
Now, I had a lot of reservations about the first film, but I let a lot of them slide because it was an adventure/comedy after all, and not meant to be taken seriously. Some have called it a parody of the spy genre, but I think that might be going a bit too far, since it’s not really all that much different from the meant-to-be-taken-seriously Bond knockoffs of the same era, though of course it’s funnier. If it’s parody at all, it’s more a self-parody of Dino than anything else. “Hey, I’m always hanging around in a tux, I drink a lot of martinis, why don’t we build a movie around that?”
In my last review, I said that there were a couple fight scenes with Dino that made me kind of wish they’d played the movie a hair straighter, Since the 49-year-old Mr. Martin was an unexpectedly forceful presence in them. I also thought it would be nice if they toned down the smarm a bit - just a bit, mind you - so that the film seemed more like an actual film, and less like a home movie from the Playboy Mansion.
Evidently the producers of the series had the same thoughts as me, because they made exactly those changes in the sophomore film. (Or perhaps at some point in my own future, I travel back in time to give them notes. It’s unlikely, but I am a strange guy…) “Murderer’s Row” has a much better grip on what it wants to do, the plot makes a bit more sense, and is tighter, and while there’s plenty of pulchritude on parade, they play it in such a way that Helm never seems quite the Late Night Cinemax sex addict that he kinda’ did in the first reel of the first movie.
PLAY BY PLAY
For starters, gone is the two-and-a-half strippers and a song opening from the first film. (Cyd Charisse…sigh). Instead we jump right in to a much more energetic opening title sequence that just screams ‘60s:
(If that link doesn’t work, try here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE4Vpv-YMs ) and we hit the ground running with a scene of Washington DC being destroyed by a death ray!
That turns out to be a simulation to demonstrate Big O’s latest evil scheme for the benefit of the agency’s various lieutenants and cells. Since they’re very close to their target date, they don’t want to take any chances and the evil Julian Wall (Karl Malden, wrestling with a very bad accent) send his ace henchman “Ironhead” (Tom Reese, who’s best known from Gunsmoke, and who played Sgt. Velie on the short-lived Ellery Queen series in the ‘70s), who has an exposed chrome/iron plate in his head (Well, duh.) to kill all the world’s best agents. The French agent gets blown up in a disco. The English agent gets pushed off a cliff. The Japanese agent gets blown up in a bathouse, and so on. They don’t actually know what Matt Helm looks like - his identity is a closely guarded secret - and the only photo they have of him is from behind. It’s so vague that they point out his glass full of gin as an “Identifying Characteristic.”
Cut to Helm’s house - same set as the last movie - where he’s doing a cheesecake photoshoot for a girlie calendar. Finishing with Miss January, Miss July shows up early, and the whole project is running him ragged: “January’s just left, July is six months early, and April is three months late.” He declines another photo assignment so he and Lovey Kravesit can go on a vacation together, but for now he just wants to take a nap. Alas, Miss January (Best known for being a 1958 Playboy centerfold) is in his bed trying to seduce him. Matt turns her down, or tries to, but eventually relents. January hits a button, and Matt’s rotating, sliding bed heads to his swimming pool/tub. There’s a ray gun beam poking in from the skylight, but Matt doesn’t notice. The Evil Miss January - she works for Big O - tried to get out of the bed before it hit’s the water, but Matt playfully holds her in, there’s an explosion, and they’re both dead.
At Helm’s favorite bar, the flag is at half mast, and a bevy of mourning models all drink a toast to Matt while a Liza impersonator sings “Roll out the Barrel.” (I actually thought it might be Liza for a minute, but it’s someone named Jacqueline Fontaine. (I’d never heard of her either.) Mac (James Gregory) and Lovey (Beverly Adams) are there, too. Mac excuses himself, goes to a late-night garage, and meets with the not-at-all-surprisingly-not-dead Matt Helm, who he briefs on the mission:
Big O has kidnapped a scientist named Norman Solaris, who’s been developing a solar-powered laser death ray that they intend to use against the US. Their only lead is a shipment of inobtanium-40 heading to Cannes, since they know the death ray needs that. Matt is to meet with a French agent working undercover as a chanteuse. He’s to rescue Solaris if he can, but if he can’t, he’s to kill the man - and himself if he gets caught. Since there’s a mole in ICE - the non-existent-but-neat-sounding spy organization they work for, Matt will stay dead officially, and only Mac and the President know otherwise.
Helm heads to France and goes to his contact’s apartment, but finds her dead in the fridge. Leaving, he bumps in to Ann Margret (Inexplicably wearing a turtle-neck swimsuit), and is observed by the evil Mr. Wall and his girlfriend, Coco. Coco is immediately smitten with Helm. That night in town, Helm goes to a disco where he bumps in to Ann Margaret again, who’s unbelievably smoking’ hot, and who dances entirely too frenetically. She’s literally hanging all over him. The cops show up saying that the Chanteuse is dead and their lead suspect is Helm (Going under the name “Peters”). A fight breaks out, and Helm is arrested.
In the police lineup (Which is actually kinda’ funny), Mr. Wall identifies Helm/Peters as the murderer, but Coco says she couldn’t be sure, she wasn’t really paying attention. Ann Margaret comes in with her beat up boyfriend, Billy (Not the same Billy from the band) and also fails to identify Helm, somewhat surprisingly, so they let him go. Back at his hotel, Ann is waiting for him, and they make out a bit. She thinks he’s a hitman working for Mr. Wall and his girlfriend Coco. (“She’s not his wife.” “You mean they hate each other like that for free?”) Ann wants to hire Helm to her side. “I’ll make it worth your while” she says. They smooch around for a bit. He points out logically that he can’t be working for Wall, since Wall just tried to send him up the river, and she reveals that she’s Dr. Solaris’ daughter. Helm agrees to help her out, and starts to leave just as Billy bluster in talking like a twit and blathering about how he used to box for Yale.
