Dino: Booze & Broads

Hey pallies, likes as we head in to week duo of Dino-amore month here at ilovedinomartin, we goes over to Mr. Jeffery Wells' blog pad, "Hollywood Elsewhere," for a fun bit of Dino-devoted lovin'. Under the tag, "Booze & Broads," which we knows were both huge on our Dino's list, Mr. Wells shares how a pallie of his sent him some Dino-love via some very very cool T-shirts with the logo image of our Dino and his fab restaurant "Dino's Lodge" on 'em.

Likes what an outstandin' way of proclaimin' your amore of our Dino...by wearin' him on your chest! What a wonderful way of sharin' Dino-devotion by giftin' 'nother pallie with Dino-apparel. Likes gotta 'fess up that I woulda loves to have one of dem for my very very Dino-own!

ilovedinomartin thanks Mr. Jeffery Wells for sharin' his special Dino-gifts with his readership. To checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-postin'. Dino-desirin', DMP



Booze & Broads

A friend made these and sent a few over. He knows I'm grateful but I'll say it anyway -- thanks! I have an idea that less than five people in the world own this T-shirt, and maybe less than two or three. I also have an idea that Glenn Kenny (a fan of Nick Tosches' "Dino: Living High in the Dirty Business of Dreams") would like to own one.

.....and as you know, Dean loves his liquor.

Hey pallies, likes today dudes we gets treated to 'nother wonderful moment from the Dino-show by our Dino-devoted pallie Mr. Tyler Michael. Ty is now down to his "4TH FAVORITE DEAN MARTIN SHOW S.E DVD" moment in his on-goin' series of his 12 bestest of the best fav Dino-moments.

This time 'round Ty puts the accent on some outstandin' singin' between our most beloved Dino and his very very special guest Mr. Gene Kelly. The theme, as Ty points out is "Blue Songs" and our Dino and Mr. Kelly have an excellent time singin' and makin' patter over these croonin' tunes. As Ty wisely wisely pontificates, "It's not only a great look at watching two great friends and entertainers perform together but it's also the catchy medley, the laugh out loud jokes and Genes amazing dance moves that make this performance so incredible."

ilovedinomartin 'gain thanks our pallie Ty for spreadin' so so much Dino-love at his blog, "HOLLYWOOD MOVIES AND TV REVIEWS BY TYLER MICHAEL." Can't wait to share the last three of Ty's delightful Dino-reflections. To checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-report. Dino-lovin' and Dino-loved, DMP



4TH FAVORITE DEAN MARTIN SHOW S.E DVD MOMENTS

MY 4TH FAVORITE MOMENT FROM "THE BEST OF THE DEAN MARTIN VARIETY SHOW:SPECIAL EDITION" DVD IS...

DEAN MARTIN AND GENE KELLY SINGING "HAPPY BLUE SONGS"

Dean and Gene are really good friends and seeing them on the show together is not only an amazing duo of truly great entertainers but also shows the amount of fun and joy they had together. The skit opens with Dean and Gene singing "Blue Songs" together and as they sing "Am I Blue", Dean interrupts the song and tells Gene he's "all choked up" cause his "shorts are on backwards" and wants to sing something "Bouncy" with Gene. Gene suggests to sing "Happy Blue Songs" such as "Blue Skies" and "Bye Bye Blues" which makes Dean sad by mistaking one of the songs titles thinking it was called "Bye Bye Booze" and as you know, Dean loves his liquor. Dean sings the two songs in a medley as Gene dances. It's not only a great look at watching two great friends and entertainers perform together but it's also the catchy medley, the laugh out loud jokes and Genes amazing dance moves. that make this performance so incredible This performance is so happy and bouncy that it kisses my blues bye bye and has "blue skies smilin' at me".

THE SKIT IS AT 6:43

http://youtu.be/EXyKm4NsMAw

Spread Some Dino Love!

Hey pallies, likes one of our most faithful of faithful Dino-readers here at ilovedinomartin, Miss AOW, has taken us up on our invite to spread some Dino-love durin' this wondrously wonderful month of Dino-amore...and what a stellar tale of Dino-devotion she has to share!

Likes as some of you may know, Miss AOW is an educator par excellance, and, as you will read below, this semester she is teachin' a western civ course to a group of high schoolers (all girls!) via classic flicks...likes how cool is that?!?!?! And, likes even cooler is the fact that one of those silver screen classics is "The Sons Of Katie Elder" featurin' none other then our most beloved Dino!

As, you can guess, these young ladies have all been turned liked into total Deanagers by Miss AOW's bold Dino-efforts!!!!! Her prose below is very short, but likes pallies it is the Dino-sweetest! Think how the world woulda be changed if every teacher in every school simply followed Miss AOW's Dino-example. Likes how thrillin' 'specially in this month of Dino-amore to share how Miss AOW has found her special way of sharin' her personal Dino-amore with her charges!!!!!

ilovedinomartin offers kudos galore to our Miss AOW for makin' the effort to share her personal way of spreadin' some Dino-love durin' our celebration of Dino-amore month! Dino-delightedly, DMP

Spread Some Dino Love!

by Always On Watch

This school term, I'm teaching a course of my own design: Western Civilization through Film. Recently, I decided to require my students to watch an American Western. I picked The Sons of Katie Elder.  First, I showed them the trailer: We began watching the film in class. The students, all girls of high-school age, saw our Dino on the big screen in our classroom. Yes, they have fallen in love with our Dino.  "Why don't they make movies like this anymore?" they asked. As one of the parents exclaimed about our Dino, "There's just something about Dean Martin!" My response: "That something is that he is forever 'The King of Cool.'" Spread the Dino love all February long!

