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Matt Helm

April 22, 2023

This article is about the fictional character. For other uses, see Matt Helm (disambiguation).

Matt Helm is a fictional character created by American author Donald Hamilton (1916-2006). Helm is a U.S. government counter-agent, a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in most spy thrillers.

Matt Helm
First appearanceDeath of a Citizen
Last appearanceThe Damagers
Created byDonald Hamilton
Portrayed byDean Martin
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationSpy, assassin
AffiliationUnited States government
NationalityAmerican

Helm appeared in 27 adventure/suspense novels by Hamilton, first published in 1960, and the character was later adapted into film, television and other media.

The character and the series

Published between 1960 and 1993, the 27 books in the series portrayed Helm, who acquired the code name "Eric" during his secret wartime assignments, as jaded, ruthless, pragmatic, and competent. The series was noted for its between-books continuity, which was somewhat rare for the genre. In the later books, Helm's origins as a man of action in World War II disappeared and he became an apparently ageless character, a common fate of long-running fictional heroes.

The first book in the series, Death of a Citizen, takes place in the summer of 1958, 13 years after the end of the war. In the book, other characters describe Helm as verging on middle age and apparently soft and out of shape, although no specific age for him is given. In the next story, which apparently takes place in the summer of 1959, a hostile agent from a rival American spy organization taunts Helm as a shopworn 36-year-old and clearly over the hill as a physical specimen. Later in the book, Helm himself says that he is 36 years old. Writer Hayford Peirce examined the issue of Helm's age, and found this figure to be improbably young given the information about Helm's background in Death of a Citizen.[1] Peirce postulated that Helm was actually several years older than the 36 years mentioned in The Wrecking Crew and that he was probably born around 1918.[1] By The Betrayers, the tenth book, the age issue vanishes completely.[1]

Critic Anthony Boucher wrote: "Donald Hamilton has brought to the spy novel the authentic hard realism of Dashiell Hammett; and his stories are as compelling, and probably as close to the sordid truth of espionage, as any now being told."[2] Golden Age mystery writer John Dickson Carr began reviewing books for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in 1969. According to Carr's biographer, "Carr found Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm to be 'my favorite secret agent,'" although Hamilton's books had little in common with Carr's. "The explanation may lie in Carr's comment that in espionage novels he preferred Matt Helm's 'cloud-cuckooland' land. Carr never valued realism in fiction."[3]

Matt Helm in film and television

In 1965, Columbia Pictures acquired the film rights to eight Matt Helm novels.[4] A five-film parody or spoof spy movie series was planned and four were produced, debuting with The Silencers (from Hamilton's novels The Silencers and Death of a Citizen, adapted by acclaimed A Streetcar Named Desire screenwriter Oscar Saul). They were made to star Dean Martin, who co-produced with his Meadway-Claude Production company and received a partnership in the films. The series was produced by Irving Allen, former partner of James Bond film producer Albert R. Broccoli.

The films used the name Matt Helm, his cover identity, plus book titles and some very loose plot elements, but otherwise the series bore no resemblance to the character, atmosphere, or themes of Hamilton's original books, nor to the hard-edged action of Bond.

Martin played the part with his own persona of a fun-loving, easygoing, wisecracking playboy with plenty of references to singing and alcohol consumption. Although unnamed in the novels, Helm's department was called Intelligence and Counter-Espionage (ICE) in the films. Like Bond, Helm featured a number of "sexy" women in each, sometimes referred to as "The Slaygirls". Martin co-starred in the films with popular '60s actresses such as Stella Stevens, Ann-Margret, Sharon Tate, Elke Sommer, Janice Rule and Tina Louise.

A 1970s TV series Matt Helm, which cast Tony Franciosa as Helm, an ex-spy turned private detective, also departed from the books and was unsuccessful.

In 2002, it was reported that DreamWorks had optioned the entire Helm book series.[citation needed] In 2005, Variety reported that DreamWorks had signed Michael Brandt and Derek Haas to write a screenplay for a high six-figure deal.[citation needed] According to the article, the film was to be a contemporary adaptation of the character, but no casting or release information was announced.

Paramount retained the film rights to the Matt Helm series after its 2008 split from DreamWorks.[5] In 2009, it was reported that Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci would produce a more serious version of the Helm franchise, with Variety saying that the tone of Paul Attanasio's script had a similar tone to The Bourne Identity, and that Steven Spielberg was considering directing or producing.[6]

In March 2018, Deadline Hollywood reported that Tom Shepard had been hired to rewrite the script, with Bradley Cooper attached to play Helm. Spielberg reportedly would remain involved in some unspecified capacity.[7]

Books

(all by Donald Hamilton)