The next day, Helm easily sneaks in to Mr. Wall’s private island, and is just as easily captured. Questioned, he claims he was just snooping around to find something to blackmail Wall over, he’s just a hood from the states. Checking this out, Wall contacts his mole in ICE, who confirms that “Peters” isn’t the guy’s real name. In actual fact he’s a hired gun from Chicago who can’t come back to the states because he owes his wife too much alimony. (“Did you have any children?” “No, just two dogs - a French poodle and my wife.”) Ya’ gotta’ hand it to Mac - he covered his bases. Wall decides he can always use another hired gun, and puts Helm on the payroll then and there, and points out that he’s decided to kill Ann Margret back on the mainland. Helm escapes, steals Wall’s hovercraft, and beats up Ironhead, then drives the hovercraft to the disco Ann’s dancing in, rips her dress off, and throws it at a picture of Frank Sinatra that’s inexplicably projected on the back wall. (“Sorry, Frank,” Dino says.) This is our obligatory Rat Pack in-joke for the film. (In “The Silencers” Helm is driving along and Stella Stevens is playing with the radio. A Sinatra song comes on, and Helm says “Ugh. Turn that off. That’s terrible.” She immediately switches it to another station where a Dean Martin song is playing, and Helm says “Now there’s a guy who knows how to sing!”) The hovercraft dash to save Ann is intercut with scenes of her dancing, and it goes on for a long time. A very long time. A very very long time. Once again, the Republispouse turned to me while we were watching this and said “Is the movie running short again?” I checked the box: running time is an hour and forty-five minutes. Nope, not running long. Weird.
Helm reveals to her that her dad is still alive, they make out some more, then there’s a very long car chase that includes a weird continuity error: They start off in Anne’s car, a cute little girly 2-seater convertible, and then suddenly they’re in Helm’s car, with all his spy gadgets. There’s no explanation given for this, it just happens. The chase goes on easily as long as the dance sequence did, and it’s mostly music-free. Ultimately, the police chasing Helm are distracted by girls in bikinis (it is Cannes, after all), and the Americans get away.
At Helm’s behest, Ann borrows a boat from her longsuffering boyfriend, Billy, and the two of them head off to the island to rescue her father. As was considered appropriate female attire for rescues in those days, Ann is wearing basically a long T-shirt, and that’s it. Helm breaks out his delayed firing pistol (Pull the trigger, count to eight, and it shoots) and a Freeze Gun he stole from Coco on the hovercraft. He freezes a couple guards while sneaking in under cover of darkness, but then runs out of…uhm…juice? Freon? Whatever, and reverts to his delay gun. All the guards are taken down with more-or-less comedy. Meanwhile, Ann goes bounding around the dungeon, bluffing her way past the guards by being cute. “Mr. Wall sent me down to talk to Solaris, and I’m lost. Can you help me?”
When Helm finds Solaris, he’s been tortured badly and isn’t really terribly mobile, so Helm tries to kill the guy just as Anne busts in and stops him. Then they all get captured by Wall. Wall quickly finds out that Ann is Solaris’ daughter, and decides to torture her to get the information out of her old man rather than torturing the dad himself. Coco lets Anne put on some pants, so you know an action sequence is coming up. Helm tries to play it off like he’s still on their side, but eventually he says “You want to know who I am?” picks up a glass of booze and faces away from the camera. “Matt Helm!” they realize. (Love that gag!). He tries to buy his own life by giving false information to Mac, so they let him call. He tells them that the assignment is over, the good guys won, and everyone will be fine. There were coded bits of info in there to let Mac know that all was not on the level, however. (“Matt Helm never drank a glass of bourbon in his life!”) and he uses the info to identify the mole. Alas, the Mole gets off one last message, and Helm is thrown in to a shake-em-up machine that’s supposed to energize the Inobtanium-40. Ironhead puts him in there with a jellybean that’s never explained, but evidently is really significant.
Meanwhile, Wall shoots at Ann with a spear gun until her daddy relents. They take Ann away so the men folk can plot world domination, and once again she manages to bluff her way past what has to be the absolute worst crew of security guards in the universe by simply being cute. “My uncle designed the death ray control mechanism” one of them brags, “I can tell you all about it! This is the doubletalk reckonable hoobijoob ossilator which brings about inverse thingamabobs” “Cute!” Ann emphatically agrees. After describing in detail how impervious to damage it is, she destroys it with a bobby pin, then gets Helm out of the milkshake mixer.
Helm and Ironhead fight for quite a while, both directly, and over the never-explained red jellybean. Then Ann turns on an electromagnetic crane and hauls Ironhead in to the air. Helm throws the jellybean at him, and the guy explodes. Again, I can’t help but think that a scene was missing wherein they explain the surprisingly high destructive potential of jellybeans. Anyway…things go south quickly, and Wall kills his girlfriend not for any particular reason aside from *not* killing her would be a dangling plot thread. He futzes with the controls, then escapes to his hovercraft.
Helm, Ann and her daddy meet up in the control room, and realize they can’t stop the solar powered kill-o-zap from destroying Washington, since Wall has transferred control of the machine to his hovercraft. They’re screwed until Ann discovers a miniature sportscar hovercraft, and they give chase. They’ve got no weapons, though, so they don’t really pose much of a threat. Hovercraft are basically by definition enormous bumper-cars, so it’s unlikely that one can really cripple the other. Even so, Wall stupidly postpones destroying Washington so he can shoot at Helm with a special pistol that apparently fires Claymore mines or something. Very big explosions! He misses a lot, though. (“With aim like that, if he tries to hit Washington, he’ll take out Pittsburgh!”)
While Wall is dorking around with that, instead of - oh, I dunno - DOING HIS JOB as a super villain, Helm manages to jump from the little hovercraft to the big one, and gets inside. Ann quickly follows suit (See! Told you that if she bothered to wear pants, it had to be for a reason!), and takes out the pilot while Helm manages to get Wall to shoot himself - twice - with the delay pistol. (His final words: “Clever.”) Helm plants a bomb in the hovercraft, and he and Ann jump out. It explodes (Not really, there’s a crudely animated explosion superimposed on the film).
They’re pulled out of the drink by Ann’s plot device of a boyfriend, Billy, who turns out to know how to fly a helicopter. The world is saved - hooray! Back in the ‘States, back in Helm’s house, Ann and him are fooling around on his bed. Once again, the wrong button sends them in to the tub/pool, but this time they’re met by all twelve of the calendar girls in various states of revealing costumes. While Ann and Dino continue to make out, one of the calendar girls inexplicably pulls a machine gun out of nowhere, and opens fire (Or is it inexplicable? I mean, Helm *IS* making out with Ann right in front of her!). Helm and Ann dive underwater.
THE END
OBSERVATIONS:
There’s never any explanation given as to how Matt managed to avoid dying in the tub early on in the movie. There’s also never any explanation as to how Matt apparently knew she was a spy. And let me get this straight: They knew where Helm lived, and what his cover was, but they didn’t know what he looked like?
