Bogmeister MASTER PLAN: Operation:Scorch - use a new heat ray on Washington DC. After "The Silencers," there was no where to go but with more fun in the sun with Matt Helm - poking fun, that is, at the James Bond spy genre. Dino Martin is as lackadaisical as ever as Helm, the part-time super agent, barely awake in some scenes and ready with the cute quips in, well, every line of dialog. To illustrate the difference between Helm & Bond: Bond, as an example, is allowed one minor joke during his usual mission briefing with M. Now, Helm jokes with his boss, MacDonald (James Gregory, reprising his role) during the entire session, even as MacDonald tells him that Helm may have to commit suicide during the mission. 'I ain't going' Helm quips. The villains are again the evil organization Big-O(oh), who target all the major secret agents as the film starts, including Helm. But, this is one of those false deaths for the hero, just as was done in a couple of the Bonders (and they don't explain how Helm survives). The action takes Helm to Monte Carlo, where a primarily young crowd do a lot of dancing and swinging. Helm searches for a scientist who is providing Big-O (led by Karl Malden) with the final formulas for a super heat ray.The action slows down at the mid-point, especially with the seemingly endless scenes of young folks shaking their bodies to sixties tunes. The filmmakers manage to work Sinatra in again in a sort-of cameo. The absurdity and sight gags are at the usual level: all of Helm's girlfriends attend his funeral dressed exactly the same. The main henchman walks around in public with this big metal plate covering the top of his head and no one notices. Helm drinks while driving and on the job, joking with the liquor bottles. Ann-Margret plays the daughter of the missing scientist and she's always great, no matter what she's doing, but she even gets quite involved in some strenuous action towards the end. Sparv is fine as the femme fatale, with her slightly exotic good looks, though she inexplicably seems to change sides near the end (Helm never even had a chance to seduce her). Malden as the head villain does not do as well, speaking with a dopey accent which fades in and out. He is the subject of an effective on-going gag with a gun that delays firing for a few seconds. The climactic action in the villains' lair is not bad, with some actual suspense and humor mixed in, though the very conclusion on the hovercrafts, on the water, seems like an afterthought. The epilogue is just too silly. Helm would return in "The Ambushers." Hero:6 Villain:5 Femme Fatales:7 Henchmen:6 Fights:6 Stunts/Chases:6 Gadgets:5 Auto:4 Locations:7 Pace:6 overall:6-

mahatmarandy "Murderer's Row" is one of those rare sequels that's actually better than it's predecessor. That's not saying much, however, as the predecessor is basically a soft-core porn film minus the nudity. This movie is a step up in most ways, having better direction, a more coherent plot (Which is to say it has a plot, something the former film mostly lacked), and more interesting locations and subject matter. Certainly it's a far more 'watchable' film than the first one in the series, but as with all the Matt Helm flicks, it kind of falls apart in the middle.Ann Margaret is drop-dead gorgeous in this movie, and very energetic, however the scenes of her dancing in a disco just go on way the hell too long, and the producers seem undecided as to whether they want her to be the love interest for Dean/Helm or if they want her to be a poor, innocent lamb that he rescues. (She has a boyfriend character who shows up awkwardly throughout the film, as if to point out that nothing is going on between the sex kitten and the dirty old man). Oddly, Helm has fairly few romantic interludes with women in this film, and aside from Ann, none of them really make much of an impression. This film seems to be going out of it's way to avoid being as unrelentingly naughty as it's predecessor. Ann's character herself is rather incoherent and implausible, there's not a lot of acting involved there, but she lights up the screen when she's on it. Karl Malden is fun to watch simply because he seems to keep forgetting he's foreign in the movie, and wanders in and out of a vague accent. Martin himself is more consistent in this film than in the previous one, and endlessly likable as ever.There's something that should be really really cool in the last third of the film - a chase sequence between two (real) hovercraft, but, alas, it's shot so blandly (And without accompanying music!) that it just kind of kills all the energy in the film. This is strange, since it's obviously supposed to be the movie's centerpiece.In essence this film is kind of an outgrowth of the Rat Pack's mostly-unfortunate habit of making what more-or-less amounts to "High concept home movies" and then releasing them theatrically. It's not bad stuff, it succeeds mainly on the amiability of it's stars, but after all is said and done you don't have much else to show for it.

Ann-MargretGrL There's just one main reason to see this film.....ANN-MARGRET'S FABULOUSLY FANTASTIC dancing, and her flashy swingin 60's costumes! Other then that, It's your typical Matt Helm film. Lots of confusing action..Matt gets the girl.. E.T.C. But it definitely showcases A-M as the ultimate triple threat that she is! LUV A-M, she's the greatest! Def. for A-M and Dean Martin fans

gerard-21 The main title theme song was utterly fantastic, but the movie ahead was a relative disappointment and snooze-fest. After such a great start, what happened? Actually it's not that bad, just blandly mediocre, and not the worst of the series (that title going to The Ambushers hands down).Karl Malden does give a delightfully over the top performance, Dean is his usually breezy self and Carmilla Sparv makes for a sexy femme fatale. I even thought 70s TV stalwart Tom Reese was an interesting henchman. But Ann Margaret is not convincing. She is easily the weakest of the 4 movie Helm female sidekicks. Her character just comes off as silly, like she's still in an Elvis movie.The setting on the French Rivera creates a cool atmosphere and the plot about a kidnapped scientist had the potential to be interesting if not for that nonsensical helio beam angle. There are some cool gadgets, like the gun that works on a delay, but the novelty of them wore away quickly after each was seemingly used over an over. The plot development attempts to string together a loose bunch of disjointed scenes and set pieces so there is never any real tension or suspense. Interestingly enough however, several ideas (the faking of Helm's death, the Hovercraft, disposal of the henchman via magnet) were incorporated into future James Bond movies.In short, this movie was one of potential unrealized and a starlet misplaced. It's worth a look for Martin or 1960s spy spoof fans (I'm both), but most others would find it terribly silly, uninteresting and plodding I'm afraid.