  1. Death of a Citizen (1960)
  2. The Wrecking Crew (1960)
  3. The Removers (1961)
  4. The Silencers (1962)
  5. Murderers' Row (1962)
  6. The Ambushers (1963)
  7. The Shadowers (1964)
  8. The Ravagers (1964)
  9. The Devastators (1965)
  10. The Betrayers (1966)
  11. The Menacers (1968)
  12. The Interlopers (1969)
  13. The Poisoners (1971)
  14. The Intriguers (1972)
  15. The Intimidators (1974)
  16. The Terminators (1975)
  17. The Retaliators (1976)
  18. The Terrorizers (1977)
  19. The Revengers (1982)
  20. The Annihilators (1983)
  21. The Infiltrators (1984)
  22. The Detonators (1985)
  23. The Vanishers (1986)
  24. The Demolishers (1987)
  25. The Frighteners (1989)
  26. The Threateners (1992)
  27. The Damagers (1993)
  28. The Dominators – unpublished. Hamilton finished this novel in the late 1990s, and was reportedly revising it in preparation for seeking a publisher in mid-2002.[8]

All of Hamilton's Matt Helm novels were first published in the United States by Fawcett Publications under their Gold Medal imprint.

These titles have since been republished by Titan Books.

Films

(all starring Dean Martin as Helm)

  1. The Silencers (1966)
  2. Murderers' Row (1966)
  3. The Ambushers (1967)
  4. The Wrecking Crew (1969)

A fifth film was planned, based upon the novel The Ravagers, but Martin declined the opportunity to play the role once more, even though the title of the film was announced at the end of The Wrecking Crew.[9]

Box office performance

Film U.S. release date US/Canada theatrical rental Ref(s)
The Silencers February 18, 1966 $7,350,000 [10]
Murderers' Row December 20, 1966 $6,350,000 [10]
The Ambushers December 22, 1967 $4,700,000 [10]
The Wrecking Crew February 5, 1969 $2,400,000 [11]
Total $20,800,000

Home media

Murderer's Row was initially released on VHS in 1980, with reissues in 1987 and 1993. The Ambushers was released on VHS in 1987, with a reissue in 1996. The Silencers and The Wrecking Crew were both released on VHS only in 1996, with no reissues for either film. The 1996 releases consisted of 2 box sets, one containing Murderer's Row and The Ambushers, with the other containing The Silencers and The Wrecking Crew. It is unknown if these releases were sold exclusively as box sets, or if they were also issued individually. A 4-DVD box set containing the four films was released in North America in December 2005.

Television series

Main article: Matt Helm (TV series)

A television series loosely based upon Hamilton's character was launched by the ABC Network in 1975. Titled simply Matt Helm, the series starred Anthony Franciosa as a retired spy who becomes a private detective. After being launched by a pilot TV movie, it ran for only 14 episodes.

Manga

In Japan, Jin Kimura (Japanese: 木村仁), also known as Mitsuhisa Kimura [ja] (Japanese: 木村光久) drew Matt Helm Series (Japanese: マット・ヘルム・シリーズ, Hepburn: Matto Herumu Shirīzu), based on the novel, in the magazine Boy's Life (Japanese: ボーイズライフ), November 1968 – March 1969.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c Peirce, Hayford (2000). "Some Thoughts on Matt Helm's Birthday". Matt Helm Books. Don Winans. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
  2. ^ Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, compiled by Chris Steinbrunner and Otto Penzler, New York, 1976, page 195.
  3. ^ John Dickson Carr, The Man Who Explained Miracles, by Douglas G. Greene, New York, 1995, page 443.
  4. ^ p. 191 The Film Daily, Volume 127 Wid's Films and Film Folk Incorporated, 1965
  5. ^ Michael Fleming (July 29, 2009). "Spielberg spying 'Matt Helm'?". Variety. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  6. ^ Fleming, Michael (July 30, 2009). "Spielberg spying 'Matt Helm'?". Variety. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  7. ^ Hipes, Patrick (2018-03-09). "Bradley Cooper's 'Matt Helm' Movie At Paramount Moves Forward With Scribe Tom Shepherd". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  8. ^ . Archived from the original on 2005-11-23. Retrieved 2005-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "www.hmss.com". www.hmss.com.
  10. ^ a b c Cohn, Lawrence (October 15, 1990). "All-Time Film Rental Champs". Variety. pp. M142-184.
  11. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1969". Variety. January 7, 1970. p. 15.
  12. ^ 少年まんが作品 (in Japanese), Japanese: 木村祥刀 official website, Retrieved September 30, 2012.

Further reading

  • John Dickson Carr, The Man Who Explained Miracles, by Douglas G. Greene, New York, 1995
  • Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, by Chris Steinbrunner and Otto Penzler, New York, 1976, ISBN 0-07-061121-1
  • "Spielberg Spying Matt Helm: Secret Agent May Be Subject of Director's Next Film", by Michael Fleming, Variety, Wed., Jul. 29, 2009

External links

  • Article on the history of the Matt Helm films: "Mr Helm Goes to Hollywood," November 14, 2011. Cinema Retro.[1]
  1. ^ "MR. HELM GOES TO HOLLYWOOD - Cinema Retro". www.cinemaretro.com. Retrieved 2021-12-30.