Helm’s semi-automated bar is pretty neat!
Lovey looks different in this movie. At first I thought it was a different actress, but I suppose it might just be that she’s wearing clothes. That said, her dress made of alternately see-through and opaque horizontal stripes was quite fetching.
In the disco, once of the guys in the band calls Helm “Dad” in hipster slang. (“He calls everyone ‘dad.’” “What, doesn’t he know?” “It’s a wise son who knows his father.” “With the way they’re wearing their hair these days, it’s a wise father that can recognize his own son.”) This is an in joke - the guy in the band is Dean Paul Martin, Dino’s son. The band was “Dino, Desi and Billy” consisting of Martin’s son, Desi Aranaz, Jr, and someone named Billy Hinsche, who evidently later went on to do the soundtrack of Automan. It was a real band, making a stab at rock stardom, which, of course, never arrived.
Back in the disco, in Ann Margret’s VERY LONG dance scene, I should mention that she wears some completely ridiculous clothes. Particularly that stupid hat, which looks like a World War I snoopy aviator’s cap crocheted out of white yarn. She is undeniably hot, though. Following the long and basically boring dance sequence up with an equally long and equally boring car chase was a bad move, and the movie effectively grinds to a halt for about ten minutes here. I don’t know what to make of the car change in mid-car chase. Presumably there’s a scene missing where they change vehicles that got left out for some reason, but it’s really, really distracting.
The Freeze Gun is kinda’ neat, but demonstrably impossible outside of comic books. The Delayed Pistol looks really neat, but isn’t nearly as clever as the reversed-firing gun from the last movie.
The Soundtrack doesn’t inspire my mad desire to own it, like last week’s Elmer Bernstein oeuvre did, but the Lalo Schifrin main theme is still pretty sweet, and most of the incidental music is really good. I’m still not sure if we’ve got a Matt Helm theme or not, though, and while the movie doesn’t need to be leitmotif, it *does* need a recognizable core for the protagonist to hang all the other incidental music off of. Dino’s self-parody songs tend more towards ironic situations than the goofy lyrics of the first one. “Not the Marryin’ Kind” turns up more than a few times, and always bugs me a bit because the song sounds so much like “King of the Road.” the Boyce & Hart song on the soundtrack (Performed by Dino, Desi & Billy, makes no impression whatsoever)
The plot makes a relative amount of sense this time out, until the last act when the super hyper solar laser death ray is destroyed at least three time (Bobby Pin, exploding hovercraft, etc), and still manages to be a going concern. What? Is this a weapon or Rasputin? Also, if someone could please explain to me how a weapon that the scientist hasn’t actually told them how to complete yet could destroy Helm’s bathroom and Miss January in the beginning of the film, I can’t help but feel I missed something there. The way the various henchmen get bumped off is much more satisfying in this film than in the first, where characters were randomly dropped and new ones were introduced at random.
The direction is much more able than in the first film, and they’re clearly taking it a bit more seriously, but the film is at least fifteen minutes too long. Really, you could cut twenty and it wouldn’t hurt much, mostly from the big dumb hippie dance sequence and the car chase. The final chase - using two *real* hovercraft! - is much better than I remembered, but suffers a bit for not really having any music to underscore it, and it’s mostly shot from a helicopter in long shots. There’s not a lot of up-close action shots to really drive home the excitement and spectacle of it. Still, if you’re the kind of guy who likes hovercraft races, this is your movie. That said, the editing is a mess. I find myself wondering if they were shooting for a two hour film, and 1:45 was the best they could manage. Definitely there are scenes missing. The magical mid-chase car-change, for instance. Or when Helm tries to kill Dr. Solaris with a coin that’s got a poisoned needle in it, how does Ann Margret know what he’s doing? She hasn’t seen the gadget before, he hasn’t told her about it, heck, they haven’t even explained the device to the audience! Likewise, there’s obviously some exposition for the Jellybean of Death that got left on the cutting room floor.
Production design is more-or-less real-world, with a lot of location work in France, and as such it’s less impressive than the previous film’s flights of interior decorator fantasy.
The smarm has been toned down quite a bit, as I said. In fact, we never actually get the feeling that Helm does it with anyone in the course of the movie - he only kisses four women, I think: Lovey, January, Ann Margret, and Coco, and though his mourners in the beginning of the film, and his erstwhile assassins at the end are all clearly supposed to be random sex-buddies, he doesn’t nail any of ‘em during the course of the film. Likewise, though he’s clearly gonna’ get some from Ann at the end, the credits roll before that happens. In the end, the film ends up being slightly more demure than a Bond film of the same era (Bond always bagged a minimum of two women per film - one in the teaser, and the leading lady in the denouement), and they were clearly unhappy with the way the hypersexual hokey-jokey stuff played out in the first film (Let’s not forget Dino’s “Oh my God” in the post-credits teaser last time out.) This mostly helps the film.
Dino seems a bit more in his element, too, a bit more comfortable. Curiously, his scenes with Mac have a bit less chemistry than last time out, and play more like a clip from a lost Neil Simon play. The late, great Karl Malden just doesn’t work as an evil European aristocrat/industrialist. The accent is theoretically supposed to be French or generic-continental of some kind, but it’s just silly and doesn’t work. Malden himself forgets to use it from time to time. He is far and away the best villain in the series, however, particularly in the early scenes when he’s got some menace. (“Steal their voices.“ “What?“ “Kill them.“) He’s used Ann Margret is 25 at the time this film was made, and unquestionably at the peak of her legendarily scorching hotness. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out she was stoned the whole time they were filming this - her dance scenes are entirely too hyperactive, her hoots and ‘yeahs’ while dancing with Helm are vaguely turrets-like, and of course she spends most of the movie wearing utterly ridiculous clothes which are supposed to be haute coture, but basically distract from her own hotness on occasion (See what I did there?). Her energy level varies wildly from scene to scene and sometimes even line to line, but I blame that more on directorial and editing choices than the actress herself, and come one, if you don’t like just staring at mid-’60s Ann Margret, you’re not even gay, you’re dead. Bottom line: she’s much better than Stella Stevens, and probably even better looking. She’s just achingly beautiful.
