Reviews (18)

Censorship and bad cropping give Helm hell!
I've waited many years to see this fearsome foursome of cheese find a decent release in DVD. Sadly, thanks to bad cropping and seemingly random censorship, it still hasn't happened yet.

The four films are, of course, The Silencers, Murderers' Row, The Ambushers, and The Wrecking Crew. (A fifth intallment was storeyboarded but never shot.)

Letting the studio off the hook by saying things like "widescreen areas always crop full frame versions," is being much too gracious in the face of these money-grabbing studio weasels who also CUT entire parts of the film and never even gave you an original trailer.

And I should know about the widescreen concept, since I am, after all, the chairman of the WWS - the Widescreen Watchers Society. (Yes, my organization has a movie site online, but an Amazon review is not the place to plug it by posting links to it.)

Rather I just wanted to point out that it is instead within the "full frame" or "standard screen" format that all cropping takes place. The most dominant style is pan-and -scan, which is done by zooming in on whatever the TV film editor decides is the most important area on screen at any given moment.

That's why you often end up with the ridiculous sight of one person chattering happily away to the air for long periods of time, since you can't see the other person he's talking to. And because of the zoom effect, naturally you also get a more blurred focus on the overall picture.

But a presentation in widescreen, whether it be a regular rectangle (Vista-Vision style) or a more narrow rectangle (Panavison style), or somewhere in between, never crops and/or zooms in after the fact at any point - resulting in a vast difference of ultimate picture composition in crystal clarity, giving you the best total viewing experience possible - which is why the original director filmed it that way for its theatrical release in the first place!

How today's studios stamping out inferior DVDs think the public will never notice such a huge difference is completely mind-boggling! And who buys most of the DVDs of older movies anyway? Film buffs who are very picky about such things to begin with!

RECOMMENDATION: Wait until all four films are put out together in an improved deluxe edition - TRUE widescreen (non-cropped and non-censored), featuring behind the scenes featurettes (which they shot back in the '60s as long commercials for such films), surviving crew interviews, trailers, etc. Otherwise, forget it.

Hey, Rat Pack fans - or just fans of Dean Martin in general - you know ol' Dino deserves far BETTER than this shoddy treatment! Mama mia!

Funniest spy spoof ever
Although I loved reading James Bond books and Matt Helm books, I also enjoyed the first movies of those books very much. After "Thunderball" 007 moved further away from the book each new movie. In the meantime I discovered Matt Helm on film. The first film was a very humorous impression of the book "The Silencers". Dean Martin, to me, was a very good choice for the Helm-figure. His jokes appealed to me, especially the autoradio-joke on his own hit-music. Also the joke with the reverse-firing gun takes care of some fun. But I must admit: Stella Stevens' appearance was the real finishing touch. I still have a clear image in my mind (after 33 years) of the scene where Helm tears off her dress in the hotel room. I guess it must be considered now a typical 60's movie, but reviewing it will undoubtedly amuse you again. If so ... you could also try other Helm-movies, especially "The ambushers", and another amusing Spy spoof, with James Coburn, called "Derek Flint". You could even try Bond's own spoof "Casino Royale", but that's very much pop-art and confusing, next to being funny. Even if you don't like secret agents you can enjoy these movies. But ""The silencers" is the best as a try-out!

The Silencers Revisited
Dean Martin's Matt Helm and James Coburn's Derek Flint were both well done serio-comic Superspies in the James Bond genre. While the two Flint flicks have been available on DVD for some time, The Silencers is the first Matt Helm film to make it to DVD. After watching The Silencers, my only question is--When will the rest of the Matt Helm movies be available on DVD?

Glad I Read Reviews
As much as I would like to have this movie on DVD, I would
not buy this issue because of the reviews posted here. When
are studios going to get it? We don't want DVD issues of movies
that are sub-standard or something that is different than
theatrical release.

A word about The Silencers.
This is a very nice transfer to DVD and only appears cropped to other reviewers because this is the way audiences saw it in the theater almost forty years ago. The 1.85:1 widescreen area is indeed cropping the full frame but the cropped area was never meant to be seen. Only television introduced the full frame area to viewers. To fully understand this one must discard his ignorance of projected film formats and do some research in this area. That way, a decent film to video transfer like this one won't receive such bad billing and we can all be happy! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Great show with a limited run
GIDGET is one of my all-time favorite shows, even though it only ran for 1 season. What a shame. The show combined humor with drama and discovered the talent today known as Sally Field. Never has a sitcom been able to make me laugh and cry so hard.