Dean Martin...has a knack for making fairly innocuous dialogue sound dirtier than it is, and there’s no danger whatsoever that he’s going to take any of the proceedings seriously.

Hey pallies, likes Dino-amore month keeps heatin' up with this fourth and last installment of Helmer cool from the pen of our Dino-diggin' pallie "dfordoom" at his blog pad, "Cult Movie Reviews." Mixin' thin's up a bit, this quartre review is actually numero uno in the Matt Helm series, "The Silencers."

Likes 'gain, our Dino-devoted pallie "dfordoom" has some excitin' and energetic thoughts on our most beloved Dino. Sez "dfordoom".....

"Dean Martin was not a bad choice for the role of Matt Helm. He has a knack for making fairly innocuous dialogue sound dirtier than it is, and there’s no danger whatsoever that he’s going to take any of the proceedings seriously. He plays it as pure camp, which is the only way this movie can be played. And he’s sufficiently adept at comedy to make the most out of a not overly inspired script."

As "dfordoom" expounded in his review of "Murders' Row"...."Martin’s delivery is always impeccable"....and indeed our Dino knows how to makes every twist and turn of a phrase that he speaks as cool as it coulda be!

Durin' our so so special month of Dino-amore it has been simply grand to be able to start our Dino-proceedin's with Aussie pallie "dfordoom's" remarkable reviews of the Matt Helm quartet of fabulous flicks. So, 'gain thanks Mr. "dfordoom" for turnin' your readership on to our most beloved Dino as coolster spyster Matt Helm. To view this review in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this Dino-message. Dino-lovin' and Dino-loved, DMP

The Silencers (1966)

The 60s was the golden age of the spy spoof. There were European spy spoofs and British spy spoofs, and quite a few American attempts as well. The American entries in this genre included the Matt Helm movies, starting with The Silencers in 1966.

The Matt Helm films are certainly far from being the best of the breed. If you’re expecting the visual inventiveness of Mario Bava’s Danger: Diabolik or the wit and sheer camp joy of Joseph Losey's Modesty Blaise you're going to be sorely disappointed. The secret to enjoying The Silencers is to set your expectations fairly low. If you do this you’ll find that it has a certain amount of entertainment value. And it definitely has a 1960s time capsule appeal to it.

Of course being a major studio production (Columbia in fact) from the mid-60s there’s no actual sex or nudity. But it’s a sexy spy spoof, so it relies on lots of implied nudity, lots of shots of young ladies in bikinis and lingerie, and large amounts of sexual innuendo. These were the days when lingerie-clad young ladies were enough to get young men very hot and bothered. And that in itself gives it a certain charm.

The plot won’t take us very long to deal with. An organisation of diabolical criminal masterminds known as the Big O plans to start a nuclear war and then take over when the super-powers have destroyed each other. America’s top secret agent, Matt Helm, is now in retirement, spending his days as a glamour photographer for girlie magazines. He has to be persuaded to come out of retirement since the fate of civilisation depends upon his secret agent skills.

He naturally becomes involved with several beautiful young women who are almost certainly spies although whether they’re on the side of the good guys or the bad guys remains in doubt. Matt Helm must foil the Big O’s schemes, whilst hopefully enticing as many as possible of the aforementioned glamorous female spies into his bed.

There are of course plenty of silly but reasonably amusing gadgets. There’s no graphic violence, and not a huge amount of action.

Dean Martin was not a bad choice for the role of Matt Helm. He has a knack for making fairly innocuous dialogue sound dirtier than it is, and there’s no danger whatsoever that he’s going to take any of the proceedings seriously. He plays it as pure camp, which is the only way this movie can be played. And he’s sufficiently adept at comedy to make the most out of a not overly inspired script.

Stella Stevens and Daliah Lavi provide the glamour. They’re not called on to do a great deal else, but their performances are suitably campy.

Columbia obviously didn’t spend too much money on this one, since there’s a notable absence of action sequences and special effects.

This is strictly guilty pleasure material and I don’t think I could in all honesty recommend that you go out and buy this one. In fact I don’t even know if it’s available on DVD - I caught it on late-night Australian TV. But if you can rent it, or if it turns up on cable, and you’re a fan of 60s spy spoofs, it’s worth a look.

It was successful enough to spawn no less than three sequels.

Dean Martin...has a knack for making fairly innocuous dialogue sound dirtier than it is, and there’s no danger whatsoever that he’s going to take any of the proceedings seriously.

...and Martin’s delivery is always impeccable.

Hey pallies, likes Dino-amore month keeps movin' 'long and today ilovedinomartin features the third helpin' of Helmer capers with our ever Dino-lovin' pallie "dfordoom's" prose on that best of best of the Matt Helm flicks, "Murders' Row".....second in the series of 4 Dino-efforts.

Somehow, someway, I missed readin' and sharin' this excellent Dino-prose when it was scribed months 'go, but am pumped to be able to share it with all youse Dino-philes now. From "dfordoom's" blog, "Cult Movie Reviews," comes 'nother insightful reflection of that swingin' of swingin' spyters Matt Helm.

Mr. "dfordoom" has many many fine remarks to share on "Murders' Row," includin'..... "This movie is actually not quite as campy as you might expect. It is definitely campy but it maintains a nice balance between the jokiness and the action." And, speakin' of our most beloved Dino...."Naturally much of the success of a tongue-in-cheek spy movie depends on having the right lead actor. Dean Martin does the job admirably. It’s an effortless, smooth and cleverly self-mocking performance. The movie is loaded with Dean Martin and Rat Pack in-jokes and Martin’s delivery is always impeccable."