I have to say a few words about Billy, Ann’s longsuffering doormat/plot device. Everything that she needs in the movie she gets from him - boat, helicopter, ride to the police, you name it. He’s a total fop. “After I graduated Yale, my dad wanted me to join his firm, but I said ‘I want to make it on my own’ so he gave me $250,000 in traveler’s checks and here I am!” An upper-class twit played for laughs. Unfortunately, these scenes are never really as funny as they should be. There’s something in there that’s hilarious that they just narrowly manage to miss every time. I dunno. Maybe I’ll steal that and do something with it in one of my own stories.
Again, there’s a lot of genuinely funny lines in the film. Republicans hadn’t been in the White House since 1960 when the movie started, and when we see Washington destroyed in the beginning of the film, Wall says “The dream has finally come true, and not just for Republicans.” Later on, when Wall says he couldn’t really do a worse job of running the world than anyone else has so far, to which Helm says, “I think you can. I believe in you.” The scene where Helm identifies himself by holding up a glass is pretty hilarious, both on a meta level and as a plot device. Really it’s a good bad film all around, and I have to admit the last time I watched it like five years ago, I harshly misjudged it.
WILL CONSERVATIVES LIKE THIS MOVIE?
They might. If they’re conservatives with a hovercraft fetish, they’ll freakin ADORE it!
Next week I’ll review “The Ambushers,” the third film in the series. (1967) In the meantime, you can watch the whole movie free online here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIcgwClVMuM
Hey pallies, likes our remembrance of one of the greatest of the great days in Dinohistory draweth nigh....to be precise....August 15, 1964. For, it was on the ides of August in the year of our Dino 1964, that our great man knocked the Beatles off the top of the music charts with what has become his signature ballad of amore, "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime.
For all true Dinoholics, August 15, 1964 stands as a watershed date for our Dino....the day that our Dino proved he was able to take on the reignin' music makers of the day, The Beatles, and show them once and for all who was the greatest. For our Dino to accomplish this feat, there had to be pallies of all ages who purchased 45's of "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime."
No one besides our Dino was able to accomplish this feat....so we honor this important date in Dinohistory in showin' the greatness of our great man. In fact, it was after our Dino blew the Beatles off that he sent a telegram to the Elvis that he had taken care of this pallies for the both of 'em.
Today, tomorrow, and on Saturday, the actual anniversary of this Dinofeat, we will be celebratin' our Dino's amazin' accomplishment with posts related to "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime."
Today, we begin by sharin' a cool youtube clip of someone playin' the original 45 that led to our Dino goin' to the top of the charts. Enjoy pallies...VIVA our DINO!!!! Dinocelebratin', DMP
Hey pallies, likes a rarely rarely ever promote a certain site sellin' Dinotreasures...'cause I would never ever wanna make a dime on my Dinodevotion...want to keeps it as Dinopure as Dinopossible.
But, once in a great Dinowhile, just needs to let you know 'bout a great deal on some great Dino....wandered over to amazon yesterDinoday and just happened to notice that currently the Matt Helm quartet of Dinodiscs is at the very attractive Dinoprice of $15.99....a steal of a deal meanin' that each Dinoflick is just 4 bucks each. Knows that most of you pallies already have your Dinocollection of Matt Helm, but some of ya might just wanna buy a spare set at this price, and for anyone who is without these stellar Dinotales, certainly now is the Dinotime to act to gets them into your hot hands. I does often worry 'bout the day that this set is taken outta circulation...hate to even thinks 'bout it...so I just may add to my current two sets of Matt Helm by gettin' one or two more at this amazin' price.
'gain, wants to reiterrate that I likes am makin' nothin' on sharin' this beside the Dinopleasure of helpin' other Dinoholics to takes advantage of this Dinovalue... Dinoreportin', DMP
Matt Helm Lounge (The Silencers/ Murderers Row/The Ambushers/The Wrecking Crew) (1966) Starring: Dean Martin, Senta Berger Director: Henry Levin, Phil Karlson Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Format: DVD 74 Reviews 5 star:(41) 4 star: (21) 3 star: (7) 2 star: (2) 1 star: (3) 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (74 customer reviews) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- List Price: $24.95 Price: $15.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details You Save: $8.96 (36%)
In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Hey pallies, likes when I first saw this post, likes I thought "oh, yeah, just 'nother cheap shot of tryin' to makes some bread on our Dino"...you know those posts where dudes like sorta review one of our Dino's flicks and then sends you to a site to pay to watch it online....or send ya to amazon to makes a purchase.
But, likes this post there is likes no link of any sort at all...this Amir Said dude is speakin' from the bottom of his heart and it is clear that he plans to purchase the Dinoshow Dinodiscs outta pure Dinodevotion.
So, likes I thought I woulda checks out this dude to see if I coulda learns more 'bout him...well...found his credentials at linkedin. Mr. Said is huge in the world of hip hop/rap beatmaking...in fact, he is the author of the BeatTips Manual, the first book ever written and published that is dedicated to the serious academic study of the art, craft, and history of hip hop/rap beatmaking and music production....now in it's fourth edition.
So this guy knows his music, and he is choosin' to gets his hands on the best of the Dinoshow Dinodiscs...and lettin' his crowd knows all 'bout his Dinodecision.
Ain't it so cool, to find such a talented youthful man like Amir Said who is turnin' to our Dino for some laughs, some fun, some Dinomagic. With such pallies continuin' to loves on our Dino, the Dinorevolution just keeps growin' and glowin.
To view Mr. Said's Dinopost in it's original format, just clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram. And below that is some cool info 'bout this Dinolovin' Dinopurchasin' Dinoguy.... Dinodevotedly, DMP
I'm Gettin' That"... 'Dean Martin Variety Show' DVD
"There's one particular benefit to staying up late--or never sleeping, depends on how you look at it. Every now and then you catch an infomercial for "an amazing product at an amazing price." Such is the case with the 'Best of the Dean Martin Variety Show' DVD. Yes, the good folks over at Gunthy-Renker (infomercial kings) have figured out that there's a market for rare mid-1960s and mid-1970s variety shows. I belong to that group. That's why I'm gettin' that 'Best of Dean Martin Variety Show' DVD.
-Amir Said
Posted by Amir Said on August 09, 2009 in Culture & Philosophy, Film & Television, I'm Gettin' That, Media | Permalink
from Amir Said's pad at linkedin... http://www.linkedin.com/pub/amir-%22sa-id%22-said/4/444/772 Amir "Sa'id" Said’s Summary I am the author of the BeatTips Manual, the first book ever written and published that is dedicated to the serious academic study of the art, craft, and history of hip hop/rap beatmaking and music production. Since 2002, the BeatTips Manual has been the leader of the hip hop music production sector of publishing. Through my company, Superchamp Books, I have published four editions of the BeatTips Manual since 2003. In 2007, NYU's Tisch School of the Arts offered their first course on hip hop music production instruction, and they used the BeatTips Manual, 4th Edition as the sole required text.