There are 3 episodes on this video. The first episode is the pilot where Gidget's sister Anne reads her diary to discover that her little sister may not be so innocnet after all. Tear-jerking ending.

In the second episode, Gidget is reluctantly being sent to Paris for school because her sister and broher-in-law think that her dad is too dependent on her. Hilarious episode. Another tear-jerker.

In the third episode on this video, GIdget falls in love with a surfer...again.

I love Gidget and you will too!

A Great Retro Comedy
Sally Field plays Gidget in one of two sitcoms based around Fred Kohner's real life daughter and her adventures.

Here's something you probably don't know-When Sally Field was doing her sitcom,'The Flying Nun',they occasionally used footage from her 'Gidget' days when exploring the background of her character on several episodes.

Anyways,Sally is adorable,and fans of both the 'Gidget' movies and the 'Flying Nun' TV Show should all buy the two videos in this set.

I only got this video for Pete Duel's appearence
But he's not in it enough. Over all this isn't bad for a Gidget show, and the little Pete's in it he's wonderful. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

What fun! Surf's up...
The first "Gidget" movie is alot of fun to watch: not only is there surfing (okay,alot of it is fake) but the fact that there's a girl in it, "a girl, a midget, a Gidget", is fantastic...

Surfing is still a very male dominate sport and it shouldn't be.

The first "Gidget" movie is, in my opinion, a classic!

Hilarious misunderstandings on these Gidget episodes
3 episodes of Sally Field's short-lived but critically-acclaimed sitcom.

In the first episode, Gidget gives Larue a makeover but Gidget's dad is the one who's attracted, or so eveyone thinks. Hilarious farce comedy!

In the second episode, Richard Dreyfuss makes an appearance as a high school nerd who's confidence is boosted by Gidget only to have him dump her before she can sympathetically dump him.

In the third (and the best of the 3) episode, Gidget meets with Jeff's parents but misunderstandings occur. I won't tell you anymore. You'll have to watch it and laugh your head off for yourself.

Great episodes. Great acting. Great show. Great purchase...if you buy it.

Brings back old memories with a smile
These were cute TV shows. I enjoy Sally Field as Gidget. This is a good video to watch when there's nothing else to do, and you don't want to be bogged down with a full-length movie.

Older movies best to watch.
The three Gidget videos are the favorites in our house. Great cast, Sally Field, Don Porter and even has Peter Duel in some of the shows. I sincerely hope the trend goes back to the older sitcoms when comedy was funny and original. We hope Columbia Tristar brings out the rest of the series on video. It is great viewing for the whole family.

A great set!
I loved this show as a teenager, and this set of videos was so much fun to watch! I just hope they put the rest of the episodes on video, since no cable channels have picked it up. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Smile & prepare to snicker constantly throughout! :-)
Dean Martin as super cool, super lover, super boozer, super slick, super spy Matt Helm, aka Eric, aka James A. Peters, aka Lash Petrone, Beverly Adams as his secretary Lovey Kravezit, Karl Malden as arch villain and arch enemy of Matt, Julian Wall, Camilla Sparv as his assistant Coco Duquette, Tom Reese as his, snicker, hard-headed muscleman 'Ironhead', Corinne Cole as 'Miss January', James Gregory (I) as Matt's boss MacDonald and director of I.C.E. (Intelligence Counter Espionage), Ann-Margret as Suzie Solaris and Richard Eastham as her poppa and inventor of the super gizmo, Dr. Norman Solaris, in a fun little film that to watch you must first park your brain, your cynicism and put a smile on your face and prepare to snicker endlessly throughout! A delicious little spoof of the James Bond genre has Martin doing what he and the rest of the 'Rat Pack' did so well, drinking and wooing the ladies despite those pesky villains trying to take his mind off his favorite hobbies. This rates a solid 2.5 stars out of 4.