"Effortless, smooth, clever, and impeccable"....truly words that describe our great man in a great great way. Obviously, "dfordoom" truly truly "gets Martin!" It is such a pleasure to share this wonderous and wise review with the ilovedinomartin readership. And, ilovedinomartin 'gain salutes "dfordoom" for educatin' his readership in the ultimate pleasures viewin' our Dino as Matt Helm. Likes to checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this Dino-gram. Dino-lovin', DMP

Murderers’ Row (1966)

By the mid-60s everyone wanted to jump on the James Bond bandwagon. The folks at Columbia Pictures were no exception. What they came up with turned out to be among the most successful and among the best of the Bond rip-offs/spoofs - the Matt Helm series.

Murderers’ Row in 1966 was the second of the four films, all staring Dean Martin as super-cool super-spy Matt Helm.

This time around Matt is up against super-villain Julian Wall (Karl Malden) who has kidnapped an American scientist to get the plans for a high-powered death ray with which he intends to destroy Washington. Why does he want to destroy Washington? Because he’s a super-villain. But first he has to get the free world’s four top counter-espionage agents out of the way. Including Matt Helm. He appears to have succeeded, but Matt and his boss MacDonald (James Gregory) have concocted a plan to fake Matt’s death.

Needless to say the assassination plot involved a glamorous model, since Helm’s cover is that he is a top glamour photographer. Hanging around with beautiful half-clad women while taking photos and drinking lots of booze is a pretty easy cover for Matt Helm to maintain, especially when he’s played by Dean Martin. Miss January’s attempt to kill him misfires but having the arch-villain thinking he’s dead allows Matt to assume another cover and go snooping around Julian Wall’s private island.

Matt’s investigations lead him to more glamorous women, women like Suzie (Ann-Margret). That’s the great thing about being a top secret agent - plots by super-villains to Destroy Civilisation As We Know It invariably involve lots of glamorous women. Suzie turns out to be the daughter of the kidnaped scientist. She also proves to be a remarkably useful ally. Suzie is a Swinging 60s gal which gives the film-makers an ideal opportunity to throw in lots of scenes with far-out dancing in discotheques backed by groovy bands. It also provides the opportunity for Ann-Margret to wear some incredibly over-the-top 60s fashions.

Of course there has to be beautiful but evil woman mixed up in the plot as well, in this case the woman being Coco Duquette (played by Camilla Sparv). And the diabolical criminal mastermind has to have a henchman, in this case a big mean guy with a very prominent metal plate in his head.

Luckily Matt has some secret weapons at his disposal. The gadgets are actually quite cool. Columbia had no intention of spending the kind of money that the Brits were spending on the Bond movies so the gadgets had to be the kind that are cool but won’t cost the studio much money. The ideal in this sort of situation is to come up with gadgets that are clever and witty and can be used as the basis for running gags as well as taking out bad guys. Murderers’ Row scores well in this department. The delayed action gun is my particular favourite.

This movie is actually not quite as campy as you might expect. It is definitely campy but it maintains a nice balance between the jokiness and the action. The hovercraft chase is a nice touch. Why hovercraft? Because no spy movie had featured a hovercraft chase prior to this, plus diabolical criminal masterminds love high-tech stuff that serves no purpose besides looking cool. It’s a taste I share.

Naturally much of the success of a tongue-in-cheek spy movie depends on having the right lead actor. Dean Martin does the job admirably. It’s an effortless, smooth and cleverly self-mocking performance. The movie is loaded with Dean Martin and Rat Pack in-jokes and Martin’s delivery is always impeccable.

You also need a good villain. Karl Malden is not as memorable or as ostentatious as the best of the Bond villains but he’s quite adequate. In fact I quite like the idea of a diabolical criminal mastermind who looks like he might be an insurance salesman from Des Moines, apart from his desire to destroy whole cities.

Ann-Margret is a terrific female lead. She’s ditzy and cute and outrageous but she’s also smart and resourceful. I like the fact that they didn’t try to make her a kickass female martial arts type heroine but she’s still able to save the day on several occasions. She uses her wits rather than action heroine skills but she’s clever enough to get the better of the bad guys.

Columbia’s Matt Helm Lounge DVD boxed set gives us all four movie on separate discs and the widescreen transfer of Murderers’ Row can’t be faulted.

It’s all non-stop fun and hugely enjoyable.

Danny G's Sunday Serenade with Dino: Somewhere There's A Someone"

Hey Pallies...Welcome to the Serenade "numero uno" of Dino-Amore month! We made it!!! Can't believe how fast the seasons fly by! I don't care WHAT the little groundhog says...accordin' to this Dino-holics calendar...theres only a wee 45 more days til' Spring!!!

 

 

Man o man...seems like just yesterday we were swingin' to Rudolph the red-beaked reindeer! Anyway pals...I ain't complainin'! Can't wait to hear the birds singin' & see the flowers growin'! Well, let's not rush through Dino-Amore month TOO fast pals...It's TRULY the most romantico time of the year!

 

 

Can't thinks of any better way to kick off this cool cool month of love, than with one of my ALL TIME FAV O RITE Dino-classics..."Somewhere There's A Someone". Remember pallies...Keep the vino & the Dino flowin'! Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

   

Somewhere there's a someone for everyone
Somewhere there's a someone for me
Though I may be lonely now
I'll see it through somehow
To someone's heart I know I hold the key

Somewhere there's a someone for everyone
Somewhere there's a someone for me
And I'll search my whole life through
Until I find a love that's true
For I know somewhere there's a someone for me

(Somewhere)
(Somewhere)
And I'll search my whole life through
Until I find a love that's true
For I know somewhere there's a someone for me
For I know somewhere there's a someone for me

Dean Martin doesn’t bother to act, he just plays the role as Dean Martin....