Currently, I write and administer three blogs: BlameTheCritic.com, BeatTips.com, and El Charro-Drive-In. I'm also the Founder/Administrator of the BeatTips Forums, a message board devoted to the serious discussion of hip hop/rap beatmaking and music production.
I have over 10 years of experience in writing and producing music. I've conducted more than 100 in-depth interviews with various music personalities including most recently: DJ Premier, Steve Sola, 9th Wonder, and DJ Toomp.
I also have four years of experience in art design for both print and online media publications.
-Amir "Sa'id" Said
Amir "Sa'id" Said’s Specialties: Writing and design. I'm an expert in the meticulous lesser-known aesthetics of hip hop/rap beatmaking music production and history. I'm also skilled in the area of fiction, particularly short story writing and screenwriting.
Hey pallies, it all began a few weeks ago when I was readin' an obit 'bout Karl Malden that spoke of his presence in the Dinoflick "Murder's Row." The dude who wrote it, Republibot 3.0, at his blogg made it sound likes to this Dinoholic that he was dissin' our Dino and this classic Dinofilm....well I heard back in no uncertain Dinoterms that he loves our Dino and we have become great pallies from that experience. In fact I am in the Dinoprocess of interviewin' Republibot 3.0 for a feature here at ilovedinomartin and I gotta tell you pallies this is one smart dude who knows how to write so readers wanna read.
Well, from the first Dinoencounter, Republibot 3.0 decided to spread some Dinolove by doin' reviews of the Matt Helm quartet of spy capers over at his blogg. Today he posted his first Dinoespistle on "The Silencers" and all I can say is WOW!!!!
This is the greatest review of any Dinoflick that I have ever read....and I would dare say the greatest review of any film I have ever read. This review is thorough in every possible Dinoway....gotta 'fess up that I learned many details 'bout this first of the Helm capers that I never knew before....and likes I thought before I read this patter that I knew all there was to know 'bout "The Silencers."
Republibot 3.0 has me droolin' pallies and wantin' to gets out my set of Matt Helm capers and watch 'em likes forever. This guy certainly knows how to put pen to paper and create word images that excite and ignite.....this is truly powerful Dinostuff.
This review certainly oughta be put in a Dinohall of Dinofame for stellar pieces of Dinoprose. I had shared many many great pieces of Dinoliterature here at this little Dinoblog....but gotta say this is truly the bestest of the best written articles that I have ever ever read 'bout our Dino and his life, times, and mission.
So, please pallies, takes ever bit of Dinotime that it takes to read and re-read this stellar review of "The Silencers." My Dinodeepest Dinothanks for all the time, energy, and thought that our pallie Republibot 3.0 has taken to makes this Dinoflick come alive on the page. To read this in it's original format, please likes just clicks on the tagg of this Dinogram to goes to Republibot's pad...and likes be sure to leaves him some Dinopatter of Dinopraise there as well as here.
Thanks 'gain Republibot 3.0 for raisin' the bar to the highest of the high Dinolevels for Dinodevotion and Dinopassion!!!!!! Dinopassionately, DMP
MOVIE REVIEW: “The Silencers” (1966)
August 7, 2009 by Republibot 3.0
Man, did this movie employ every stripper in the Los Angeles, or what? Seriously, the amount of barely-concealed T&A in this movie is astounding. I mean, the title sequence *alone* has not one, but three stripteases, and though there’s a lot of nekked ladies on screen, the naughty bits are always obscured in some way or another. While I appreciate the strategic requirements of that technique when people go to the trouble of doing it - like that Love, American Style episode that takes place entirely in a city of nudists - it does kind of begin to wear you down after a bit. It’s like FHM: The Movie!
I’m getting ahead of myself. Backing up a bit: When I was a little kid, I loved Spy Movies but didn’t quite understand them. I loved Get Smart, but never realized that it was supposed to be funny. But who doesn’t like spies? When I was a bit older, and go the joke, pretty much I only ever saw the *bad* spy movies on TV since the Bond Films - infrequently run in those days - always came on after my bedtime. I never quite got the context. I realized by this point they were supposed to be adventure comedies and maybe even parodies, but I was never quite sure of what they were making fun of. Imagine if you had never seen a Bond film, and had only the Austin Powers Trilogy to figure it out from. That was kinda’ like me at the time.
None of which really mattered by the time I was eleven or twelve. By that point, I’d figured out that girls were endlessly fascinating creatures that you just kind of wanted to sit and stare at all day long, but I hadn’t quite figured out why. Spy movies seemed a fine place to try and puzzle that out, though - acres and acres of unbelievably hot women in revealing clothing were always wandering about. Oh, yeah, and sometimes people get shot. What’s not to like?
My local UHF station showed “Spy Theater” on Sundays after church, about 2PM. This was just a random assemblage of whatever spy films they had on hand - the Flint movies, the Harry Palmer films, some of the Hitchcock flicks, the Cinema-length episodes of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E,” some random one-off films, and of course the Matt Helm movies. All these were shown evidently without a station censor bothering to screen them first. How bad could they be? They were sixties movies, after all - it’s not like there was anything dirty in ‘em.
Those Matt Helm movies, yikes!
Funny, goofball, lurid, luscious, adventurous, exciting, and literally overflowing with women who were literally overflowing from their clothes - I totally loved the hell out of these movies in the years between the original Battlestar Galactica and Galactica: 1980. They were everything a boy could want in those days. I watched ‘em all a few years ago, and at the loosing edge of my thirties, I wasn’t as impressed. They weren’t without their charms, but they weren’t all that and a bag of (Wiggling) hips either.
Last month, our obituary for Karl Malden http://www.republibot.com/content/obituary-karl-malden-1912-2009 gave way to a conversation about the Matt Helm movies, and talking to Dino Martin Peters (his website is here http://ilovedinomartin.blogspot.com/ ) led to me deciding to revisit the films and review them here on the site. The fact that there’s a spaceship in one of the movies places the entire series solidly within the Spy Fi subgenre, so it’s within our mandate, but I admit I’m a bit uncomfortable with this. Even though there’s nothing in these movies that you couldn’t show on TV as far back as the 1970s, there’s undeniably a kind of leering, smarmy quality to these films that puts them outside our normal tone for the site, there’s just no getting around that.