Dino still Cool
Ok,I realize that by any normal standard this would qualify as a bad film. The production values are as poor as you can imagine and the plot (something about retrieving a flying saucer from the clutches of the enemy) pretty damn ridiculous. Yet, the first time I saw this film several years ago I absolutely loved it. The jokes center on booze and sex,and needless to say,Dean Martin handles them as only he can. As far as Matt Helm films go,"The Silencers" and "The Wrecking Crew" qualify as better "spy" films,yet for pure trashy fun nothing beats the "The Ambushers". The babe factor is over the top, and the ribald humour of this film makes James Bond seem stilted and serious. From its cheesy theme song right down to the Slaygirls,this is politically incorrect sixties camp to the max. Watching it now you'll lament the fact that nobody can make a film this light hearted anymore. Dean and the rest of the cast treat the whole thing as a put on. A real drive in treat from the go go era; if this film actually had great action sequences I'd have died.

Double Disaster
If you ever heard that the Matt Helm series was entertaining, believe me, it wasn't these two entries. They, especially "The Ambushers", are just plain bad. Funny thing is, the other two Helm movies, especially "The Wrecking Crew", offer fine entertainment. It had to do with the directors, as Henry Levin directed the two bombs, and the guy, who would go on to direct the classic "Walking Tall", the others. There is nothing whatsoever redeemable about the Ambushers, and Murderers' Row is noteworthy simply for the appearance of Ann Margeret and an over-the-top performance as Karl Malden as the villian. Neither makes much sense at all.

A Great Bad Movie
A great many of us will be familiar with the image of Hugh Hefner (Founder and Publisher of Playboy magazine) at one of his famous parties. We can picture in our mind's eye Hef walking around Playboy Mansion in his robe and pajamas, cocktail in one hand, cigarette in the other. (Actually, Hef usually smoked a pipe. But for the sake of argument, we'll say it was a cigarette.) He's smiling. He's mingling. He's making small talk, with amusing bon mots and double entendres.

Now imagine that, instead of a robe and pajamas, Hef is decked out in attire that would have been fashionably casual for an affluent male in the 1960s. And while keeping everything else the same (the cigarette, the cocktail, the utterly casual attitude), imagine Hef in the underground lair of an evil Arch-Villain who is ready to visit death and destruction across the globe. Oh, and make Hef a James Bond-esque spy.

You now have the basic feel for the four Matt Helm movies, of which "The Ambushers" (1967) was the third. (The others were "The Silencers," "Murderer's Row," and "The Wrecking Crew.")

The Matt Helm movies were made as star vehicles for Dean Martin. By the mid-60s, Dino had cemented his reputation as a boozing playboy, and the Matt Helm role was written with this in mind. In the movies, Matt Helm is a boozing, affable, world-famous photographer of beautiful women who works for "Slaymate" magazine (which fits in nicely with the Hugh Hefner analogy...). BUT THAT'S JUST A COVER! Helm is REALLY a boozing, affable super-competent secret agent for the Intelligence Counter Espionage (ICE) organization. And in all four movies, he casually wanders his way through whatever the bad guys have to throw at him as though he were looking for the nearest bar.

I should point out that the Matt Helm movies are all pretty bad. But they're wonderfully bad, and they're great, cheezy, campy fun. I tend to speak glowingly of the Matt Helm movies because I enjoy them for their over-the-top campiness, but more serious-minded viewers will probably be turned off.

And let me tell you: THE AMBUSHERS spares *no* expense in the "campiness" department. Try this plot on for size:

The ICE organization is testing out a new, super-secret flying saucer. That's right, a flying saucer. As MacDonald (James Gregory), head of ICE points out, if it works it will put the other planets "right next door," and the rest of the universe will be "just around the corner." It's never sufficiently explained why a counter-espionage organization would need to go to other planets (much less the rest of the universe), but no matter. They've made it and they're testing it.

The test works fine, until the saucer is forced to land by Mysterious Bad Guys. The leader of the Mysterious Bad Guys enters the saucer, and the pilot (a female) screams. Fade to black. This all takes place within the first 10 minutes of the movie.

Cut to Matt Helm, in Matt Helm heaven. He's helping to train a cadre of new ICE agents who, coincidentally enough, all happen to be gorgeous, scantily-clad babes. Go figure. But he runs into a white-haired, crazed woman who thinks all men are out to kill her. It's his old partner! It's also the woman who piloted the flying saucer! Will wonders never cease? (Answer: Of course not! This is Matt Helm!)

Naturally, Helm is assigned to find the saucer, and he has to take his former partner (who's now recovered) because only females can fly the saucer. The reason is because the saucer uses "electromagnetic fields" to propel itself around the neighborhood. And, according to the movie, electromagnetic fields are lethal to males. No, I never learned that in my basic physics classes either, but there you are.