Hey pallies, as promised durin' this wondrously wonderful month of Dino-amore, here is the second installment of Mr. "dfordoom's" wondrously wonderful words on our Dino as Matt Helm. Have decided to goes backward in the Helmer collection, so today we read this Dino-devotte's thoughts on "The Ambushers." This is the one Dino-review that we have shared before from "dfordoom's" pad, "Cult Movie Reviews," which originally appeared at ilovedinomartin just two years ago on January 31, 2011. So likes we are goin' to rerun our Dino-thoughts, as well as 'gain wes share "dfordoom's" Dino-lovin' Dino-flick report....

Hey pallies, likes today's Dino-gram 'gain give a nod to the international nature of Dino-devotion. Today's Dino-inspiration comes from a dude from an Aussie dude from New South Wales....dfordoom and his delightful blog "Cult Movie Reviews."

Mr. "dfordoom" recently put the accent on Helmer numero tres, "The Ambushers." Gotta agree with dfordoom when he alludes to this Helmer caper not bein' the best of the quartet, but this dude is to right on when he sez....

"Dean Martin doesn’t bother to act, he just plays the role as Dean Martin, but that appears to be intentional. It provides an excuse for countless Dean Martin in-jokes. Whenever he wants to seduce a woman he always puts on a romantic record, generally a recording by some guy called Dean Martin. So whether you like his performance depends entirely on whether you like Dean Martin as Dean Martin."

Indeed, our Dino is likes at his Dino-best when our Dino is purely, simply, and truly bein' DINO! So as we close out the month of January and so so looks forward to beginnin' Dino-amore-month tomorrow, likes enjoys this Dino-review of "The Ambushers" with some great screen caps thrown in.

ilovedinomartin expressed our Dino-appreciato to "dfordoom" for featurin' our Dino as Matt Helm at his pad...helpin' his readers to turns on to the Dino-magic and grow in their Dino-knowlege and Dino-devotion. Hopes "dfordoom" for be sharin' more reviews of other Matt Helm flicks, indeed more and more Dino big screen classics in the Dino-days ahead. Likes to view this in it's original format, likes just clicks on the tagg of this Dino-gram. Dino-helmed, DMP

The Ambushers (1967)

Even if you’re a fan of 1960s spy spoof movies you may find the Matt Helm movies to be a bit of an acquired taste. And The Ambushers, the third in the series, has a particularly poor reputation.

There’s no doubt that The Ambushers is a very silly movie, with amazingly goof (and cheap) special effects. But it’s intentionally silly. Whether you enjoy the silliness is of course a matter of taste. There were two main approaches to making spy spoof movies in the 60s. You could try to retain at least a semblance of a proper spy movie plot but play it for laughs as well as thrills. Or you could abandon any pretense of plausibility and play it purely for laughs The Matt Helm movies, and especially The Ambushers, fall into the second category.

There is a plot. Well, almost. The US government has invented a flying saucer. Some bad guys have hijacked both the flying saucer and Sheila Sommers, its glamorous female pilot. It has a glamorous female pilot because it’s powered by electro-magnetism, and as everyone knows electro-magnetic energy is instantly fatal to males. The beautiful female pilot escapes. As well as being the top flying saucer pilot in the country she’s also an agent of the crack counter-espionage organisation ICE. She and ICE’s top agent Matt Helm (Dean Martin) are assigned to find the missing flying saucer. Sheila is also out for revenge on her former captors.

There’s also another glamorous female, played by Senta Berger, and she also wants revenge on the same gang of bad guys. That’s it really. Very little in the way of plot twists or double-crosses. Mostly it’s just a romp and an opportunity for Dean Martin to make lots of wisecracks.

Dean Martin doesn’t bother to act, he just plays the role as Dean Martin, but that appears to be intentional. It provides an excuse for countless Dean Martin in-jokes. Whenever he wants to seduce a woman he always puts on a romantic record, generally a recording by some guy called Dean Martin. So whether you like his performance depends entirely on whether you like Dean Martin as Dean Martin.

Senta Berger doesn’t do too much apart from looking like the typical glamorous eurobabe as femme fatale but she does it with a certain amount of style.

The film’s greatest strength is the chemistry between Dean Martin and Janice Rule who plays Sheila Sommers. It’s not so much actual romantic chemistry as comic chemistry. Ms Rule understands exactly what is required of her and the interchanges between her and Martin really do sparkle. She’s by far the best thing about this movie.

Being a 1967 movie aimed squarely at the widest possible audience it’s all very tame. The violence is cartoonish and jokey, with the hero threatened by drowning in a vat of beer being a typical example. Being Dean Martin he doesn’t find the idea of total immersion in alcohol scary in the least. The sexiness is confined to lots of innuendos and girls in bikinis.

The fact that Matt Helm’s secretary is a gorgeous young woman who rejoices in the name of Lovey Kravesit gives you an idea of the general tone of the movie. That, and the fact that the female agents of ICE conceal most of their high-tech gadgetry in their bras.

In fact it’s a bit like an American version of a Carry On movie, with the same sort of cheeky but good-natured abundance of double entendres and the same air of general lunacy. It’s certainly closer in spirit to Carry On Spying than to a James Bond movie.