So now that you’ve been warned, on to the review:
PLAY BY PLAY:
We start out with Roger Carmel (Harry Mudd from Star Trek) scratching the name “Matt Helm” on to some bullets, then giving them to four gunsels. They put ‘em in their guns, and shoot the wall which starts the title sequence with the strippers, as I already said. Eventually she gets around to ripping her blouse open, with the title of the movie strategically covering her mommy-bits, and gives a naughty little downward ‘oh am I naked’ kind of surprised pouty smile expression that I have to admit is kinda’ fetching, even though she’s not supernaturally attractive. Then we get a blonde stripper with a feathered boa, and then - holy crap! - It’s Cyd Charise! She sings a stupid slutty song with dumb lyrics and dances and does a slow striptease, and it must be said she looks freakin’ unbelievable for a 44-year-old-woman in the sixties. I particularly love when her hair falls down in front of her eyes. Unlike the two women before her, she’s not *really* a stripper (Or “Specialty Dancer” as IMDb lists ‘em), and she only *starts* to take her clothes off when the title sequence ends and we cut away from her, but it’s still surprising. She’s obviously way more comfortable with her body than you’d expect of a woman of her age and social standing in those days.
Ah, hell, just watch it: There’s nothing particularly titillating in here, but, damn!
And if that link doesn’t work, then go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaT7K_a1g_Y Anyway, once that’s all done and the movie actually starts, we find ourselves in the office of “Mac” MacDonald (James Gregory, also from Star Trek, but best known as Inspector Luger from Barney Miller). Mac is the head of ICE: the US department of Intelligence and Counter Espionage, the nonexistent-but-real-sounding spy agency for this particular movie. (Gotta’ have one of those, but you can’t use a real one without getting sued.) Mac is on the phone talking to one of his female agents (Daliah Lavi, the Israeli actress/model, who was 24 when this movie was made and it must be said that her unusual accent and looks and slightly refined, slightly imperious manner make her fairly compelling), who’s partner was just killed. He decides to recall the legendary secret agent Matt Helm (Dean Martin, aged 49 and he looks it) to active duty.
Cut to Matt/Dino’s swanky upscale bachelor pad: He’s asleep on a round bed, dreaming of some models he’s recently photographed for various T&A magazines. In his dream, he macks with the cowgirl from Western Trails (Who’s just adorable), then smooches around with the mostly-naked cover model from “Bait & Tackle magazine” (Who’s kinda’ bland, actually), and then smooches around some more with the woman who’s fencing in her underwear on the cover of “Slaymate” magazine. (She’s ok, but frankly the cowgirl just kills it for all of ‘em.), all the while Dean is singing parody versions of some of his own songs on the soundtrack. MacDonald’s phone call wakes Helm up, but he refuses to go back to active duty. He hits a button and his round, rotating bed slides across the room, through the wall, and dumps him in to a swimming pool-sized bathtub, complete with naked secretary with the unfortunately Flemmingesque name of “Lovey Kravesit.” (Beverly Adams, who continued working until the late 90s, but this is really her most famous role). They smooch around in the tub a bit, and after the auto-towel-drying system gets done with them, they decide to head to Acapulco for a photo shoot. Granted, three of the girls were in a dream sequence, but we’re not even ten minutes in to the movie and he’s made out with four chicks!
Meanwhile in the middle of nowhere, Roger Carmel he heading to the secret lair of “Big O,” the evil SPECTRE-like bad guys from this movie. He’s tailed by a couple ICE-operatives, and called on the carpet about this by his boss, but it all comes to nothing. The boss is Victor Buono, one of my all-time favorite character actors, who did episodes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Wild Wild West, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, but curiously, *didn’t* do an episode of Star Trek. In this movie, he’s playing a character named “Tung-Tze,” an extremely obese man who’s hilariously not-at-all Chinese. Honestly, I’m not sure what the guy is supposed to be - is he of mixed racial ancestry? Is he actually supposed to be Chinese? (Unlikely with those blue-grey eyes). Is he just a fat gay dude who likes to wear a lot of eyeliner and mascara? (Maybe). Seriously, the casting here boggles me, but it’s always good to see Victor. He plays the role with a vaguely effeminate stern politeness that was kind of what people thought Chinese dudes were like in those days. Anyway: Tung-Tze reveals to his lieutenants that the US will be doing a missile test, and an unrelated underground nuclear test, on the same day, and they intend to hijack the rocket so it’ll ruin the nuclear test for some as-yet-unexplained reason. Just to be safe, Tung-Tze orders Roger Carmel to kill Matt Helm.
Matt comes home from a hard day of photographing naked chicks to find a woman in his bedroom, naked except for his tuxedo shirt. (Nice body, entirely too much makeup) She never bothers to introduce herself, they immediately start macking, and while his hands are otherwise occupied, she pulls a knife and is about to stab him when Secret Agent Tina (Dhalia Lavi) comes in and shoots her, saving his life. Even though Big O is trying to kill him, Helm still refuses to get involved. Tina points out the gunsels from the teaser are outside waiting to kill him, so he goes to his secret stash of guns (Hidden behind a non-secret stash of guns in a rifle case - I love that gag!) and reluctantly kills two of the guys, before speeding off in his station wagon (Yes, he drives a station wagon) with Tina. Tina puts the moves on him, they smooch a bit, and he’s reluctantly in for the duration of the case.
The two of them drive to Arizona and get a couple hotel rooms - one for him, one for her, how quaint - and while his room is being made ready, he heads to the pool. Roger Carmel, meanwhile, sneaks in to Matt’s room and switches out the phone for a non-GTE-approved knockoff. Meanwhile, at the pool, Matt gets splashed repeatedly by Gail Hendricks (Stella Stevens, 30 and red-headed at the time, and wearing a one-piece bathing suit that shows nothing, and yet is amazingly revealing) She’s clumsy and enganges in a whole bunch of Lucile Ball/Jack Tripper shenanigans, while Matt introduces Tina as “Mrs. Helm.” Gail, meanwhile, is evidently dating the organ player at the pool bar, who likes cowboy clothes (The bar itself actually drives around the pool. Pointless, but undeniably cool.) Gail manages to destroy Dino’s clothes, so him and Tina head back up to their rooms to change, but she entices him to her room, and they do it.