You can guess the rest. Typical spy-movie stuff with the usual Matt Helm twist. Helm still wanders from place to place as though he's looking for the nearest bar. During one fight scene he gets knocked into a huge vat of beer, much to his obvious delight. And in a send-up of his singing career, the very final scene shows him trying to teach an attractive new recruit how to make love while on the job. The recruit is cold and unresponsive, even after Helm puts on a Dean Martin tune. But when he puts on Frank Sinatra, she responds amorously, much to his chagrin.

High points of the movie:

* The whole "electromagnetic fields are lethal to men" bit, which had me rolling on the floor.

* A couple of male bad guys dying from, as near as I can tell, turning completely red all over. Even their clothes. This is, apparently, the inevitable consequence of exposing men to electromagnetic fields. (Now you know why your Mom always told you not to sit so close to the TV...)

* The obvious set pieces when Helm is supposed to be outdoors.

* A set of railroad tracks which leads right up to the very edge of a cliff, apparently for no other reason than to allow a railroad flatcar to careen dramatically off said cliff.

* The *incredibly* cheesy effects, which include ray guns that emit sparks, and radar towers that emit obvious "radar" noises.

* Helm turning his belt into a sword by the simple expedient of getting it wet.

It's true that none of the other Matt Helm movies are pinnacles of the film-maker's craft. But the plot and cheesy special effects make THE AMBUSHERS a cut below the others. In ranking the four Matt Helm movies in terms of overall quality, this would be #4 on my list. But in ranking them in terms of laughs (both intentional and otherwise), this is easily #1.

Matt Helm makes Austin Powers look like Smiley
Hopelessly cheeseball, sexist comedy, but entertaining in a creepy, pathological, what-were-they-thinking-back-then kind of way. The smarm content is high, but this is one for the 60's time capsule. Prepare your jaw for much dropping. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Let's not forget chrome-dome
The villainous henchman with the black chrome-plated head was a formidable nemesis. And how about near the end when Karl Malden shot his own mistress with the harpoon. You could feel the air hissing through her lips as she fell dead to the floor. Dean Martin was always cool and any movie with a vivacious, young Ann Margret is worth watching.

THE STORY OF SECRET AGENT MAXWELL BOND
Hopelessly dated, Dean Martin's foray into spy satire is often funny. A cool car that seems to bend around corners, odd gadgets like a bed that dumps the occupants into a pool, Vodka dispenser, reverse gun, beautiful women, corny dialougue, etc, do make this parody an amusing ride in a MAD MAGAZINE kind of way. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

The Right Stuff
Frankie Avalon was growing tired of the beach movies, and only agreed to appear in this film if he could get a starring vehicle of his own. In this movie, Frankie is a member of the naval reserve and stationed on a tropical island, thus limiting his screen time. Dwyane Hickman (Ricky) ably serves as a new love interest for Annette Funicello (Dee Dee). Their scenes together were reminiscent of the first beach movie, when boy meets girl, boy wants girl, but the girl is playing hard to get. Beverly Adams is the voluptuous redhead Cassandra, filling out the wild bikini very nicely, who magically appears to keep Ricky away from Dee Dee. Mickey Rooney is hilarious as Peachy Keane, the ad executive who wants to hire Cassandra to be the girl next door and to be Ricky's partner for their sponsored motorcycle race. The only problems are that Ricky wants Dee Dee to join him, and Cassandra is nervous and very clumsy around Ricky. However, there is a cyclist she feels very comfortable with.

She takes a shine to Eric Von Zipper, played to perfection by Harvey Lembeck. He is an expert cyclist from his years of being the leader of the Rat Pack. He is more than happy to keep Cassandra away from Ricky and the bad influence of "them beach bums." When Dee Dee finds out that Frankie is playing around with a native girl, she decides to join Ricky for the motorcycle race. Since Cassandra has signed a contract with the ad agency, it's decided to pair her with Eric Von Zipper. Peachy decides that an image makeover is necessary. Thus, Eric trades in his leather outfit and chains for a gray business suit! This entry in the beach movie series shows off Eric Von Zipper to best effect. Despite the Rat Pack's best efforts at sabotage, Ricky and Dee Dee end up winning the motorcycle race. However, Dee Dee doesn't want to go on a cross country promotional tour. Frankie is magically reunited with Dee Dee on the beach for a happy ending. This is the last of the classic beach movies to have Frankie and Annette together, and also features the most musical numbers. As for the movie Frankie starred in shortly afterwards, it was entitled "Sergeant Deadhead." To give you an idea of how successful that was at the box office, "Sergeant Deadhead" has yet to be commercially released on video!