If you’ve never seen a Matt Helm movie it’s perhaps best not to start with this one. The Silencers would possibly be a much better choice. But The Ambushers is still harmless fun, and it certainly has a wonderful 60s vibe to it.

super cool super spy Matt Helm (Dean Martin)

Hey pallies, likes have we gots a totally totally rad way of usherin' in our very very special month of Dino-amore here at ilovedinomartin for all you Dino-holics. From an Aussie dude (New South Wales), who tags himself "dfordoom," at his classy blog, "Cult Movie Reviews," comes a delightful review of our most beloved Dino in his most beloved silver screen role of spyster Matt Helm in "The Wrecking Crew."

You simply knows this "dfordoom" pallie has the highest of high regard for our swingin' Dino as Matt Helm when very early in his review he proudly proclaims, "The Wrecking Crew, released in 1969, was the last of the delightful Matt Helm spy spoof movies...." And, then near the end profusely pontificatin', "As in all the Matt Helm movies Dean Martin is having great fun and the use of classic Dean Martin songs, with the lyrics given a twist to fit in with the tone of the movie, is a nice touch."

Likes I sez dudes, this awesome review is likes an absolutely fab introduction to our whole month of very very special Dino-amore. It's been quite the few since we have been able to put the accent on our Dino as swingin' spyster Matt Helm, and so we are most delighted to have featured Dino-devotee "dfordoom"'s rad reflections on "The Wrecking Crew."

ilovedinomartin sends out our bestest of best Dino-appreciato to "dfordoom" for puttin' such a lovin' accent on our Dino for his devoted readership...helpin' 'em grow in knowin', lovin' and honorin' our great man. As usual, to checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-report. Dino-lovin' and Dino-loved, DMP btw pallies, in checkin' in with "dfordoom"'s swingin' "Cult Movie Reviews" have found that this Deanster dude has reviewed all four of the Helmer capers...with this review of "The Wrecking Crew" bein' his last. Likes lookin' back, we did share his review of "The Ambushers" back in 2011, but somehow missed sharin' the others. So, likes what better way of amorin' our amazin' Dino then sharin' the other three reviews durin' Dino-amore month...so stay tuned dudes for mucho more Dino-lovin' Matt Helm reflections!

The Wrecking Crew (1969)

The Wrecking Crew, released in 1969, was the last of the delightful Matt Helm spy spoof movies starring Dean Martin, and it took the series out on a fairly high note.

In this installment super cool super spy Matt Helm (Dean Martin) has to track down the master criminal responsible for the theft of one billion dollars in gold. ICE (Intelligence and Counter-Espionage) is certain that Count Contini (Nigel Green) is responsible for the daring train robbery in Denmark. Matt’s boss MacDonald (John Larch) decides that if Matt can’t find Contini he’ll let Contini find Matt, so he deliberately blows Matt’s cover.

Contini doesn’t take long to find Matt. Matt does have an ally, but an ally who’s not entirely reliable. This ally is bumbling British intelligence agent Freya Carlson (Sharon Tate), but Matt frequently has to ask her if she’s sure she’s on his side.

Matt has been following up one of the few leads ICE has - an ex-girlfriend of Contini’s named Lola Medina (Tina Louise). Contini dumped her for his new girlfriend, Linka Karensky (Elke Sommer), so Lola wants revenge. She also wants one million dollars in cash as her price for helping Matt. Unfortunately Linka Karensky knows all about Lola, and Linka is not the kind of girl who likes to leave lose threads.

Matt and Contini are now involved in a cat-and-mouse game, but who is the cat and who is the mouse?

Of course the plot is relatively unimportant in a Matt Helm movie. What’s important is that Dean Martin should be given every opportunity to ham it up, and that the supporting actors follow his lead.

In this movie those conditions are amply satisfied. As in all the Matt Helm movies Dean Martin is having great fun and the use of classic Dean Martin songs, with the lyrics given a twist to fit in with the tone of the movie, is a nice touch. I’ve heard it suggested that Dean Martin only did these movies for the pay cheque. I don’t buy that theory. I suspect he did these movies because they were great fun.

Elke Sommer made many spy movies and she knows how to play the scheming femme fatale to perfection. Nigel Green could always be relied upon for a suitably larger-than-life performance and he and Elke Sommer make a wonderful villainous team. Tina Louise makes the most of her small role, vamping it up for all she’s worth. Sharon Tate is a delight as the well-meaning but not notably efficient British agent, and she works very well with Dean Martin.

B-movie veteran Phil Karlson does a solid job as director, and he knows enough B-movies to understand the importance of keeping things moving along. Screenwriter William P. McGivern is best known as the author of the classic crime novel The Big Heat.

The budgets of the Matt Hem movies didn’t run to spectacular special effects or stunts. There are a few gadgets but they’re not terribly imaginative. The revolving bar seat that propels its occupants into the villain’s lair is a nice touch though.

This movie is available in the Matt Helm Lounge DVD boxed set. There are no extras but it’s a good print.

The Wrecking Crew sets out to be silly harmless fun and it achieves its objective very successfully. If you love 60s spy spoof movies you can’t afford to miss any of the Matt Helm movies.

Dino-amore Month Starts Soon...And We'd Love To Have You A Part Of The Dino-celebration!

Hey pallies, likes just a bit of a head's up dudes that tomorrow begins our annual celebration of Dino-amore-month here at ilovedinomartin. While each and every single day of each and every single month of each and every single year, we does our best to spread Dino-love far and wide at this humble little Dino-pad, durin' the month of February we tries to double our efforts to share even even more love and devotion to our most beloved Dino.

And, likes we woulda loves to include youse in this year's 28 days of extra special amore to our Dino. Everyday hundreds of Dino-holics makes pilgrimage to our humble little Dino-home to grow in their passion for our King of Cool, and ilovedinomartin woulda likes to invites all youse Dino-philes to share your deep, pure, and true love for our Dino with the rest of our readership.