Afterwards, Tina and Helm head to the “Slaymate” club (where Roger Carmel is lurking, and Gail and the cowboy/organist are on a date - I’m confused: upper class people like this took dates to nudie bars in the sixties?). There’s an oddly-shot stripper sequence (I suspect they couldn’t actually manage to hide the important areas, so they cut most of the scene), and then Cyd Charisse - playing a character called “Sarita” - comes out and sings and dances in a sequence that goes on entirely too long, and while Cyd looks pretty incredible here, her costume can best be described as embarrassing. Anyway, she’s supposed to pass a computer tape to one of the gunsels, the plan goes south and so the guy shoots her on stage. Higgaldy Piggaldy ensues, and Gail talks to the dying Cyd, who gives her the tape.
Tina and Helm grab Gail and get her out of the theater, and there’s a breif fistfight between Helm and Carmel which is actually probably unintentionally more realistic than anyone intended when filming this. It’s every bit as awkward as watching a real fight between a fit 49 year old and a fat, foppish 34 year old would be. (Yikes! Harry Mudd was only in his mid-30s? Wow!). Back in the hotel, Dino rips off stella’s clothes for no particularly logical reason other than she’s Stella Freakin’ Stevens, hottest woman in the world, and the audience isn’t paying to see her dressed. She talks them in to calling someone, that non-standard GTE phone sprays poison gas in everyone’s faces, and Gail tries to escape, but is intercepted by Mac, who just happened to be about to knock on the door at the time.
After the gas wears off, Helm and Mac question Gail, and decide she’s an enemy agent, but they let her tag along with Helm anyway. Then Helm goes over to Tina’s room, they make out a bit, and then they do it again. We’re like halfway through the movie, and not terribly much has happened yet, by the way. The next morning, Mac gives Helm a special gun which shoots the person who’s holding it if you pull the trigger normally, and shoots forward if you push the trigger forward (Kind of clever, really). They also give him a blazer with hand grenades as buttons, and send him on his way with Gail, based on Cyd Charisse’s dying words. Mac also mentions that there’s an as-yet-unidentified Big O agent around called “Cowboy,” probably the organ player from the bar.
En rout to the town of Wigwam, near San Juan, there’s a car chase that eats up about five minutes of screen time. Afterwards, a bar slides out from the side of the car, and Dino drinks and drives to an extent that was probably only moderately amusing back in the day, but is utterly hilarious now. He questions Gail about her involvement with Big O, but she goes back and forth between playing along and not having any idea what he’s talking about. Then they pull over for the night, and some beds and stuff fold out from hidden compartments in the station wagon. A drunken Gail tries to escape in the rain, and we get a very long Lucile Ballesque scene of her getting in more and more trouble, repeatedly falling in the mud, and not even getting ten feet from the car before she gives up and heads back. Again, this scene goes on for like five minutes. Watching this with the republispouse, my wife turned to me and said “What, was the movie running short or something?” Back in the car, her and Dino start making out, and then they do it.
The Wigwam lead turned out to be a dead end, and Helm accuses Gail of deliberately misleading him, and intends to take her to prison. She runs away. Dino recognizes one of the gunsels running around, however, and calls this in to Mac (On a payphone!) while Arthur O’Connell (From Fantastic Voyage and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, but again, not Trek) cleans his windshield at the local gas station. Mac tells Helm that Tina’s been kidnapped by Big O. Seeing Gail in a park, Helm convinces her that some hillbilly skeet shooters are trying to kill them, and they make out some, in a rather pointlessly confused scene. Then they get captured by the cowboy/organist, who takes Helm’s gun and delivers the both of them to Tung-Tze in the Big O secret lair.
The rest of the big plan is revealed: Tung-Tze says that they’re going to hack the US missile test so it causes the underground nuclear test to basically go above ground, which will irradiate most of the American southwest. The US will blame Russia, which will cause a nuclear war, and Big O ends up having taken the first step to whatever their nebulously-defined ultimate goal is. Wow. If Nuclear War is your *First* step, no one can accuse you of thinking small, that’s for sure. But seriously, it’s entirely unclear how ruining Nevada, and a Nuclear Smackdown ‘twixt the US and USSR is supposed to work to their advantage. I suppose we’re supposed to believe that Big O is working for the People’s Republic of China, who will then take over the burned out cinder of the world? I dunno. It’s all rather vague, but Tung-Tze seems pleased with it, so it’s possible that it’s got subtle charms that are lost on me because I’m not a morbidly obese vaguely effeminate character actor with girly eye-makeup and prosthetic eyebrows. You know, big world. Takes all kinds.
Arthur O’Connel, the hick from the gas station, turns out to be Big O’s main rocket scientist, and surpising nobody, Tina turns out to be a double agent code named “Cowboy.” In her badgirl clothes she looks pretty amazing, though. I particularly dig the white proto-punk stripes in her otherwise jet-black hair. The Organist takes Gail off to “The Blue Room” (“Don’t worry, it’s quite pleasant if you like blue”) and Tina takes Helm off to her swanky cave room, where she asks him to defect because she’s hot for him. While putting the moves on him, she accidentally activates one of his button grenades, and probably dies, though this is a little unclear. Helm escapes, a gunfight ensues, and he attacks the Big O control room, badly damaging it. The organist tries to kill Gail with Helm’s gun, shooting himself, then, in confusion, shooting himself again. Gail takes the gun and runs away, using the thing in unexpectedly clever ways to get past every guard she meets (she feigns suicide once, hands it to another as she runs past, who shoots himself as she gets away). Helm, meanwhile, is held down in the main cave by machine guns and then two big red rods which are evidently supposed to be lasers, but they sound like a broken belt sander and they look like…uhm….big red tubes. There’s no beams or anything, just VERY LONG red glowing, smoking tubes (Two of ‘em) and some sparks on the rock walls. When I watched this last night, I blinked when Tung-Tze hit a switch that said “Lasers” and really had no idea what the hell was going on.) Helm manages to excape in a fairly clever Voyage to the Bottom fo the Sea kind of manner, and he and Gail get to the enemy blockhouse where Arthur O’Connel is controlling the rocket form.
After a battle, and a hissy-fit from Tung-Tze, the possibly-Chinese arch villain is shot with helm’s gun. Helm redirects the missile to hit Big O’s secret lair. Then Helm and Gail head back to his place and do it. In between doing it, they get dressed for a night on the town, but Mac calls to check up on them and while trying to hang up the phone, Gail manages to activate the bed, which once again crosses the room and dumps her and Helm fully clothed in to his swimming pool-sized bath tub, where they make out a bit while the credits roll.