NEAT...AW-REET!!
I admit I was dubious about getting this DVD because of all the negative vibes from various 'squares' but I gotta tell ya...this is one of the most enjoyable 'beach party' flicks I have seen. It's a little different from the rest in that, instead of a number of misplaced pop bands doing lame tunes, most of the music here is ensemble numbers by the cast and they are GREAT FUN. F'rinstance: Mickey Rooney and Brian Donlevy do a musical turn in the boardroom, the always welcome Eric Von Zipper and his biker gang do TWO numbers, the boys on the beach do a tune...as do all the girls. The two numbers by Annette are catchy and better than any she's done in previous beach flicks. Frankie's song is O.K. too! The only band here is The Kingsmen who are pretty cool and having a great time. Buster Keaton has a speaking role, exotic swingin' '60s chick Irene Tsu is on board, and there seems to be more cleavage provided by some of the babes than in any previous beach party film. O.K., there are a couple of flat spots but overall...it's FUN,FUN,FUN! Look for Brian Wilson and surfing legend Mickey Dora in the crowd. There is nothing "Oh-how-the-mighty-have-fallen" about this movie. Everybody is clearly having a blast....and I am too! I'm glad I got this disc.

Frankie And Annette And Samantha from Bewitched
The Best scenes are Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello singing a song together and there is a good scene with Elizabeth Montgomery in her role of Samantha from Bewitched sending Frankie home to Annette who plays Dee Dee and also Annette singing songs.Although Frankie isn't in many scenes with Annette since his character is away he is in the story and Frankie does come home to Annette.If you like Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello and Elizabeth Montgomery and Bewitched then you would enjoy this.The scene with Elizabeth Montgomery in her role of Samantha from Bewitched makes this film more fun.Frankie and Annette are always good together and though they don't have many scenes together in the film it is a good film and they do have scenes together later in the film.

Like a Disney film directed by Andy Sidaris.
Too silly. Too leering.

Even more hackneyed than others. Bad songs. Little cleverness.

A supporting cast of lesser interest, to me anyway. (No Susan Hart, no Don Rickles, no Donna Loren, darn little Buster Keaton and Bobbi Shaw- and she's a brunette here).

Watchable at best.

Like a Walt Disney film directed by Andy Sidaris.
All very silly and naive, but as leering *in tone* as just about anything you'll find. The movie opens on a close-up of a girl's navel, and soon a group of boys are singing a song about girls' measurements. It continues downward (?) from there. There are much better Beach Party movies than this recycled patchwork of earlier and superior songs, characters, situations and chases.

IMHO, "How to Stuff..." needed more Buster Keaton and Bobbi Shaw. An appearance by Susan Hart wouldn't exactly have felt like a sharp stick in the eye, either. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Carnival sideshow run by the Devil
Anyone acquainted with the famous novel by Octave Mirabeau entitled: "Torture Garden" concerning sadistic torture and lascivious encounters will be disappointed upon discovery that this film has nothing to do with the book. Instead we are given a dose of short stories centered around a carnival sideshow and for five pounds more you are taken to the back under the promise of an excellent private show to have your future told. Burgess Meredith is our host who gives visions of future events dominated by the "darkside" to a group of victims. All involve the usual seven deadly sins, especially "Greed". The most interesting story is the last one that concerns an eccentric Poe collector (played by the great Peter Cushing) and a more than curious acquisitor (Jack Palance). Eventually as more and more collectibles are revealed, Cushing is forced to reveal his top "posession" which is the living soul of E.A. Poe himself! All of the stories hint at the "author" and the real object of the presentations center around the question: "Are you willing to sell your soul for more information?" The fact that Meredith is really Satan is not a surprise at the end but the film is entertaining. This work moves a little slower than "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors" (The train to hell with your host, the devil)and it lacks the "charm" of "From Beyond the Grave" (the antique shop of the devil, "Temptations" ltd.) Still, a carnival run by old scratch is an interesting idea!

