Matt Helm règle son comte

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."

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.

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.

Much better than the previous 2 Matt Helm films, but not as good as the first, THE SILENCERS. THE WRECKING CREW was directed by PHIL KARLSON as was the first Matt Helm movie 3 years earlier. This time around, Matt Helm (DEAN MARTIN) is sent to Denmark to immobilize Count Contini (NIGEL GREEN) who has hijacked a fortune in gold bullion. Assisting Helm is eager, but bumbling Freya Carlson (SHARON TATE). Freya is more of a hindrance than a help however. Contini's former flame Lola Medina (TINA LOUISE)is willing to provide pertinent information to Helm, for a cut of the action. She is killed though before she can tell him anything by a bomb laden bottle of scotch placed in her bar by Contini's current paramour Linka (ELKE SOMMER). Another beauty in the Count's arsenal is Yu Rang (NANCY KWAN). Contini tries to buy Helm off, but when that is unsuccessful, resorts to a dozen lame brained attempts to murder him. Will Helm triumph over the evil Count Contini ? What do you think ? One of the reasons that this movie is better than the previous 2 is that Helm is giving a female sidekick that is funny. As in THE SILENCERS where you had klutzy Gale Hendricks (STELLA STEVENS), here you have Freya (SHARON TATE) in a similar role. Neither MURDERERS ROW, nor THE AMBUSHERS had that. And TATE, although only 25 when this was made, showed very funny comedic ability. The production dollars spent appear less than in all 3 prior Helm flicks. In a scene where Helm is sparring with one of Contini's men outside of the Count's chateau, the artificial grass fold up like a rug. The interior sets look like something from a porno movie. The fight scenes are slow, and obvious. At 51, MARTIN was getting a little old for this kind of thing. Plus, JAMES BOND aside, ersatz "Spy Films" were on their way out. If you watch the credits at the end, you'll see a notice that states : Matt Helm will be back in THE RAVAGERS. Alas, it was not to be. This genre had run its gamut and what a schmaltzy time it was !!!

Someone once said that Dean Martin was so laid-back he made Perry Como look like a nervous wreck. It was said if a nuclear bomb went off behind him he wouldn't even drop his martini glass. Martin and his fellow Rat-packer Frank Sinatra were among our few recording giants who achieved in films as well. Although not as good an actor as Sinatra, Martin had a charming presence on the screen and was always entertaining to watch, even when you knew he wasn't taking it too seriously. The Matt Helm films came out at the same time as Sean Connery was playing Bond and have been largely forgotten today. Martin played the reluctant spy with tongue firmly in cheek. The Wrecking Crew was the last of the four Helm films and I feel it was the best. A gold train has been hijacked by a criminal mastermind. The one billion dollar theft will cause world wide financial panic and its up to Matt Helm to save the day. Of course in any spy film of this nature, you have to have beautiful women and there are plenty here. Elke Sommer and Tina Louise light up the screen, but it is Sharon Tate who steals the show as bumbling MI5 agent Freya Carlson. I thought it was so funny how she kept getting Helm into deeper and deeper trouble, even getting him arrested at one point. She tells him "I wont desert you Mister Helm". He says "Do me a favor PLEASE DESERT ME!". However, she comes through in the end and there is a good fight scene between her and Nancy Kwan. (For trivia lovers, Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee helped to set up the fight scenes for this film). People have commented the fight scenes involving Helm are fakey, what do you expect? Dean Martin was 52 when this film was made. Sharon really stole the show in this one, in fact they later based one of the characters in the Austin Powers films on her character here. This was her last film before she was murdered by the Charles Manson family. Its chilling when you watch it and think of how horribly her life ended.