Search - Matt Helm Lounge (The Silencers/ Murderers Row/The Ambushers/The Wrecking Crew) on DVD

James M. from VISTA, CA
Reviewed on 4/13/2022...

I loved this series of movies back when they were produced. I was young and the girls were beautiful. Remember "Our Man Flint"? I did not think of them as "Campy" then, but now I know and still love to watch them every 5 or 10 years. The 4th movie would have been the "Ravagers" starring Sharon Tate again, but the ending to this Matt Helm series was tragic in that it was a fallout from the 1969 tragic Sharon Tate murder and beginning of the long and painful process of dealing with Charles Manson.
Still a good time watching these films, with no sad memories for me personally.

Dixie K. (kona-dixy) from KAILUA KONA, HI
Reviewed on 8/5/2010...

These movies are a spoofy-spy-romp. They capture Hollywood's take on the late 1960s. Matt Helm & Lovey Kravesit vs. James Bond and Miss Moneypenny. Matt is non-serious competition and double entendre abound. The women in these movies wear: dresses 8" above the knees; colorful go-go boots; eye shadow that matches the dress and sometimes eyeliner that covers the whole eyelid; lots of long hair and see-through nightgowns. Polyester adorns the men. Spy gizmos and gadgets, vinyl records, cigarettes, and a drink in the hand. Very retro. Matt Helm drove a station wagon with wood on the doors in one movie. Ann-Margaret was a hoot! No choreography for her - dancing consisted of jogging in place or jumping up and down before her dress is ripped off and tossed at a Frank Sinatra poster and explodes. Lots and lots of shooting, dead bodies, blown up rooms, but no blood and sometimes no holes! The camera shots take a really, really long time whenever the characters travel. I fast-forward through these, but others might like to see how parts of the world looked in the 60s.

NOW THAT'S COOL, BABY!!!

Tim Janson | Michigan | 08/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I admit to having a great affinity for Dean Martin. To me he was the essence of cool in the 1960's. Considering he was 49 years old when he did the first Matt Helm movie, The Silencers, that's really saying a lot about his popularity and influence back during that period. I Just loved watching these films on TV as a kid. My brother always preferred the Bond films, but even as a youngster I appreciated the humor and charm that martin brought to his role as Super Spy Matt Helm. The plots of the four films are almost secondary to Martin's scenery chewing, and that's just how I like it.

In "The Silencers" Helm, an agent for ICE (Intelligence and Counter Espionage) is out to stop the usual baddies The Big O from detonating a nuclear bomb and starting world war III. The gorgeous Stella Stevens is along for the ride as is dancer Cyd Charisse. Victor Buono best know as Batman villian King Tut, plays a Chinese baddie!

"Murderer's Row" is the second Matt Helm film and this time Karl Malden plays the villian role as Julian Wall who has kidnapped a scientist with the intention of using his new device to blow up Washington D.C. This time Dean is joined by the lovely Ann-Margaret who plays the scientist's daughter, Suzie.

"The Ambushers" is up next and there's a lot of debate on if this film is better or worse than Murderer's Row. I rate them this one a bit below the previous one due to there being no real top name female co-star this time. An experimental U.s. space ship has been stolen and it's up to Matt to get it back...in-between drinking and lusting after the ladies!

The "Wrecking Crew" is the last Matt Helm film and I think one of the best. It contains a bevy of 1960's beauties including Gilligan's Island's Tina Louise, along with Elke Sommer, and the late Sharon Tate. As usual the plot of Helm trying to recover a fortune in stolen gold, is secondary to the hi-jinks of martin's character. Bruce lee choreographed the fight scenes.

Anyone who goes into the Matt Helm films trying to take them seriously is in for trouble. These were pure, tongue-in-cheek spoofs of spy films and a vehicle for Dino to romp with a lot of beautiful women. Expect anything more and you will be disappointed. But if you love Dean's 60's cool then this is a great set to have."

Good trashy spy fun

joseph Corey | Raleigh, NC United States | 07/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dean Martin's Matt Helm was a superspy who never let a good case get in the way of a drink, smoke or lady. My favorite moment in the films is when he's in his superspy car (a stationwagon) and he has a secret bar so he can drink and drive. Where else can you see a character get boozed up on the road and not have to pay the price.

This boxset was supposed to come out on August 2, and then Sony did something weird. Hopefully this will be out at the end of August so I can put it in the collection next to Our Man Flint, Danger Diabolik and Modesty Blaise."

This product (not the movies themselves) deserves 0 stars!

Willy Boy | Chicago | 07/18/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This is a review of the DVDs and not the movies. I like all four movies and I am a big Dino fan. However, I am greatly disappointed in the current presentation of these movies. None of the formats are in widescreen and they have all been edited for television. This is ridiculous and unacceptable. With the world moving to high definition, these formatted to fit your tv DVDs will soon be outdated. You know that once this occurs the DVD company will re-issue this box set in widescreen format and charge us more money !!! Booo !!! As for the editing, I am calling it censorship. If you want to edit your product for whatever reason, then let us (the buyer) know somewhere on the package. I bought these movies under the false pretense that I was getting the full version of each picture. I don't care what is edited out or the reason why, but the DVD producer should inform us that these are edited versions and let us determine whether we want to buy them. Don't waste your money on something that will be replaced in a few years and for which you will eventually have to shell out more money !!!!!"