The sadistic sideshow
This was the second of seven horror anthologies from Amicus films. Their first anthology was Dr.Terrors house of horrors and it had been a surprise success. After a couple of dissappointing sci-fi films, Amicus decided to take another stab at a horror anthology and this film is the result. The framing story has a carnival worker who promises to reveal the future to a small group of people. The first story involves a cat that is inhabited by the spirit of a witch and it eats human heads (no, really). The second one shows hoe some Hollywood stars seem to go on forever and the third revolves around a jeolous piano. The fourth segment is definitely the best of the bunch. In this one Jack Palance finds out Peter Cushing has an Edgar Allan Poe collection that can't be touched. The film is a classic example of the acting being better than the stories. The last story is the only one that is better than average, but a fine cast help make it stronger than it could have been. Not one of the better Amicus anthologies, but certainly worth a look. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

The Right Stuff
Frankie Avalon was growing tired of the beach movies, and only agreed to appear in this film if he could get a starring vehicle of his own. In this movie, Frankie is a member of the naval reserve and stationed on a tropical island, thus limiting his screen time. Dwyane Hickman (Ricky) ably serves as a new love interest for Annette Funicello (Dee Dee). Their scenes together were reminiscent of the first beach movie, when boy meets girl, boy wants girl, but the girl is playing hard to get. Beverly Adams is the voluptuous redhead Cassandra, filling out the wild bikini very nicely, who magically appears to keep Ricky away from Dee Dee. Mickey Rooney is hilarious as Peachy Keane, the ad executive who wants to hire Cassandra to be the girl next door and to be Ricky's partner for their sponsored motorcycle race. The only problems are that Ricky wants Dee Dee to join him, and Cassandra is nervous and very clumsy around Ricky. However, there is a cyclist she feels very comfortable with.

She takes a shine to Eric Von Zipper, played to perfection by Harvey Lembeck. He is an expert cyclist from his years of being the leader of the Rat Pack. He is more than happy to keep Cassandra away from Ricky and the bad influence of "them beach bums." When Dee Dee finds out that Frankie is playing around with a native girl, she decides to join Ricky for the motorcycle race. Since Cassandra has signed a contract with the ad agency, it's decided to pair her with Eric Von Zipper. Peachy decides that an image makeover is necessary. Thus, Eric trades in his leather outfit and chains for a gray business suit! This entry in the beach movie series shows off Eric Von Zipper to best effect. Despite the Rat Pack's best efforts at sabotage, Ricky and Dee Dee end up winning the motorcycle race. However, Dee Dee doesn't want to go on a cross country promotional tour. Frankie is magically reunited with Dee Dee on the beach for a happy ending. This is the last of the classic beach movies to have Frankie and Annette together, and also features the most musical numbers. As for the movie Frankie starred in shortly afterwards, it was entitled "Sergeant Deadhead." To give you an idea of how successful that was at the box office, "Sergeant Deadhead" has yet to be commercially released on video!

NEAT...AW-REET!!
I admit I was dubious about getting this DVD because of all the negative vibes from various 'squares' but I gotta tell ya...this is one of the most enjoyable 'beach party' flicks I have seen. It's a little different from the rest in that, instead of a number of misplaced pop bands doing lame tunes, most of the music here is ensemble numbers by the cast and they are GREAT FUN. F'rinstance: Mickey Rooney and Brian Donlevy do a musical turn in the boardroom, the always welcome Eric Von Zipper and his biker gang do TWO numbers, the boys on the beach do a tune...as do all the girls. The two numbers by Annette are catchy and better than any she's done in previous beach flicks. Frankie's song is O.K. too! The only band here is The Kingsmen who are pretty cool and having a great time. Buster Keaton has a speaking role, exotic swingin' '60s chick Irene Tsu is on board, and there seems to be more cleavage provided by some of the babes than in any previous beach party film. O.K., there are a couple of flat spots but overall...it's FUN,FUN,FUN! Look for Brian Wilson and surfing legend Mickey Dora in the crowd. There is nothing "Oh-how-the-mighty-have-fallen" about this movie. Everybody is clearly having a blast....and I am too! I'm glad I got this disc.

Frankie And Annette And Samantha from Bewitched
The Best scenes are Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello singing a song together and there is a good scene with Elizabeth Montgomery in her role of Samantha from Bewitched sending Frankie home to Annette who plays Dee Dee and also Annette singing songs.Although Frankie isn't in many scenes with Annette since his character is away he is in the story and Frankie does come home to Annette.If you like Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello and Elizabeth Montgomery and Bewitched then you would enjoy this.The scene with Elizabeth Montgomery in her role of Samantha from Bewitched makes this film more fun.Frankie and Annette are always good together and though they don't have many scenes together in the film it is a good film and they do have scenes together later in the film.

