The Wrecking Crew

1968 "Matt Helm Is Alive And Well And Swinging In Copenhagen--So Far!"
5.5| 1h45m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 30 December 1968 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

When Count Contini attempts to destroy the world's economy by masterminding the theft of $1 billion in U.S. gold, ICE chief MacDonald summons secret agent Matt Helm to stop him.

... View More
Stream Online

The movie is currently not available onine

Director

Producted By

Columbia Pictures

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime. Watch Now

Trailers & Images

Reviews

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!
Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.
PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
Benedito Dias Rodrigues As l'd wrote before Dean Martin wasn't a better choice to be Matt Helm,he was old and already wrinkled for the role,instead all Matt's girls are gorgeous and no make sense whatever the reason,worst he enforce to sing along disfiguring the main score in twist sounds,in this final movie who shines are Sharon Tate and Elke Sommer, she were a very close scenes in those marvelous bodies in sexy walking and exciting legs,a plenty of action leaves the picture somehow acceptable and annoys no one,so l figure out that those girls saved the whole picture of total disaster just for a bad miscasting of leading Role!!Resume:First watch: 1992 / How many: 3 / Source: TV-Cable TV-DVD / Rating: 6
tavm Though I know this was the last of the Dean Martin/Matt Helm pictures, it's the very first one I've seen just now on YouTube. I have to admit right up front that while the beginning with the premise just being explained was pretty exciting, I thought much of the rest of the action and fighting were lacking but then that may have been because the sound and dialogue synchronization was ahead of the actual picture by a few seconds on the upload. Still, it wasn't too bad what was depicted and with gorgeous women like Tina Louise, Nancy Kwan, Elke Sommer, and especially Sharon Tate as a redhead, how can this film fail in my eyes? Yes, Dino seemed a little mature when sharing scenes with some of them but he sure seemed to having sooo much fun and that's infectious! And that score by Hugo Montenegro sure was groovy fun! This picture sure made the swinging sixties seem like such fun, that's for sure! Okay, I think I've said enough so on that note, The Wrecking Crew is very much worth a look.
bkoganbing Though it wasn't planned that way, The Wrecking Crew became the last of the Matt Helm series that Dean Martin brought to the screen. At the end credits it was announced that the audience could expect a new Matt Helm film The Ravagers would be coming out next.It wasn't to be because Dino frankly got bored of the whole thing and in those days Martin would bore easily. You could tell it on the screen and in his performance that the Matt Helm series just wasn't interesting him any longer. The Wrecking Crew was filmed minus Beverly Adams as Martin's private secretary Lovey Kravezit and the role of his boss MacDonald was taken over by John Larch in place of James Gregory. It was not as ridiculous as the third film in the series, The Ambushers which was clearly the worst of them. This one involved Nigel Green stealing a shipment of gold bullion worth a cool billion.The gimmick here is that the USA does not want anyone knowing that such a shipment was stolen because of the financial implications. Which is why they've sent in Dino to get it back.One thing this film does not lack is the bevy of beautiful women working with and against Dino in his mission. They include in this film, Tina Louise, Elke Sommer, Nancy Kwan and Sharon Tate. The Wrecking Crew turned out to be the tragic Ms. Tate's next to last film.Like the James Bond films, the Helm series also had some nice spy gadgets. The Wrecking Crew had one of the best of them. It was a portable helicopter that you carried in the trunk of your car. It gets Dino and Sharon out of a tight spot. It has to be seen to be believed.Just as well the Matt Helm series ended here if Dino was as bored with it as he plainly shows.
ReelWorldFilmClub If Matt Helm is the world's last hope in recovering one billion in stolen gold, then we're in big trouble. The aging Dean Martin is pathetic as a Bond-esquire government agent that women somehow (?) find irresistible, even those who aren't trying to use him in some way. Austin Powers (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery) is most often compared to James Bond, but he's clearly more like this version of Matt Helm than he ever was to 007. Like Austin Powers, Helm's cover is that of an international fashion photographer/playboy. He is, in reality, only slightly sexier than Don Knotts character in "The Love God?". He seems on the edge of sobriety throughout the film, and in the scenes where he's up close and personal with his lovely co-stars, I couldn't help wondering if they were fighting the urge to throw up from his rank cigarette-booze breath! Talk about suffering for your Art! I probably feel the worst for the other actors in the film, because the whole project could have been better than it was. Yes, it was a parody of the secret-agent genre of the 1960s that peaked several years earlier, but I guess the picture is so disappointing because it seems to be built instead around the person of Dean Martin, and his real life image as that of a heavy drinking swinger. Please, I'm not completely disregarding his acting ability, because he did in fact make some pretty good movies before this one. I liked him in the films he did with Jerry Lewis, but Martin just seems to be taking it way too easy in this one, and not really even trying. Perhaps when you're an established "star", you don't have to. The legendary Bruce Lee choreographed the fight scenes in "The Wrecking Crew", but I can't imagine him bragging too much about it. Tina Louise (Gilligan's Island) goes through the same kind of seductress routine she worked so hard to perfect with Bob Denver all those years on the "uncharted desert isle", and is as lovely as she ever was. Elke Sommer is convincing as a menacing moll, but Nancy Kwan is forgettable as a stereotyped Asian. I've seen that Chuck Norris was in the film as well, but I've never been able to spot him. Nigel Green is just plain annoying as the "Count" who's responsible for stealing the gold. Just try counting the number of times he says "schedule". Aaargh! He comes off as a poofy, snobby aristocrat. Alright, maybe that's how he was supposed to be. Goofs: Although the film supposedly takes place in Denmark, everyone, including the cops who drive Ford automobiles, speak English with no accent whatsoever! There are a few shots near the beginning of Matt Helm driving through a Danish city, but that's it! The driving scenes with Matt Helm and Freya Carlson are obviously California. The scenes involving the train may be Europe, but I'm not sure. I'm in Germany now and have been in Europe for the past 4 years, and I have seen many areas that resemble the terrain in those shots. At various times in the film, characters watch video screens to see the train speed through the countryside…how? Has the evil Count placed cameras along the track? Does he have tiny flying robots equipped with cameras to follow the train? I guess I'm looking too deep. The most glaring blunder has got to involve the astro-turf used in several shots to make the outside of the Count's estate. Matt Helm throws an exploding hanky (????) at a door seconds before he dives over a hedge onto the "grass". As he hits the grass, it compresses because of the extensive padding beneath, and a large area of the astro-turf kicks up. Come on, editor (Maury Winetrobe). And now, Sharon Tate…she is probably the one reason to watch this film. She plays Freya Carlson, and got the most screen time in this film than in any other of her previous works. The only other movie she made after this one was called "12 + 1" in which she also had a major role. Sharon Tate was beautiful. She also came across as a very sincere actress in all of her roles, but "The Wrecking Crew" gave her the chance to be more that just a pretty face. She had said in an interview early in her career that she knew she could never do Shakespeare, but would like to try light comedy. She went on to say that she realized that comedy was very difficult because "you have to be so serious". I'm so glad that Sharon got the opportunity to do both this and "12 + 1" before her life was taken. She proved that she did in fact have very real potential as a comedic actress. Sharon really shines every time she's on the screen, and I really came away feeling like I had a much better concept of what she must have been like as a person than from any of her other films. Why on earth the director had in a red wig is beyond me. She had such beautiful blonde hair at that time in her life. I highly recommend this film to any fan of Sharon Tate. 8 out of 10 because of her.