★ 5 / 10
**_Britain has James Bond while America has (the
Wuchak
**_Britain has James Bond while America has (the inferior) Matt Helm_** An American ICE agent (Dean Martin) fakes his own death and goes to the French Riviera…
**_Britain has James Bond while America has (the inferior) Matt Helm_**
An American ICE agent (Dean Martin) fakes his own death and goes to the French Riviera to track down the creator of a device that uses the concentrated power of sunlight for mass destruction. A diabolical organization has taken the scientist captive with intent to use his weapon for world domination. Karl Malden plays the leader of BIG O.
"Murderer’s Row” (1966) was the second of four Matt Helm movies released in three years from winter, 1966, to winter, 1969. The franchise was obviously inspired by the great success of the first four James Bond flicks from 1962-1965. Unlike the books (and Bond), the tone is lighthearted and spoofy with Martin doing his wink-at-the-camera act, similar to the contemporaneous Derek Flint flicks with James Coburn, not to mention Raquel Welch’s “Fathom” (1967).
The tagline for the first film in the Helm series, “The Silencers,” was “guns, gadgets, girls,” but a more accurate description would be “guns, gadgets, girls and booze.” Naturally these are worthwhile flicks to experience the fun, colorful side of the 60s, but since the spy exploits are played as a low-key joke, there’s no sense of danger and, worse, the story simply isn’t compelling, at least in “Murderer’s Row.”
Yeah, there are several attractive females on hand with Ann-Margret being the most charismatic and alluring, but they’re all so thin and unshapely they’re kinda meh. Don’t get me wrong, Ann is a top-of-the-line beauty, as witnessed in Elvis’ “Viva Las Vegas” (1964), but she obviously lost weight in the two years leading up to this flick. It’s a shame because she lost her shapely appeal. However, if you prefer women with stick figures, you won’t have a problem.
These fun 007-imitation flicks from the 60s all came & went and are forgotten, while the James Bond franchise marches on decade after decade. There’s a reason for this.
The film runs 1 hour, 45 minutes. While second unit teams shot sequences in Villefranche-sur-Mer (France), Monte Carlo (Monaco) and the Isle of Wight for the hovercraft and helicopter scenes (England), Martin refused to go to Europe so all of his scenes were done in Hollywood.
GRADE: C
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★ 6 / 10
HELM#2: ol'Matt Swings Into Encore Action
Bogmeister
MASTER PLAN: Operation:Scorch - use a new heat ray on Washington DC. After "The Silencers," there was no where to go but with more fun in the sun with Matt…
MASTER PLAN: Operation:Scorch - use a new heat ray on Washington DC. After "The Silencers," there was no where to go but with more fun in the sun with Matt Helm - poking fun, that is, at the James Bond spy genre. Dino Martin is as lackadaisical as ever as Helm, the part-time super agent, barely awake in some scenes and ready with the cute quips in, well, every line of dialog. To illustrate the difference between Helm & Bond: Bond, as an example, is allowed one minor joke during his usual mission briefing with M. Now, Helm jokes with his boss, MacDonald (James Gregory, reprising his role) during the entire session, even as MacDonald tells him that Helm may have to commit suicide during the mission. 'I ain't going' Helm quips. The villains are again the evil organization Big-O(oh), who target all the major secret agents as the film starts, including Helm. But, this is one of those false deaths for the hero, just as was done in a couple of the Bonders (and they don't explain how Helm survives). The action takes Helm to Monte Carlo, where a primarily young crowd do a lot of dancing and swinging. Helm searches for a scientist who is providing Big-O (led by Karl Malden) with the final formulas for a super heat ray.
The action slows down at the mid-point, especially with the seemingly endless scenes of young folks shaking their bodies to sixties tunes. The filmmakers manage to work Sinatra in again in a sort-of cameo. The absurdity and sight gags are at the usual level: all of Helm's girlfriends attend his funeral dressed exactly the same. The main henchman walks around in public with this big metal plate covering the top of his head and no one notices. Helm drinks while driving and on the job, joking with the liquor bottles. Ann-Margret plays the daughter of the missing scientist and she's always great, no matter what she's doing, but she even gets quite involved in some strenuous action towards the end. Sparv is fine as the femme fatale, with her slightly exotic good looks, though she inexplicably seems to change sides near the end (Helm never even had a chance to seduce her). Malden as the head villain does not do as well, speaking with a dopey accent which fades in and out. He is the subject of an effective on-going gag with a gun that delays firing for a few seconds. The climactic action in the villains' lair is not bad, with some actual suspense and humor mixed in, though the very conclusion on the hovercrafts, on the water, seems like an afterthought. The epilogue is just too silly. Helm would return in "The Ambushers." Hero:6 Villain:5 Femme Fatales:7 Henchmen:6 Fights:6 Stunts/Chases:6 Gadgets:5 Auto:4 Locations:7 Pace:6 overall:6-
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