Like a Disney film directed by Andy Sidaris.
Too silly. Too leering.

Even more hackneyed than others. Bad songs. Little cleverness.

A supporting cast of lesser interest, to me anyway. (No Susan Hart, no Don Rickles, no Donna Loren, darn little Buster Keaton and Bobbi Shaw- and she's a brunette here).

Watchable at best.

Like a Walt Disney film directed by Andy Sidaris.
All very silly and naive, but as leering *in tone* as just about anything you'll find. The movie opens on a close-up of a girl's navel, and soon a group of boys are singing a song about girls' measurements. It continues downward (?) from there. There are much better Beach Party movies than this recycled patchwork of earlier and superior songs, characters, situations and chases.

IMHO, "How to Stuff..." needed more Buster Keaton and Bobbi Shaw. An appearance by Susan Hart wouldn't exactly have felt like a sharp stick in the eye, either. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Smile & prepare to snicker constantly throughout! :-)
Dean Martin as super cool, super lover, super boozer, super slick, super spy Matt Helm, aka Eric, aka James A. Peters, aka Lash Petrone, Beverly Adams as his secretary Lovey Kravezit, Karl Malden as arch villain and arch enemy of Matt, Julian Wall, Camilla Sparv as his assistant Coco Duquette, Tom Reese as his, snicker, hard-headed muscleman 'Ironhead', Corinne Cole as 'Miss January', James Gregory (I) as Matt's boss MacDonald and director of I.C.E. (Intelligence Counter Espionage), Ann-Margret as Suzie Solaris and Richard Eastham as her poppa and inventor of the super gizmo, Dr. Norman Solaris, in a fun little film that to watch you must first park your brain, your cynicism and put a smile on your face and prepare to snicker endlessly throughout! A delicious little spoof of the James Bond genre has Martin doing what he and the rest of the 'Rat Pack' did so well, drinking and wooing the ladies despite those pesky villains trying to take his mind off his favorite hobbies. This rates a solid 2.5 stars out of 4.

Dino still Cool
Ok,I realize that by any normal standard this would qualify as a bad film. The production values are as poor as you can imagine and the plot (something about retrieving a flying saucer from the clutches of the enemy) pretty damn ridiculous. Yet, the first time I saw this film several years ago I absolutely loved it. The jokes center on booze and sex,and needless to say,Dean Martin handles them as only he can. As far as Matt Helm films go,"The Silencers" and "The Wrecking Crew" qualify as better "spy" films,yet for pure trashy fun nothing beats the "The Ambushers". The babe factor is over the top, and the ribald humour of this film makes James Bond seem stilted and serious. From its cheesy theme song right down to the Slaygirls,this is politically incorrect sixties camp to the max. Watching it now you'll lament the fact that nobody can make a film this light hearted anymore. Dean and the rest of the cast treat the whole thing as a put on. A real drive in treat from the go go era; if this film actually had great action sequences I'd have died.

Double Disaster
If you ever heard that the Matt Helm series was entertaining, believe me, it wasn't these two entries. They, especially "The Ambushers", are just plain bad. Funny thing is, the other two Helm movies, especially "The Wrecking Crew", offer fine entertainment. It had to do with the directors, as Henry Levin directed the two bombs, and the guy, who would go on to direct the classic "Walking Tall", the others. There is nothing whatsoever redeemable about the Ambushers, and Murderers' Row is noteworthy simply for the appearance of Ann Margeret and an over-the-top performance as Karl Malden as the villian. Neither makes much sense at all.

A Great Bad Movie
A great many of us will be familiar with the image of Hugh Hefner (Founder and Publisher of Playboy magazine) at one of his famous parties. We can picture in our mind's eye Hef walking around Playboy Mansion in his robe and pajamas, cocktail in one hand, cigarette in the other. (Actually, Hef usually smoked a pipe. But for the sake of argument, we'll say it was a cigarette.) He's smiling. He's mingling. He's making small talk, with amusing bon mots and double entendres.

Now imagine that, instead of a robe and pajamas, Hef is decked out in attire that would have been fashionably casual for an affluent male in the 1960s. And while keeping everything else the same (the cigarette, the cocktail, the utterly casual attitude), imagine Hef in the underground lair of an evil Arch-Villain who is ready to visit death and destruction across the globe. Oh, and make Hef a James Bond-esque spy.

