Murderers' Row (1966)
December 17, 2024 4:38 PM - Subscribe
Matt Helm, one of America's top secret agents, even if he says so himself, dies tragically in his ultra-hip bath tub. But that's just a cover for his latest mission!
This 1960s spy movie—its tongue firmly in its cheek—paved the way for 1970s James Bond and the later Austin Powers series. Dean Martin plays Donald Hamilton's brutish but practical counterespionage agent as, well, as Dean Martin. Expect lots of leering at babes, drink-driving, and wisecracks. Karl Malden plays the sometimes heavily accented villain (it depends on the scene, okay?). Ann Margaret plays the sexy ingenue, dancing through scenes like a cat having a grand mal. Oh, and lots of gadgets. My favorite is the 1966 Thunderbird that does speech-to-text and flashes the message on the taillights (during one car chase: "If you can read this, you're too close."). Considering the book this film is based on begins with Helm "accidentally" beating a female colleague to death, it's quite the contrast. Free with ads on tubi.
This 1960s spy movie—its tongue firmly in its cheek—paved the way for 1970s James Bond and the later Austin Powers series. Dean Martin plays Donald Hamilton's brutish but practical counterespionage agent as, well, as Dean Martin. Expect lots of leering at babes, drink-driving, and wisecracks. Karl Malden plays the sometimes heavily accented villain (it depends on the scene, okay?). Ann Margaret plays the sexy ingenue, dancing through scenes like a cat having a grand mal. Oh, and lots of gadgets. My favorite is the 1966 Thunderbird that does speech-to-text and flashes the message on the taillights (during one car chase: "If you can read this, you're too close."). Considering the book this film is based on begins with Helm "accidentally" beating a female colleague to death, it's quite the contrast. Free with ads on tubi.
Yeah, without the extreme violence of the character in the book (just finished it), I guess in the 60s that left you with sexism. Dean Martin (his persona) is literally the opposite of the literary Matt Helm! Definitely not an action hero, more of a shmoozer. Bruce Lee, who worked on the Wrecking Crew movie, said that he tried to teach the crooner some martial arts, but "he was too lazy and clumsy." Martin is personable though! And that's what makes the films still watchable for me. It would be wild to have a gender swapped film where the spy is a woman, is competent at everything from flying jets to lepidoptery, and goes through men like paper cups at Starbucks. Or maybe that's Modesty Blaise, I don't know.
posted by jabah at 8:42 AM on December 18, 2024
posted by jabah at 8:42 AM on December 18, 2024
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posted by Spike Glee at 7:38 AM on December 18, 2024