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Fourth and final in a quartet of spoofy films that Martin starred in as secret agent Matt Helm, this one is among the best, thanks to some curvaceous women and a shift away from the more preposterous gadgetry that marked some of its predecessors. Martin begins the film, as usual, living the life of a photographer surrounded by buxom women in various deliberately idiotic costumes. He's called into action when already-wealthy Green pilfers a train car filled with a billion dollar's worth of gold. The first step is interviewing Green's discarded mistress Louise though he is soon entangled with Green's current squeeze Sommer, dangerous Asian Kwan and clumsy travel guide Tate. Meanwhile, Martin's boss Larch (taking over from James Gregory of the previous three installments) oversees the operation, occasionally pitching in to help. In typical spy-film tradition, everything comes to a head with an extended chase and battle to the death, this time involving a helicopter and a train. Martin, always at his most "relaxed" in this series, barely takes time to act, though he is clearly enamored of Tate, the best sidekick he had after Stella Stevens in "The Silencers" (which was a somewhat similar type of character.) Green makes for an adequately snide and slick villain, constantly referring to his "shhedule". (This actor died a few years after this film in a sleeping pill overdose.) Sommer is a total knockout, making a sensational entrance in an almost waist-high slit, lilac dress and showing off many other flattering Moss Mabry creations and striking hairstyles during the movie. Louise turns up the heat in order to get some attention on the crowded canvas and manages to do so rather well. Kwan is, sadly, rather wasted here. She gets a fair amount of screen time, but is mostly underutilized and rarely shown off to her full advantage. The real gem of the movie is Tate. Overcoming a truly atrocious red wig and some decidedly dorky costumes, she nonetheless creates a hapless, uncoordinated, yet utterly appealing character. Her entrance alone is hysterical and predates Mary Katherine Gallagher of "Saturday Night Live" by more than two decades. Her penchant for loudly stating the obvious, often right in Martin's ear, only adds to the physical humor. She flaunts her considerable assets at the camera, yet backs it up with a deftly handled acting job. The thought of her being viciously murdered in real life not too long after this is almost too much to reflect upon. She is remembered more for her role in the champion of camp "Valley of the Dolls", but here she proved she was far more than just a looker. It's a shame her own lovely hair wasn't used. Oddly absent this time out is Martin's secretary, who was played by Beverly Adams three times prior. These films, while always meant to be amusing, are enjoyable now because the dated clothes and music add even more to the fun. They entertain almost in spite of themselves and are of special interest to those who enjoy the "Austin Powers" movies. The credits song "House of 7 Joys" (a place which is not exactly heavily featured in the film) makes a bit more sense when one is aware that that was the working title of the movie prior to release. This time out, the music can be a bit overbearing. One's tolerance for the sounds of the era will determine how much "bah bah bah BAH" can be withstood before annoyance sets in. An announced fifth film "The Ravagers" never came to fruition.
score /10
Poseidon-3 20 December 2007
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1783556/ |
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10-3-2021 04:54:09