April 22, 2023
matt, helm, this, article, about, fictional, character, other, uses, disambiguation, fictional, character, created, american, author, donald, hamilton, 1916, 2006, helm, government, counter, agent, whose, primary, kill, nullify, enemy, agents, secret, agent, o. This article is about the fictional character For other uses see Matt Helm disambiguation Matt Helm is a fictional character created by American author Donald Hamilton 1916 2006 Helm is a U S government counter agent a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in most spy thrillers Matt HelmFirst appearanceDeath of a CitizenLast appearanceThe DamagersCreated byDonald HamiltonPortrayed byDean MartinIn universe informationGenderMaleOccupationSpy assassinAffiliationUnited States governmentNationalityAmericanHelm appeared in 27 adventure suspense novels by Hamilton first published in 1960 and the character was later adapted into film television and other media Contents 1 The character and the series 2 Matt Helm in film and television 3 Books 4 Films 4 1 Box office performance 4 2 Home media 5 Television series 6 Manga 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksThe character and the series EditPublished between 1960 and 1993 the 27 books in the series portrayed Helm who acquired the code name Eric during his secret wartime assignments as jaded ruthless pragmatic and competent The series was noted for its between books continuity which was somewhat rare for the genre In the later books Helm s origins as a man of action in World War II disappeared and he became an apparently ageless character a common fate of long running fictional heroes The first book in the series Death of a Citizen takes place in the summer of 1958 13 years after the end of the war In the book other characters describe Helm as verging on middle age and apparently soft and out of shape although no specific age for him is given In the next story which apparently takes place in the summer of 1959 a hostile agent from a rival American spy organization taunts Helm as a shopworn 36 year old and clearly over the hill as a physical specimen Later in the book Helm himself says that he is 36 years old Writer Hayford Peirce examined the issue of Helm s age and found this figure to be improbably young given the information about Helm s background in Death of a Citizen 1 Peirce postulated that Helm was actually several years older than the 36 years mentioned in The Wrecking Crew and that he was probably born around 1918 1 By The Betrayers the tenth book the age issue vanishes completely 1 Critic Anthony Boucher wrote Donald Hamilton has brought to the spy novel the authentic hard realism of Dashiell Hammett and his stories are as compelling and probably as close to the sordid truth of espionage as any now being told 2 Golden Age mystery writer John Dickson Carr began reviewing books for Ellery Queen s Mystery Magazine in 1969 According to Carr s biographer Carr found Donald Hamilton s Matt Helm to be my favorite secret agent although Hamilton s books had little in common with Carr s The explanation may lie in Carr s comment that in espionage novels he preferred Matt Helm s cloud cuckooland land Carr never valued realism in fiction 3 Matt Helm in film and television EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed August 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message In 1965 Columbia Pictures acquired the film rights to eight Matt Helm novels 4 A five film parody or spoof spy movie series was planned and four were produced debuting with The Silencers from Hamilton s novels The Silencers and Death of a Citizen adapted by acclaimed A Streetcar Named Desire screenwriter Oscar Saul They were made to star Dean Martin who co produced with his Meadway Claude Production company and received a partnership in the films The series was produced by Irving Allen former partner of James Bond film producer Albert R Broccoli The films used the name Matt Helm his cover identity plus book titles and some very loose plot elements but otherwise the series bore no resemblance to the character atmosphere or themes of Hamilton s original books nor to the hard edged action of Bond Martin played the part with his own persona of a fun loving easygoing wisecracking playboy with plenty of references to singing and alcohol consumption Although unnamed in the novels Helm s department was called Intelligence and Counter Espionage ICE in the films Like Bond Helm featured a number of sexy women in each sometimes referred to as The Slaygirls Martin co starred in the films with popular 60s actresses such as Stella Stevens Ann Margret Sharon Tate Elke Sommer Janice Rule and Tina Louise A 1970s TV series Matt Helm which cast Tony Franciosa as Helm an ex spy turned private detective also departed from the books and was unsuccessful In 2002 it was reported that DreamWorks had optioned the entire Helm book series citation needed In 2005 Variety reported that DreamWorks had signed Michael Brandt and Derek Haas to write a screenplay for a high six figure deal citation needed According to the article the film was to be a contemporary adaptation of the character but no casting or release information was announced