Fri 7 May 2010
A Movie Review by Walter Albert: THE SILENCERS (1966).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Suspense & espionage films[8] Comments
THE SILENCERS. Columbia, 1966. Dean Martin, Stella Stevens, Dahlia Lavi, Victor Buono, Arthur O’Connell, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Cyd Charisse, Roger C. Carmel, Nancy Kovack, Richard Devon, Beverly Adams. Screenplay by Oscar Saul, based on-the novels The Silencers and Death of a Citizen by Donald Hamilton; music by Elmer Bernstein. Director: Phil Karlson. Shown at Cinecon 45, Hollywood CA, September 2009.
I didn’t see any of the Dean Martin spy thrillers when they were released, but if this film is typical of the series, I didn’t miss much.
There’s apparently a segment of the movie-going public that thinks that Dean Martin is a decent actor, but if he was, he wasn’t showing his chops in this gaudy, sexy, very dated entertainment. It’s a good cast, although most of the players are wasted.
Even so, Victor Buono’s archvillain provides some intermittent pleasure, and Cyd Charisse, still looking smashing, dances for the last time in a feature. And then there’s Stella Stevens, the best reason for watching the film.
She was this year’s third Cinecon guest, still looking good at 71, and in her screen role she’s incandescent, lighting up the proceedings with her beauty and comedic skill that go a long way toward making the often leaden, overlong proceedings (102 minutes), glide by with some grace.
May 7th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
Unless Victor Buono was in more of these “Matt Helm” movies, I’m sure that THE SILENCERS was shown on TCM last month.
I watched it for about five minutes, no more than ten, and I turned it off. I enjoyed these films back when they first came out, but how many years ago was that, and how green behind the ears was I then?
Now if either Stella Stevens or Cyd Charisse had happened to be on during those five or ten minutes, I suspect I would have watched longer. As it was, without either one, THE SILENCERS had all the appeal to me of watching Soupy Sales chasing The Three Stooges around a circus tent.
On tricycles.
May 8th, 2010 at 12:13 am
Of course when you think of a secret agent code named ‘Eric’ the first actor you think of is Dean Martin …
The truly awful thing is that this is the best of the Helm movies. MURDERER’S ROW despite the presence of Ann-Margaret and Karl Malden, and a bigger budget is even worse. THE AMBUSHERS is the nadir of the series (and nadir of the Helm series is pretty low), and THE WRECKING CREW only picks up a little because you have Nigel Green for a villain and the wasted presence of Sharon Tate, Elke Sommer, Nancy Kwan, and Tina Louise. Phil Karlson returned to the director’s chair for the last film after two by Henry Levin, and believe it or not it’s actually an improvement to have him back.
Dean Martin could act (check out SOME CAME RUNNING) and was fine in RIO BRAVO and comedies like WHO WAS THAT LADY, but he might as well have called this in from those ridiculous beds he shared with secretary Lovey Kravezit (which is emblematic of the level of humor and wit in the entire Helm series — on the other hand it makes Plenty O’Toole in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER and Holly Goodhead in MOONRAKER seem inspired wit).
But in THE SILENCERS you do have some nice eye candy from Stevens in the early scenes and even a bit of inspired comedy (she and Dean were both better in a comedy they did with Eli Wallach) and Cyd Charise’s enthusiastic strip number from the film opening to the good title song (there is a short film of this being sung by Joi Lansing that you must see — it easily reaches the level of sublime inanity — I think you can find it at Something Weird and sometimes shows up on their free site On Demand).
Am I the only one who kept hoping it would turn out bad guy Robert Webber was actually Matt Helm?
And of course mindful of how bad these were, when television came calling they remembered Donald Hamilton’s original — ignored them entirely, made Helm a private eye and cast Tony Franciosa, another Italian, as a 6’4″ Swedish Viking code named Eric. Even then it was better than this.
Ain’t Hollywood magical?
There is one half decent gag when Dean and Stella are in his station wagon (yes, Matt Helm drives a Station Wagon — it’s that kind of film) Deano turns on the radio as Frank Sinatra croons “Strangers in the Night.”
“You really like Perry Como, that much?” Dean asks (at least I think it’s in this one — there’s at least one Sinatra gag per movie and I may have the best of them in this one mistakenly).