Likes perhaps you woulda likes to share a fav Dino-pix, a fav Dino-vid, a fav Dino-remembrance....whatever...the Dino-possibilities are unlimited. But, likes how cool woulda it be to hear from a ton of you Dino-philes lettin' other pallies know truly how much you love our main man. To gets in the action, simply send an email to kentsmokerguy@yahoo.com lettin' us know of your desire and ilovedinomartin will gets back to you.

So so lookin' forward to spreadin' huge quantities of Dino-amore 'round this ol' blog durin' our special month of lovin' on our Dino! Dino-always, ever, and only, DMP

Dean Martin and Joey Heatherton on tricycles

Hey pallies, likes I have been holdin' on to this stunnin' Dino-pix for quites the long time....and today's the day to share it with all you dudes. It comes from our great great Dino-lovin' car aficionado Jesse at his blog pad, "Just A Car Guy." Jesse has shared a number of Dino-related posts before includin' pixs of some of our Dino's rides...and has personally shared with me some other amazin' Dino-poses, but likes I thinks this is the coolest of the cool Dino-images that Jesse has shared.

I'm guessin' this pose musta been shot on the fabulous Dino-show and likes don't our most beloved Dino and Miss Joey looks so so cute on the trikes as they shares some patter together...and certainly does wonder what particular Dino-croon woulda went 'long with this sketch. Likes I knows there must be Dino-holics out there in our readership that can elaborate on the Dino-details.

Hats off to our great pallie Jesse, a true Dino-phile if there ever was one, for puttin' his readership on to this groovy Dino-pix. Man, likes thanks Jesse for your patience in gettin' this posted here at ilovedinomartin. To checks this out at Jesse's pad, per usual, simply clicks on the tag of this Dino-gram. Dino-always, ever, and only, DMP



Dean Martin and Joey Heatherton on tricycles

http://ridesabike.tumblr.com/ great website

I promise, it is impossible to be downcast or depressed while watching Dean Martin videos.

Hey pallies, likes got a question-o for all you Dino-holicss this day. Likes what does a mug of skald and our most beloved Dino have in common? Don't know, well then read on o'pallies of mine. From the lovely blog, "The Lovely Prelude" comes a post by Miss Haley Shelton tagged "How To Cheer Up" where Miss Shelton gives her reflections on how she helps herself to "the path to cheerfulness!"

First Haley brews herself up a cup of very strong tea known as "skald" in Ireland where she studied...and then, most importantly goes on over to youtube to do some Dino-viewin', 'cause as Shelton proudly proclaims, "I promise, it is impossible to be downcast or depressed while watching Dean Martin videos." And the Dino-clip that Miss Shelton recommends to start with?........that fabulously famous airline pilot gig between our most beloved Dino and Mr. Foster Brooks...which is included below.

ilovedinomartin says our happiest of happiest thanks to Miss Haley Shelton for liftin' up the name of our Dino in this way and guidin' her readership in deep, pure, and true Dino-happiness! Indeed, likes how coulda any of us Dino-philes ever stay sad and depressed with our Dino 'round. To view this in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this Dino-message. Dino-always, ever, and only, DMP

How to Cheer Up

Disclaimer: This is how I cheer up. Maybe you have a completely different way of cheering up, but perhaps this could help you on the path to cheerfulness! All I know is, when I am in a funk, this always does the trick!

When I studied in Ireland, our friends used to make us cups of tea when us poor Americans were too cold and rained-upon to stand the weather any longer. Very strong tea with milk and copious amounts of sugar. They called it a mug of skald, which is slang for "tea". We would drink it while eating biscuits (cookies), and watching "Home and Away", an Australian soap opera that everyone was crazy about, especially the boys.

Ok, reminiscing time is over! Sorry for the trip down memory lane! So, when I need to cheer up now, I make a mug of skald.

I brew some very very strong tea (usually Irish Breakfast by Twinings). Really really squeeze the tea bag before removing it from the tea, so you get that strong flavor.

Add about 1.5 tablespoons of sugar, or more! This is not one of the healthiest things that I make, but it's definitely one of the tastiest!

Add enough milk to cool the tea down to a reasonable drinking temperature, and stir it all up!

Once you have your mug of skald made, get on Youtube.com, and search for Dean Martin videos, particularly from the Dean Martin Show. I recommend starting with Foster Brooks as a drunk airline pilot. I promise, it is impossible to be downcast or depressed while watching Dean Martin videos. Try it.

How do you cheer up??

"He sings like an angel sings, he smiles like an angel smiles and his charm man what a guy. What a cool guy,he's my kind of guy".

Hey pallies, likes once 'gain we gets likes treated to our Dino-diggin' pallie Mr. Tyler Michael's next fav moment from "THE BEST OF THE DEAN MARTIN VARIETY SHOW:SPECIAL EDITION" dvd. This time 'round Ty has chosen his fifth fav moment...and it is clear that this Dino-phile has chosen this very special Dino-moment simply and purely 'cause Ty digs it to likes the mostest!

Likes all us Dino-holics knows that nobody croons a tune likes our most beloved Dino and Dino-holic Ty is simply hooked on our great man's singin' the great song of amore, "My Kind Of Girl." ilovedinomartin 'gain thanks our great pallie Ty and his blog, "HOLLYWOOD MOVIES AND TV REVIEWS BY TYLER MICHAEL," for his considerable Dino-effort to over and over 'gain shows his deep, pure, and true devotion to our Dino to his readership.

To checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this Dino-report. Stay tuned for Ty's last quartet of amazin' Dino-picks. Keeps lovin' our most beloved Dino! Dino-awed, DMP

5TH FAVORITE DEAN MARTIN SHOW S.E DVD MOMENTS

Alright, now we're at the top 5. MY 5TH FAVORITE MOMENT FROM "THE BEST OF THE DEAN MARTIN VARIETY SHOW:SPECIAL EDITION" DVD IS...

"MY KIND OF GIRL"

This is just Dean singing his opening number to start the show and this song is one of my all time favorite songs he sings, it's called "My Kind Of Girl". We first see Dean hop down a small flight of stairs and then he starts singing. How do I put his singing, "He sings like an angel sings, he smiles like an angel smiles and his charm man what a guy. What a cool guy,he's my kind of guy". This is a song I love to sing when watching this DVD when I was a kid and I still sing it. Oh and by the way, look for the boom mic and listen for when Dean nearly burps while singing the song.

http://youtu.be/EBByqLmEqEg



Posted by TylerMovieFan at 6:38 AM

I adored Dean Martin and I imagined there was a world out there that Dean Martin occupied that must be pretty cool.

Hey pallies, likes it is always always so refreshin' to find 'nother of today's brillant entertainers who have been smitten early in their journey by the brilliance of our most beloved Dino . Today's Dino-sharin' is a case in point. From the blog, "In the Wings -All things theatrical," comes news of famed actor Mr. Peter Gallagher ("Covert Affairs," "The O.C.) humble start as a "theater kid at Armonk’s Byram Hills High School."

The prose below is a wonderfully heart-warmin' nod to Mr. Callagher long ago theatre director, Mr. Gene P. Bissell, and how Gallagher has returned to his alma mater to share the stage with other alumni to raise funds for the school's spring musicale.

And, this prose is also a wonderfully heart-warmin' nod to our most beloved Dino, as you will read below. In speakin' 'bout his prior high school entertainin' passion, Mr. Gallagher boldly proclaims...

"Up until that point, all I did was Dean Martin impressions, because I adored Dean Martin and I imagined there was a world out there that Dean Martin occupied that must be pretty cool."

Likes how totally totally awesome is that dudes?!?!?!?! Likes to know that famed actor Mr. Peter Gallagher, in his days of youth, simply adored our Dino is likes the coolest ever!!!! Likes it is simply thrillin' to know that there is simply no end to the rich and the famous who began their passion for entertainin' at the feet of our most beloved Dino!

ilovedinomartin expresses our deepest of deep Dino-appreciato to Mr. Peter Kramer who scribed the thoughts below which let's us in on Mr. Gallagher long-standin' love of our Dino. To checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-report. Dino-awed, DMP



Peter Gallagher leads alums back to Byram Hills

(Peter Gallagher as Arthur Campbell in “Covert Affairs.” Photo by Steve Wilkie/USA Network.)

Before Peter Gallagher made a name for himself on TV’s “Covert Affairs” and “The O.C,” and on Broadway, he was a theater kid at Armonk’s Byram Hills High School.

“It just opened my eyes to a world I never knew existed,” he says of his first forays into theater, under high-school director Gene P. Bissell.

“Mr. Bissell was so passionate about it, and he had such strong ideas about how to do things, that you couldn’t help but learn a lot,” says the 57-year-old actor. “I still enter the stage, 99 percent of the time, on my upstage foot and I have no idea why, other than the fact that Mr. Bissell told me to 40 years ago. And I’m still calling him Mr. Bissell.”

Stories like that — the impact of theater on Byram Hills kids from 1968 to 2012 — will be in great supply on Monday night, when Stage alumni return to the school for a concert to raise money for this spring’s production of “Guys and Dolls,” a musical Gallagher knows something about, as he appeared with Nathan Lane and Faith Prince in the 1992 revival of the show.

“I thought it was the least I could do for a place that had done so much for me,” Gallagher says. “This is a fund-raiser for Stage 2013 and the first production I ever did was Stage ‘71, ‘The Fantasticks.’”

Gallagher will sing something from “Guys and Dolls” and from “The Fantasticks,” accompanied by fellow Byram Hills alumnus Grant Sturiale, the musical director at Radio City Music Hall. It’s the first-ever Stage fund-raising reunion.



“What Mr. Bissell did was put on wonderful shows and he introduced us to that magic that can happen when a show works, a story is working and the audience is liking it. We experienced the privilege of that and the power of it and it was like nothing I had ever known. Up until that point, all I did was Dean Martin impressions, because I adored Dean Martin and I imagined there was a world out there that Dean Martin occupied that must be pretty cool. I hadn’t been exposed to theater at all.”

Danny G's Sunday Serenade with Dino: "Just In Time"

Hey there pallies! Man is it cold round' these parts!!! Brrrrr!!! Hope all youse Dino-holics out there are keepin' warm with some cool cool Dino-tunes & some hot hot spiked cocoa! Ha Ha Ha!


Anyways...I grabbed this week's Serenade off Dean's "Forever Cool" CD from way way back in 2007! HaHa! How time flies when thins' get swingin'! Now it just so happens that our cool cool pal has managed to take top spot once again!


This time it was a REAL pleasant surprise for me! Bout' month or so ago...I was finally gettin' to see the debut of "Liz & Dick"...the Lifetime flick bout' the hot & juicy, crazy cool relationship of Liz Taylor & Richard Burton. Man, as if this wasn't excitin' nuff'...guess how the flick opens???!!! That's right pals...Dino croonin' "Just In Time"!!! That was it...I was hooked! I've watched this sexy & swingin' film 3 times already & STILL haven't got my fill!!! Soon as those first few notes flow through my T.V....I get so so pumped that I'm completely enthralled for the next 2 hours!


