The Silencers (1966)

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

This was the first of Dean Martin's four appearances as the spy Matt Helm. Kind of a working man's James Bond. Swedish writer Don Hamilton wrote 27 of these Helms adventures, and they were so very mod. Taking place in the 1960s, we see all the futuristic house inventions, like the automatic bed, coffee makers, drying devices. And or course, the new, scientific specialty weapons. The sexy bombshells come and go, some good, some evil. Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Beverly Adams, Cyd Charisse. Viewers will certainly recognize his nemesis, Victor Buono, leader of the "Big-O" organization. Buono was probably best known for the odd piano accompanist in "Baby Jane". Fun song in the middle, lip synched by Charisse... "In Chile, It got HOT!". The fight scenes are all pretty cheesy, and Martin kind of ambles through his role, but its fun entertainment. Every few minutes, one of the girls gets her dress ripped off, so that's going on, but with Dean Martin, we would expect nothing less! Matt's boss is James Gregory, aka Detective Luger on Barney Miller. It's a goofy, fun adventure, and it IS available on Sont DVD. Haven't seen this shown on cable yet. Directed by Phil Karlson.

Though it lacks style or wit, The Silencers is the best of the 4 Dean Martin Matt Helm films. Like another Bond parody, 1967's Casino Royale, The Silencers features gorgeous women, endless innuendo and an irrelevant plot. Stella Stevens walks away with the acting honors and a relaxed and charming Daliah Lavi is both a perfect foil and complement to Dean Martin's under appreciated talents Cyd Charisse is in great form, but for my money Victor Buono made a better villain on TV's Batman than he does here. The photography by Burnett Guffey (Bonnie and Clyde) is bright and appealing, and director Phil Karlson (Walking Tall) seems to be marking time with this poorly paced film. Still, it's fun.

The first few minutes says it all and set the pace for the whole movie. Whether it be the sexy strippers at the beginning, or the drop dead sexy-beautiful Nancy Kovack. Nancy Kovack's one scene was sizzling hot for the 60s. I didn't mind it however. Then the humor in between makes it very entertaining. You have to enjoy it for what it is. I mean come on it's not "Lawrence of Arabia" for crying out loud. A movie like this. Don't bust your chops trying to over analyze it. Just enjoy the pretty girls, the good jokes, the heavy action , the plot. It does have one. Forget the normal type of critique. Trust me. You will then appreciate it a hell of a lot more. P.S. What I liked was Dino seemed so relaxed and so natural and didn't try to over act in this flick.

Irving Allen co-produced several films in the '50's and '60's with Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli, among them 'The Red Beret', 'Cockleshell Heroes' and 'The Trials Of Oscar Wilde'. A disagreement arose when Broccoli expressed an interest in Ian Fleming's 'James Bond' books. Allen was convinced they had no merit, the partnership ended and Broccoli made the films with Harry Saltzman, of which 'Dr.No' ( 1962 ) was the first. As we now know, they became one of the decade's biggest pop culture phenomena. Allen then set up a rival series of spy pictures, based on Donald Hamilton's 'Matt Helm', an altogether more hard boiled character. After being rebuffed by Paul Newman, he offered the role to Dean Martin, who accepted on the grounds that his company - 'Claude Productions' - be involved. Allen agreed, hence all four Helm pictures carried the credit 'A Meadway Claude Picture'.With Dino around, 'Matt Helm' was bound to turn silly and did. Of the quartet, however, the first - 'The Silencers' - manages to be pretty good. It opens with the ( off-screen ) killing of I.C.E. ( International Counter Espionage ) agent Jim Traynor. His partner, Tina Batori ( Daliah Lavi ), is assigned a replacement in the shape of Matt, with whom she has worked before. The latter lives a life of luxury in a gadget-packed house, with a beautiful secretary ( Beverly Adams ) boasting the unlikely name of 'Lovey Kravezit' taking dictation while sharing his bath. Matt returns home one night to find the lovely Barbara ( Nancy Kovack ) laying in wait for him with a knife. Before she can stick it into his back, she is shot dead by Tina ( Matt's codename of 'Eric' is used here ). She tells him that a top American scientist named Naldi ( David Bond ) is about to pass a vital computer tape to the subversive B.I.G. O ( Bureau for International Government and Order ) organisation. After wiping out a contingent of killers, they head for Phoenix and the Slaygirl Club, where the courier is to be the stunning Sarita ( Cyd Chariise )...As 'Matt', Dean Martin is...well, Dean Martin. Ridiculous gadgets abound, including a gun that shoots backwards, a camera that fires blades, a phone that spits gas, and jacket buttons that double as hand grenades. Oscar Saul's script is based not only on the book of the same name but also 'Death Of A Citizen', the first in the series. He does a good job at combining the plots and, although there is plenty of comedy, there are a few serious bits as well. Take the scene where Matt and Tina take Gail Hendrix ( Stella Stevens ) back to their hotel room for questioning following Sarita's killing. Thinking her klutzy nature to be an act, he gets rough by pushing her so hard she tumbles over the bed and onto the floor, and then rips off her dress, leaving her fuming in her underwear. This scene is lifted almost verbatim from the novel, and is not played for laughs. It is one of the reasons why 'The Silencers' works so much better than the other films. We see a glimpse of the original character - a Government-sponsored assassin who killed in cold blood when he needed to.Other villains include Roger C.Carmel ( 'Harry Mudd' of 'Star Trek' ) as the swarthy 'Andreyev', Robert Webber as hotel pianist 'Sam Gunther' and Arthur O'Connell as garage owner 'Joe Wigman'. These characters are played straight but their boss - 'Tung-Tze' ( Victor Buono ) - is not. He brings to the role the campy approach he brought to 'King Tut', his regular role on the 'Batman' television series. Stella Stevens is hilarious as the accident-prone 'Gail', one wishes she had been used in the sequels. Elegant Daliah Lavi played similar roles in 'Casino Royale' ( 1967 ) and 'Some Girls Do' ( 1969 ). The exciting climax in B.I.G. O's Command Headquarters has Helm ( with Gail at his side ) endeavouring to prevent the launching of a missile before it is redirected at the atomic testing centre at White Sands, Alamorgordo. Great music from Elmer Bernstein.'The Silencers' made less money than the Bond movie 'Thunderball', but thanks to Dino's co-production deal he wound up with a bigger paycheck than Connery. A sequel - 'Murderers' Row' - was announced at the end of 'The Silencers'. Unfortunately, a change of writer - Herbert Baker - and director - Henry Levin' - resulted in a shift in tone as the sophisticated elegance of the first film was thrown away. Phil Karlson did a splendid job with 'The Silencers', but only directed one more 'Matt Helm' film - the awful 'The Wrecking Crew' ( 1969 ).