Arma Secreta contra Matt Helm

Dino was 51 and smooching ridiculously hot actresses half his age when he did The Wrecking Crew, one of the all-time cringeworthy films but still fun. A fifth Helm was planned but Martin bowed out. The entire total-escapist series was written, produced and directed by a team that owed its sensibilities and point of view to the men's magazines of the late 50s and 60s and took very little from Hamilton's novels. It made fantasy logic that his cover was a glamour magazine photographer pursued at first sight by gorgeous models. I saw them all at the movies and dreaded the moments when Dean would croon a tune. The supporting players were always great pros and the actresses were all fantasy women. In this final entry, James Gregory (Matt's boss McDonald) is replaced by John Larch and while Larch was a fine actor, Gregory's rich baritone is missed. Someone must have watched Deadlier Than The Male, a much better film than any of the Helm movies, because Elke Sommer and Nigel Green, the lethal duo from Deadlier, essentially reprise their roles. The opening theme song ("Ah So, Ah So") was embarrassing 50 years ago. Otherwise, Montenegro's music was memorable at times. The production values are top-notch, for the most part. The hand-to-hand fight scenes were poorly choreographed, performed, shot and edited even though the great Bruce Lee was involved. The only sad note about this film is the fate of lovely Sharon Tate who has a substantial role, exploited this year by Tarantino in his uber-fantasy Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

Count Massimo Contini (Nigel Green) is the mastermind behind a billion dollar gold robbery. His plan is to send the world markets into chaos. He may get away with it unless Matt Helm (Dean Martin) can track down the missing gold. But along the way, Helm will meet up the Count's hired muscle, a gorgeous female killer, and a ditsy woman who insists on helping him.

I suppose the best way to describe a Matt Helm film would be a light and breezy spoof of the James Bond movies. Nothing is very serious and you're sure that everything will work out in the end. Dean Martin plays Matt Helm about as laid back as could be imagined. Instead of a gun, you're more likely to see him with a drink in one hand, a cigarette in the other, a beautiful woman to ogle, and a quick quip. His fights scenes may leave a lot to be desired, but there's no denying his "cool".

The Wrecking Crew is actually one of the better Matt Helm films. The hiding place of the gold is ingenious, the spy gadgets are plentiful, and the women are everywhere. The cast is one of the better assembled for any of these films. Nigel Green and Elke Sommer make a wonderful pair as the distinguished master criminal and the sexy killer (roles very similar to the ones they played in 1966's Deadlier Than the Male). But Sharon Tate really shines as the ditsy Freya Carlson. It's incredibly sad to think that this would be Tate's last role before her brutal murder. She's a joy and a real pleasure to watch.

I have not seen any of the other Matt Helm films, first off. My main reason for getting this film was that Sharon Tate was in it. I think it's safe to say that, out of her very brief acting career, her role in "The Wrecking Crew" is her best out of all her films. In all her other roles she played the blonde sex kitten with little to do but smile pretty for the camera. In this film, however, she gets the chance to shine as a tough yet sexy, red-haired secret agent who assists Dean Martin's Matt Helm in apprehending a group of gold thieves. The plot is ridiculous, Dean Martin looks more than a little out of it, and the sets and music are bursting with such an infectious '60s vibe that you just have to love it in all of its corniness. That title song is stuck in my head for weeks after I watch the movie - and I love it! Don't miss the catfight between Sharon and Nancy Kwan, as well as Sharon's jaw-dropping booty-shake dance sequence. Oh man, what a babe.

Fluffy day glo spy spoof for those who don't take their action/adventure too seriously. Dean Martin plays the part of Matt Helm with his typical laid back swagger which is just right for the featherweight material. Not as reliant on gadgetry as the 007 series, probably due to budgetary restraints, this still has some cool set pieces and that swingin' 60's atmosphere. It also has that same 60's sensibility to it's female characters namely viewing them as sex objects and little else, if you're willing to take that into consideration before viewing this is a pleasant way to pass a little time.

Aside from Dean the cast is full of beautiful women. Two of those knockouts, Tina Louise, fresh from Gilligan's Island, is in and out of the film in under ten minutes, and Nancy Kwan's part doesn't require much more than her looking great in psychedelic dresses and doing karate chops.

It's the other two ladies who make an impact despite the script's rather weak efforts to provide them with anything to work with. Elke Sommer, phenomenally beautiful, manages to be silkily devilish in one stunning outfit after another. The real standout is Sharon Tate as the klutzy but endearing Freya Carlson. This was the tragic beauty's penultimate role before her murder and coupled with her amusing performance in the previous year's Don't Make Waves it shows that she had a very real talent for comedy add into that her lovely looks and she could have had a solid career ahead of her as a glamorous comedienne.

Of the four films in the Matt Helm series the first The Silencers is probably the best but this one is a close second.

In this one, Matt Helm's antagonist is Count Contini, a gold smuggler, played by Nigel Green. He is aided by his gang of thugs and two female sidekicks, Linka (Elke Sommer) and Gwen Ya-Rang (Nancy Kwan). As might be expected, both try to seduce Matt, offering fake carrots. Interestingly for a Matt Helm movie, however, Linka is a rare woman in Matt's orbit who is the recipient, rather than initiator, of the first display of interest. Earlier, there is a nice scene in which Lola Medini (Tina Louise), a former associate of Contina, seduces Matt in connection with the intrigue.

Ultimately, it is Freya Carlson (Sharon Tate) who gets her man. She is a Danish tourist agent who leads Matt around in fulfilling his duties. Like Stella Stevens in "The Silencers," she is initially quite clumsy, and is involved in a nice wetlook scene (actually, so is Linka). Freya helps Matt foil the villains.

I'm focusing mostly on the women here, but hey, you can hardly beat this bunch in this male fantasy series. The only Bond movie that can rival this group is "Thunderball."