The Ambushers

"Matt Helm rides again! ... with the Ambushers on his back, and some fun on the side!"

1967 1h 42m EN

😐

5.1

MID

⭐

5.3

IMDB

★5.1TMDB · 44★5.3IMDB · 2,616

ActionComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When an experimental flying saucer crashes, secret agent Matt Helm has to bring back the secret weapons hidden on board.

“Matt Helm rides again! ... with the Ambushers on his back, and some fun on the side!”

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Cast

Dean Martin
Matt Helm
Senta Berger
Francesca Madeiros
Janice Rule
Sheila Sommers
James Gregory
MacDonald
Albert Salmi
Jose Ortega
Kurt Kasznar
Quintana
Beverly Adams
Lovey Kravezit
David Mauro
Nassim

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

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

59 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dean Martin and Senta Berger and Janice Rule carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Matt Helm rides again! ... with the Ambushers on his back, and some fun on the side!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Henry Levin directs. Edward Colman behind the camera. Hugo Montenegro scores. Harold F. Kress cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
259 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Matt Helm Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Henry Levin, shot by Edward Colman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Hugo Montenegro. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Harold F. Kress shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Dean Martin and Senta Berger and Janice Rule carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Matt Helm rides again! ... with the Ambushers on his back, and some fun on the side!".
9IMDB entry: tt0062657 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 44 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Edward Colman
Original score: Hugo Montenegro
Editing: Harold F. Kress
Costume design: Oleg Cassini
Makeup / hair: Ben Lane
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Status: Released
Budget: $4,000,000
Box office: $10,000,000
Return: 250% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Ambushers (1967)
IMDB rating: 5.3/10 · 2,616 votes
MPAA: Approved

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.