THE END
OBSERVATIONS:
Phew. Where to begin? First this is a deliberately cheesy movie, as was the style of the time, and in that it succeeds, though it probably played out much funnier in context in ‘66 than it does on ‘09. Calling it a ‘parody’ is probably a bit much - I think they were just riding the spy gravy train without giving it toooo much thought beyond ‘it should be funny’ - but tt’s definitely worth watching as a slice of cinematic history: It’s just effortlessly, drippingly racist and sexist, and while I’m not at all politically correct, if you watch this with friends who are, you can expect to see them wince. A lot. The plot is functional, but never really makes sense, and never fully engages the audience. The production design isn’t as lavish as a Bond movie, of course, but it’s definitely in that spirit, and it’s still fairly eyepopping just the same: Helm’s home is sprawling (I suspect at least the living room and garage were someone’s real house). The Big O lair is very cool, as an maze of tunnels, caves, and assorted high-tech 1960s fiddle-de-dits. Tina’s cave bedroom is actually pretty neat, and it’s sort of a shame that such a lavish set only gets one scene in the movie. Though there’s obviously only really one tunnel here, the way they edit their shots makes it look like a lot more, and their use of a fisheye lens in subtle fashion maximizes the look of the place and makes it seem more impressive than the actual set probably really was.
Direction (By Phil Karlson, who later did “Ben” and “Walkign Tall” as well as one Elvis film) starts out really strong, but starts to loose energy about a third of the way through the film. Absolutely nothing interesting happens between the halfway and three-quarters mark of the movie, though once again things pick up in the end. I blame this more on the script - the movie was obviously being shot wet, and there’s so many scenes that don’t quite make sense that it’s obvious a lot of changes were taking place during the shoot - than the director, but even so, there’s a number of scenes in the second half of the film that go nowhere and take twice as long as they need to get there. He makes an interesting decision to shoot several of the action sequences - particularly the car chase - without any kind of music, whcih gives them an interesting feel.
I would gladly kill or die to have the soundtrack to this film. It's just great, even without Dino singing parody versions of his own songs. Elmer Bernstein kicks out a great slice of brassy mid-60s jazz here, and it's just gorgeous all the way through. Really its only failing is the lack of a definable "Matt Helm Theme."
The women are mostly pretty va-va-voom in that special 1960s way, and while there’s no denying the smarm of the film, most of that is in the first act, and things settle down after that. In the end, Dino makes out with six women eight time, and has sex three times with only two different women. Three of the women he’s macking around with are in a dream sequence in the beginning, so I’m not sure if we should count them. Also, it’s not *entirely* clear if he does it with Lovey, so maybe I’m lowballing the sex numbers, I dunno. In the past I’ve called these movies “Late night Skinemax flicks with no actual nudity” but that might be a bit excessive. The first ten minutes or so feel like that, but the rest of the film is more sedate. Even so, IMDb lists a half dozen “Specialty Dancers” and a dozen more “Slaymates” and “Girls.”
There’s a number of good lines:
One of the Big O agents compliments Tung-Tze on the latest American disaster, to which he replies: “Did you like it? Oh, thank you!”
Gail tells Dino: “You’re sick! S-I-Q-U-E-Sick!”
The scene where Gail realizes Helm was only sleeping with her to get information is surprisingly raw: “I’m going back to the motel - I need another bath!” she says with real disgust in her voice.
Dean Martin is pretty amazing, really. Though he’s obviously not taking this film very seriously - “What, you mean they pay me to make out with chicks? AND I get to sing? Hot damn, sign me up!” - it’s amazing just how much charisma he brings to the screen. He effortlessly commands every scene, and though he’s clearly too old to be playing the dashing over-sexed swinger/man of danger, he still manages to pull it off. In fact, some of the scenes - the fight in the garage, for instance, or the second half of the alley fight with Roger Carmel - work so well that it’s kind of surprising. Dino used to box, after all, and even in middle age he’s still unexpectedly effective in a fight scene. It makes me kind of wish they’d played it a tad straighter, because even though the whole movie is a self-serving gag, the fact is the man is - and always was - a damn effective leading man. Also his scenes with James Gregory have some unexpected chemistry to them that adds to the idea these guys have a past.
As an actress, Stella Stevens is jaw-droopingly mouth-dryingly beautiful. As a beautiful woman, she’s not much of an actress. She delivers her lines like she learned them the night before. When playing excited, her voice tends towards shrill rather than emotional. The physical comedy stuff mostly doesn’t work (Except in the scenes with the reverse-pistol). She’s not awful, but she’s not all that good, with one or two exceptions. She was never the greatest actress, but I don’t really blame her (“Wanted: Actress who can talk and not wear many clothes”) because she’s not really given much to do here, but daaaaaaaaaaaaamn, son, is she hot, particularly with the red hair she’s got here. She is never more beautiful - and more on display - than she is in this movie.
Did I mention that I’ve got completely inappropriate lust for Cyd Charisse? Great…I’m in love with another dead chick…
Oh, by the way, Cyd’s singing voice was actually Vicki Carr, dubbed in after the fact. This was done really well, I totally didn’t realize that wasn’t Cyd singing.
Roger Carmel and Daliah Lavi both go out with a whimper, and the brilliant Victor Buono is shamefully underused, but on the whole this is a fun movie that does what it set out to do: Moderately amuse and titillate.
So that’s what I’ve got. My favorite scene in the movie actually isn’t in the movie, by the way: after the closing credits there’s a ‘teaser’ for the next movie in the series (“Murderer’s Row,” Which I’ll be reviewing next week) that consists of Dino on his revolving bed, surrounded by pretty much all the girls from the movie (Not counting Cyd, Stella, or Daliah, of course). Dino alternately smooches the cowgirl and the fencing girl from the opening dream sequence, and then, overcome by embarrassment or silliness or whatever, he abruptly cradles his head in his hands and says “Oh my God…” in a humiliated fashion. I know that’s coming every single time, but it’s obviously unscripted and it completely cracks me up every single time I see it.
WILL CONSERVATIVES LIKE THIS MOVIE?
Oh, God, no!
The entire movie is online here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y0al2LyGfQ&feature=PlayList&p=E41D8E994D...