Paramount retained the film rights to the Matt Helm series after its 2008 split from DreamWorks 5 In 2009 it was reported that Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci would produce a more serious version of the Helm franchise with Variety saying that the tone of Paul Attanasio s script had a similar tone to The Bourne Identity and that Steven Spielberg was considering directing or producing 6 In March 2018 Deadline Hollywood reported that Tom Shepard had been hired to rewrite the script with Bradley Cooper attached to play Helm Spielberg reportedly would remain involved in some unspecified capacity 7 Books Edit all by Donald Hamilton Death of a Citizen 1960 The Wrecking Crew 1960 The Removers 1961 The Silencers 1962 Murderers Row 1962 The Ambushers 1963 The Shadowers 1964 The Ravagers 1964 The Devastators 1965 The Betrayers 1966 The Menacers 1968 The Interlopers 1969 The Poisoners 1971 The Intriguers 1972 The Intimidators 1974 The Terminators 1975 The Retaliators 1976 The Terrorizers 1977 The Revengers 1982 The Annihilators 1983 The Infiltrators 1984 The Detonators 1985 The Vanishers 1986 The Demolishers 1987 The Frighteners 1989 The Threateners 1992 The Damagers 1993 The Dominators unpublished Hamilton finished this novel in the late 1990s and was reportedly revising it in preparation for seeking a publisher in mid 2002 8 All of Hamilton s Matt Helm novels were first published in the United States by Fawcett Publications under their Gold Medal imprint These titles have since been republished by Titan Books Films Edit all starring Dean Martin as Helm The Silencers 1966 Murderers Row 1966 The Ambushers 1967 The Wrecking Crew 1969 A fifth film was planned based upon the novel The Ravagers but Martin declined the opportunity to play the role once more even though the title of the film was announced at the end of The Wrecking Crew 9 Box office performance Edit Film U S release date US Canada theatrical rental Ref s The Silencers February 18 1966 7 350 000 10 Murderers Row December 20 1966 6 350 000 10 The Ambushers December 22 1967 4 700 000 10 The Wrecking Crew February 5 1969 2 400 000 11 Total 20 800 000Home media Edit Murderer s Row was initially released on VHS in 1980 with reissues in 1987 and 1993 The Ambushers was released on VHS in 1987 with a reissue in 1996 The Silencers and The Wrecking Crew were both released on VHS only in 1996 with no reissues for either film The 1996 releases consisted of 2 box sets one containing Murderer s Row and The Ambushers with the other containing The Silencers and The Wrecking Crew It is unknown if these releases were sold exclusively as box sets or if they were also issued individually A 4 DVD box set containing the four films was released in North America in December 2005 Television series EditMain article Matt Helm TV series A television series loosely based upon Hamilton s character was launched by the ABC Network in 1975 Titled simply Matt Helm the series starred Anthony Franciosa as a retired spy who becomes a private detective After being launched by a pilot TV movie it ran for only 14 episodes Manga EditIn Japan Jin Kimura Japanese 木村仁 also known as Mitsuhisa Kimura ja Japanese 木村光久 drew Matt Helm Series Japanese マット ヘルム シリーズ Hepburn Matto Herumu Shirizu based on the novel in the magazine Boy s Life Japanese ボーイズライフ November 1968 March 1969 12 References Edit a b c Peirce Hayford 2000 Some Thoughts on Matt Helm s Birthday Matt Helm Books Don Winans Retrieved May 13 2015 Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection compiled by Chris Steinbrunner and Otto Penzler New York 1976 page 195 John Dickson Carr The Man Who Explained Miracles by Douglas G Greene New York 1995 page 443 p 191 The Film Daily Volume 127 Wid s Films and Film Folk Incorporated 1965 Michael Fleming July 29 2009 Spielberg spying Matt Helm Variety Retrieved 2014 12 09 Fleming Michael July 30 2009 Spielberg spying Matt Helm Variety Retrieved August 11 2017 Hipes Patrick 2018 03 09 Bradley Cooper s Matt Helm Movie At Paramount Moves Forward With Scribe Tom Shepherd Deadline Retrieved 2018 03 09 Archived copy Archived from the original on 2005 11 23 Retrieved 2005 05 23 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link www hmss com www hmss com a b c Cohn Lawrence October 15 1990 All Time Film Rental Champs Variety pp M142 184 Big Rental Films of 1969 Variety January 7 1970 p 15 少年まんが作品 in Japanese Japanese 木村祥刀 official website Retrieved September 30 2012 Further reading EditJohn Dickson Carr The Man Who Explained Miracles by Douglas G Greene New York 1995 Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection by Chris Steinbrunner and Otto Penzler New York 1976 ISBN 0 07 061121 1 Spielberg Spying Matt Helm Secret Agent May Be Subject of Director s Next Film by Michael Fleming Variety Wed Jul 29 2009External links EditArticle on the history of the Matt Helm films Mr Helm Goes to Hollywood November 14 2011 Cinema Retro 1 MR HELM GOES TO HOLLYWOOD Cinema Retro www cinemaretro com Retrieved 2021 12 30 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Matt Helm amp oldid 1136457086, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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