You now have the basic feel for the four Matt Helm movies, of which "The Ambushers" (1967) was the third. (The others were "The Silencers," "Murderer's Row," and "The Wrecking Crew.")

The Matt Helm movies were made as star vehicles for Dean Martin. By the mid-60s, Dino had cemented his reputation as a boozing playboy, and the Matt Helm role was written with this in mind. In the movies, Matt Helm is a boozing, affable, world-famous photographer of beautiful women who works for "Slaymate" magazine (which fits in nicely with the Hugh Hefner analogy...). BUT THAT'S JUST A COVER! Helm is REALLY a boozing, affable super-competent secret agent for the Intelligence Counter Espionage (ICE) organization. And in all four movies, he casually wanders his way through whatever the bad guys have to throw at him as though he were looking for the nearest bar.

I should point out that the Matt Helm movies are all pretty bad. But they're wonderfully bad, and they're great, cheezy, campy fun. I tend to speak glowingly of the Matt Helm movies because I enjoy them for their over-the-top campiness, but more serious-minded viewers will probably be turned off.

And let me tell you: THE AMBUSHERS spares *no* expense in the "campiness" department. Try this plot on for size:

The ICE organization is testing out a new, super-secret flying saucer. That's right, a flying saucer. As MacDonald (James Gregory), head of ICE points out, if it works it will put the other planets "right next door," and the rest of the universe will be "just around the corner." It's never sufficiently explained why a counter-espionage organization would need to go to other planets (much less the rest of the universe), but no matter. They've made it and they're testing it.

The test works fine, until the saucer is forced to land by Mysterious Bad Guys. The leader of the Mysterious Bad Guys enters the saucer, and the pilot (a female) screams. Fade to black. This all takes place within the first 10 minutes of the movie.

Cut to Matt Helm, in Matt Helm heaven. He's helping to train a cadre of new ICE agents who, coincidentally enough, all happen to be gorgeous, scantily-clad babes. Go figure. But he runs into a white-haired, crazed woman who thinks all men are out to kill her. It's his old partner! It's also the woman who piloted the flying saucer! Will wonders never cease? (Answer: Of course not! This is Matt Helm!)

Naturally, Helm is assigned to find the saucer, and he has to take his former partner (who's now recovered) because only females can fly the saucer. The reason is because the saucer uses "electromagnetic fields" to propel itself around the neighborhood. And, according to the movie, electromagnetic fields are lethal to males. No, I never learned that in my basic physics classes either, but there you are.

You can guess the rest. Typical spy-movie stuff with the usual Matt Helm twist. Helm still wanders from place to place as though he's looking for the nearest bar. During one fight scene he gets knocked into a huge vat of beer, much to his obvious delight. And in a send-up of his singing career, the very final scene shows him trying to teach an attractive new recruit how to make love while on the job. The recruit is cold and unresponsive, even after Helm puts on a Dean Martin tune. But when he puts on Frank Sinatra, she responds amorously, much to his chagrin.

High points of the movie:

* The whole "electromagnetic fields are lethal to men" bit, which had me rolling on the floor.

* A couple of male bad guys dying from, as near as I can tell, turning completely red all over. Even their clothes. This is, apparently, the inevitable consequence of exposing men to electromagnetic fields. (Now you know why your Mom always told you not to sit so close to the TV...)

* The obvious set pieces when Helm is supposed to be outdoors.

* A set of railroad tracks which leads right up to the very edge of a cliff, apparently for no other reason than to allow a railroad flatcar to careen dramatically off said cliff.

* The *incredibly* cheesy effects, which include ray guns that emit sparks, and radar towers that emit obvious "radar" noises.

* Helm turning his belt into a sword by the simple expedient of getting it wet.

It's true that none of the other Matt Helm movies are pinnacles of the film-maker's craft. But the plot and cheesy special effects make THE AMBUSHERS a cut below the others. In ranking the four Matt Helm movies in terms of overall quality, this would be #4 on my list. But in ranking them in terms of laughs (both intentional and otherwise), this is easily #1.

Matt Helm makes Austin Powers look like Smiley
Hopelessly cheeseball, sexist comedy, but entertaining in a creepy, pathological, what-were-they-thinking-back-then kind of way. The smarm content is high, but this is one for the 60's time capsule. Prepare your jaw for much dropping. ... Read more