Matt Helm movie update

The News In Film Web site reports that Gary Ross is close to being named to direct a new Matt Helm movie.
An excerpt:
According to The Playlist, George Clooney and Jon Hamm were considered for the title character, but eliminated for separate reasons. Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, The A-Team) is the front runner for the [...]

James Bond Vs. Matt Helm: a study

We found an academic paper online that compares the literary James Bond and the literary Matt Helm (each with significant differences than their movie counterparts).
Among the comparisons made by the author, Joseph Allegretti of Siena College, about the novels Casino Royale and Death Of a Citizen:
Both Bond and Helm are professionals who find their [...]

Spielberg interested in Matt Helm; is a faithful adaptation possible?

Variety reported on July 29 that Steven Spielberg was interested in directing a Matt Helm movie.
An excerpt: Spielberg’s camp said he is attached to produce, but it’s unclear if he’s going to direct. Clearly, Spielberg is excited about the project again after the rewrite that Paul Attanasio delivered last week.
A day later, reports [...]

U.K. Matt Helm paperback covers

A reader responded to a post we did about the evolution of Matt Helm paperback novels in the U.S. It turns out the U.K. versions were quite diiferent, many of them relying on photographs rather than illustrations.
For example, to view a U.K. cover for the third Helm novel, The Removers, click RIGHT HERE. To see [...]

A final look at Matt Helm titles: The Wrecking Crew

We wrap up our look at the titles of Matt Helm movies with a brief discussion of the series finale, The Wrecking Crew.
To be honest, it’s a mixed bag. The visuals are much stronger than the series previous entry, The Ambushers. They’re at least based on something in the movie, a bank of monitors used [...]

1967: The cheesy titles of The Ambushers

We’ve taken a look at the titles of the first two Matt Helm movies starring Dean Martin. So when you’re on a roll, you might as keep going.
The third Helm movie, The Ambushers, is often cited as the worst in the four-film series (a shame because it’s based on a very good serious Helm novel [...]

Evolution of Matt Helm novel covers

We just came a Web page that every fan of the literary Matt Helm ought to see. It’s a diagram showing the various version of Matt Helm paperback covers of the stories spun by Donald Hamilton (1916-2006). Some of the books kept to one design during their print runs, but others changed. Among them:
Death of [...]

The Silencers: a true alternate universe James Bond movie

Of all the 1960s spy entertainment produced to capitalize on the success of James Bond, The Silencers, the first of four Matt Helm movies starring Dean Martin, may be the closest to an altnerate universe James Bond movie.
What do we mean by that? It was the one movie where alternate choices — the actors, crew [...]

Bruce Lee turns Dino into a kickin’ fool

One of the oddities of the 1960s spy craze was The Wrecking Crew, the fourth, and final, Matt Helm movie starring Dean Martin. It has the distinction of being Chuck Norris’s debut (as a thug) and one of the final appearances of Sharon Tate.
But perhaps the most unusual aspect was the participation of Bruce [...]