The Wrecking Crew (1968)

The count has stolen enough gold to cause a financial crisis in the world markets so I.C.E. sends in ace spy Matt Helm to stop him. As Matt works alone, the British send in Freya to aid ... See full summary »

Director:

Phil Karlson

Writers:

Donald Hamilton (novel), William P. McGivern (screenplay)

Stars:

Dean Martin, Elke Sommer, Sharon Tate

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dean Martin	...	Matt Helm
Elke Sommer	...	Linka Karensky
Sharon Tate	...	Freya Carlson
Nancy Kwan	...	Yu-Rang
Nigel Green	...	Count Contini
Tina Louise	...	Lola Medina
John Larch	...	MacDonald
John Brascia	...	Karl
Weaver Levy	...	Kim
Wilhelm von Homburg	...	Gregor
Bill Saito	...	Ching
Fuji	...	Toki
Pepper Martin	...	Frankie
Ted Jordan	...	Guard (as Ted H. Jordan)

Storyline

The count has stolen enough gold to cause a financial crisis in the world markets so I.C.E. sends in ace spy Matt Helm to stop him. As Matt works alone, the British send in Freya to aid Matt, but it seems that Freya causes more problems than she solves.

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Plot Keywords:

gold | spy | matt helm | trapdoor | karate | 

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Taglines:

Matt Helm swings in Denmark!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sensuality, violence and some language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 December 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

The House of Seven Joys

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Meadway-Claude Productions Company (I) (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the final film in the Matt Helm series. Although plans were afoot for a fifth film ("The Ravagers"), as well as a proposed teaming with Frank Sinatra for "Matt Helm Meets Tony Rome", the poor box-office showing of both "The Wrecking Crew" and Sinatra's second go round as Rome in "Lady In Cement" brought the Matt Helm series to an end.

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Goofs

The film was shot during late 1968 and released in 1969. The American president appearing here is still suggested to be Lyndon Johnson (back of head, ears, voice, accent) although Richard Nixon had succeeded him.

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Quotes

Count Massimo Contini: [on viewscreen] I could indulge myself by killing you, Mr Helm, but I will leave that small chore to our colleague Miss Carlson.

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Crazy Credits

Coming Up Next The Ravagers

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Connections

Referenced in Cheers: Love Is a Really, Really Perfectly Okay Thing (1990)

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Soundtracks

"Red Sails in the Sunset"
(alternate lyrics)
Performed by Dean Martin

User Reviews

No boredom for Matt

In this one, Matt Helm's antagonist is Count Contini, a gold smuggler, played by Nigel Green. He is aided by his gang of thugs and two female sidekicks, Linka (Elke Sommer) and Gwen Ya-Rang (Nancy Kwan). As might be expected, both try to seduce Matt, offering fake carrots. Interestingly for a Matt Helm movie, however, Linka is a rare woman in Matt's orbit who is the recipient, rather than initiator, of the first display of interest. Earlier, there is a nice scene in which Lola Medini (Tina Louise), a former associate of Contina, seduces Matt in connection with the intrigue.

Ultimately, it is Freya Carlson (Sharon Tate) who gets her man. She is a Danish tourist agent who leads Matt around in fulfilling his duties. Like Stella Stevens in "The Silencers," she is initially quite clumsy, and is involved in a nice wetlook scene (actually, so is Linka). Freya helps Matt foil the villains.

I'm focusing mostly on the women here, but hey, you can hardly beat this bunch in this male fantasy series. The only Bond movie that can rival this group is "Thunderball."