Whoever decided on Dean openin' this great flik...REALLY knows how to get the ball rollin'! Well pals o mine... I DEF I NATE LY recommend this movie & I DEF I NATE LY recommend listenin' to as much Dino as humanly possible!!! Enjoy!

Just in time, I found you just in time
Before you came my time was running low
I was lost, the losing dice were tossed
My bridges all were crossed, no where to go
Now you're here, now I know just where I'm going
No more doubt or fears I've found my way
For love came just in time
You found me just in time
And changed my lonely life that lucky day
Now you're here, now I know just where I'm going
No more doubt or fears I've found my way
For love came just in time
You found me just in time
And changed my lonely life that lucky day

"...the fun and joy that the guests had with Dean."

Hey pallies, likes 'gain we simply must return to our Dino-devoted pallie Mr. Tyler Michael for his next installment of Dino-delight at his blog-o, "HOLLYWOOD MOVIES AND TV REVIEWS BY TYLER MICHAEL. Faithful ilovedinomartin readers know that Ty has been postin' his 12 absolute fav moments from "THE BEST OF THE DEAN MARTIN VARIETY SHOW:SPECIAL EDITION" dvd, and likes today we gets to learn of Ty's 6th fav Dino-moment which is like a montage of fab moments with our most beloved Dino and singin' sensations the Andrew Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald and Gordon McCrae, Louis Armstrong, and Lena Horne.

Likes how great of our great pallie Ty to be sharin' all these stunnin'ly stellar Dino-moments with his readership certainly helpin' 'em to turn on to our ever lovin' Dino!!!! To checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-gram. Dino-forever and ever and ever, DMP

6TH FAVORITE DEAN MARTIN SHOW S.E DVD MOMENTS

MY 6TH FAVORITE MOMENT FROM "THE BEST OF THE DEAN MARTIN VARIETY SHOW:SPECIAL EDITION" DVD IS...

THE MONTAGE OF DEAN AND HIS GUESTS

This montage shows Dean singing with a couple of guests stars on the show. Even though the performances and songs are mostly cut in this montage, it still shows the fun and joy that the guests had with Dean. The first part of the montage, we see him and The Andrew Sisters walking around in a circle and if you watch Dean, he looks or his acting dizzy and out of breath. Next we see Dean with Ella Fitzgerald and Gordon Macrae singing in great harmony and by looking at their faces, they seem to be enjoying each others company. The next two are my favorite part in this montage. Next we see Dean singing with the great Louis Armstrong and what makes this number great, is we see Dean impersonate Louis Armstrong and as he's doing it, Louis laughs very hard and seems to be having a ball. Finally we see Dean sing with Lena Horne singing "Welcome To My World" and the two of them sing beautifully, we hear a beautiful chorus,Dean holds her hand while singing and this all makes it a beautiful number and moment. Oh and look for the boom mic in this number.This montage shows many great performances on the show and shows how much guests love being on the show and even though their cut short, it still is 6th Favorite Moment on the DVD and who knows maybe I'll see the full performances on the other DVDs.

http://youtu.be/am2x3rm9RGw

Dino-picspammy

Hey pallies, likes man-o-man dudes, today's Dino-post is likes a absolute massive motherload of amazin' Dino-pixs stirred in with absolutely fabulous quintisential quotations by our Dino and some pallies likes very very close to our great great man. From a feature at Live Journal tagged "picspammy," where a journaler takes a subject, in this case, our most beloved Dino and creates a huge huge homagin' post.

This first appeared on December 4, 2008 and since there are pixs here that I truly truly never ever remember seein' before, I don't believe this has ever been shared with the ilovedinomartin readership. The Dino-poses are separated into several categories: The Man, Friends, The Women, Famlies, The Movies, and The Performer. The quotes come from our great man himself, his second wife, Jeanne, and his partner Jerry Lewis. I am particularly struck by Mr. Lewis' wonderful words of devotion..""Dean Martin had more guts, more courage, more dignity than most men could ever dream of having."

What a wonderful piece of Dino-adulation is shown below....just goes to show that the ol' 'net is full of Dino-treasure simply waitin' to be uncovered. ilovedinomartin salutes the pallie who created this amazin' "picspammy" and is likes totally totally delighted to have discovered it and to be able to share it with Dino-holics everywhere. To checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this Dino-report. Dino-always, ever, and only, DMP



Dean Martin

Dean Martin

The Man

“When Jerry Lewis and I were big, we used to go to parties, and everybody thought I was big-headed and stuck up, and I wasn't. It was because I didn't know how to speak good English, so I used to keep my mouth shut.”

Friends

"Frank and I are brothers, right," Dean Martin said. "We cut the top of our thumbs and became blood brothers. He wanted to cut the wrist. I said, 'What are you, crazy? No here's good enough.'"

The Women

"We locked eyes, and I knew. I literally knew: This was it. It made no sense. He was certainly not anyone that I would have--I can't think of two people any more different. There's absolutely no reason in the world except that eye contact, be it kismet, or fate, or that it was supposed to be." - Jeanne Martin on meeting Dean.

Once again I refuse to acknowledge Dean's third wife Cathy Hawn exists. What's with men choosing horrible women the last time around?

Family

“I've got seven kids. The three words you hear most around my house are 'hello,' 'goodbye,' and 'I'm pregnant'”

The Movies

"I can't stand an actor or actress who tells me acting is hard work. It's easy work. Anyone who says it isn't never had to stand on his feet all day dealing blackjack."

The Performer

"I'm not a great singer, but I can hold a tune."

"Dean Martin had more guts, more courage, more dignity than most men could ever dream of having" - Jerry Lewis