Murderers' Row

"Matt Helm outdoes Matt Helm in his new all-out adventure!"

1966 1h 45m EN

😐

5.7

MID

★5.7TMDB · 47

ActionAdventureComedy

Synopsis

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The handsome top agent Matt dies a tragic death in his bath tub - the women mourn about the loss. However it's just faked for his latest top-secret mission: He shall find Dr. Solaris, inventor of the Helium laser beam, powerful enough to destroy a whole continent. It seems Dr. Solaris has been kidnapped by a criminal organization. The trace leads to the Cote D'Azur.

“Matt Helm outdoes Matt Helm in his new all-out adventure!”

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Cast

Dean Martin
Matt Helm
Ann-Margret
Suzie Solaris
Karl Malden
Julian Wall
Camilla Sparv
Coco Duquette
James Gregory
MacDonald
Beverly Adams
Lovey Kravezit
Richard Eastham
Dr. Norman Solaris
Tom Reese
Ironhead

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Henry Levin
Writers: Herbert Baker
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

60 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Matt Helm Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Henry Levin, shot by Sam Leavitt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Walter Thompson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dean Martin and Ann-Margret and Karl Malden carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Matt Helm outdoes Matt Helm in his new all-out adventure!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0060728 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Henry Levin directs. Sam Leavitt behind the camera. Lalo Schifrin scores. Walter Thompson cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

160 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "Matt Helm Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Henry Levin, shot by Sam Leavitt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Walter Thompson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Dean Martin and Ann-Margret and Karl Malden carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Matt Helm outdoes Matt Helm in his new all-out adventure!".
8IMDB entry: tt0060728 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 47 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sam Leavitt
Original score: Lalo Schifrin
Editing: Walter Thompson
Costume design: Moss Mabry
Makeup / hair: Ben Lane
Runtime: 105 min · 1h 45m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Murderers' Row (1966)

Part of

Matt Helm Collection

Tounge-in-cheek spy-spoof series staring Dean Martin. Loosely (VERY loosely) based on the series of novels by Donald Hamilton. The films used the name Matt Helm, his cover identity, plus book titles and some very loose plot elements, but otherwise the series bore no resemblance at all to the character, atmosphere, or themes of Hamilton's original books, nor to the hard-edged action of Bond. One reason was the attitude of the filmmakers that the only way to compete with the Bond films was to parody them.

Also by

Henry Levin

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2022-11-25
★ 5/10
Britain has James Bond while America has (the inferior) Matt Helm An American ICE agent (Dean Martin) fakes his own death and goes to the French Riviera to track down the creator of a device that uses the concentrated power of sunlight for mass destruction. A diabolical organization has taken the scientist captive with intent to use his weapon for world domination. Karl Malden plays the leader of BIG O. "Murderer’s Row” (1966) was the second of four Matt Helm movies released in three years from winter, 1966, to winter, 1969. The franchise was obviously inspired by the great success of the first four James Bond flicks from 1962-1965. Unlike the books (and Bond), the tone is lighthearted and spoofy with Martin doing his wink-at-the-camera act, similar to the contemporaneous Derek Flint flicks with James Coburn, not to mention Raquel Welch’s “Fathom” (1967). The tagline for the first film in the Helm series, “The Silencers,” was “guns, gadgets, girls,” but a more accurate description would be “guns, gadgets, girls and booze.” Naturally these are worthwhile flicks to experience the fun, colorful side of the 60s, but since the spy exploits are played as a low-key joke, there’s no sense of danger and, worse, the story simply isn’t compelling, at least in “Murderer’s Row.” Yeah, there are several attractive females on hand with Ann-Margret being the most charismatic and alluring, but they’re all so thin and unshapely they’re kinda meh. Don’t get me wrong, Ann is a top-of-the-line beauty, as witnessed in Elvis’ “Viva Las Vegas” (1964), but she obviously lost weight in the two years leading up to this flick. It’s a shame because she lost her shapely appeal. However, if you prefer women with stick figures, you won’t have a problem. These fun 007-imitation flicks from the 60s all came & went and are forgotten, while the James Bond franchise marches on decade after decade. There’s a reason for this. The film runs 1 hour, 45 minutes. While second unit teams shot sequences in Villefranche-sur-Mer (France), Monte Carlo (Monaco) and the Isle of Wight for the hovercraft and helicopter scenes (England), Martin refused to go to Europe so all of his scenes were done in Hollywood. GRADE: C

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