To be truthful the only thing that could have saved the Helm films is if Jerry Lewis had shown up as the super villain. Well, maybe not saved them, but at least the French would have had something nice to say about them.
Unlike the other Helm films there are actually two or three elements from the novel THE SILENCERS in the film. Barely, but they are there.
This one was so bad the only suspense was the unfulfilled (sad to say) hope that Deano would forget that his gun was a trick and fired backwards and bring the whole thing to a premature conclusion.
I always wanted to meet someone who had never read Hamilton and bought one of the Helm books based on having seen the movies, but it is entirely possible such a creature does not exist. I just wanted to hear their reaction, and see if they could articulate what they thought the book would be like.
Director Phil Karlson did much better films, including the Kane Richmond Shadow films and the classic noir film KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL. I suppose this was just a case of cash the check and enjoy the money.
But actually Steve, that one with Soupy Sales chasing the Three Stooges around a circus tent on tricycles sounds a bit better than any of the Helm films — at least if it was Curly and not Shemp or Joe Besser.
At least in that one the pies in the face would be the actors and not the audience.
May 8th, 2010 at 12:59 am
In fairness to Dean Martin he was fine as Alabama in SOME CAME RUNNING based on James Jones novel (easily stealing scenes from Sinatra, Shirly Maclane, and Arthur Kennedy), and gave strong performances in ADA with Susan Hayward playing a charming if feckless Southern governor, held his own with Brando and Montgomery Clift in THE YOUNG LIONS, good in a timid production of Lilian Hellman’s TOYS IN THE ATTIC, good in RIO BRAVO, and did a great send up of himself in Billy Wilder’s KISS ME STUPID with Kim Novak and Ray Walston.
But in general I just think he didn’t care enough to give that level of performance, or else discovered he didn’t have to work all that hard. Certainly he didn’t make much effort with the Helm films.
I have to correct myself from above. His second film with Stella Stevens, HOW TO SAVE A MARRIAGE, was no better than THE SILENCERS, must have had it mixed up with three other films.
May 8th, 2010 at 6:27 am
Yeah, Dean was fine in some great movies, but this ain’t one of ’em.
May 8th, 2010 at 7:59 am
I also would like to see Soupy Sales chasing the Three Stooges around a circus tent. I miss White Fang and Soupy’s great jazz guests(including the only film of Clifford Brown playing). I still have a case of Three Stooges beer in my basement. I’ve been afraid to drink however. Great idea the Three Stooges beer, but you have to be drunk to drink it!
May 8th, 2010 at 9:22 am
I agree that Martin could be very good at times (both RIO BRAVO and THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER are to be recommended). The reason that his performance stinks in the MATT HELM series is because he isn’t playing Matt Helm. He’s playing a caricature of Dean Martin. The idea seems to have been to do those sort of self-mocking, self referential, self-aware ‘comedies’ that abounded towards the end of the 60s. Another good example of this sort of stuff is KALEIDOSCOPE, with Warren Beatty. All of these swinging sixties, ‘let’s enjoy ourselves’ type of movies have dated horribly.
May 8th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Bradstreet
I agree, but even KALEIDOSCOPE is far superior to the Helm films and actually has a few decent moments plus a damn fine cast, with Clive Revil as a Scotland Yard Inspector. I’d say SALT AND PEPPER with Sammy Davis and Peter Lawford was closer to the Helm films.
Most of them were trying for the kind of playfulness that OCEAN’S ELEVEN managed, but missing all the things that made that one work. Even the Rat Pack struggled to do it a second time with SERGEANTS FOUR and ROBIN AND THE SEVEN HOODS, though the latter had more to recommend it. The Helm films all made the Road pictures and Martin and Lewis films look like high art — which in comparison they were.
September 25th, 2010 at 7:06 am
I disagree strongly with the review and comments. The Helm films – particularly ‘The Silencers’ – were never intended to be cinematic masterrpieces. They were campy spy spoofs and a lot of fun they were too. Dino was not hired to portray Donald Hamilton’s character, they could have gotten any half-baked Hollywood actor to do that. So he breezed through the films impersonating himself? Well, so did Roger Moore with the 007 films of the ’70’s. If you do not like Dino do not watch the Helm films. Dated horribly? So what? The more dated a movie looks, the better!