The Silencers (film)
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The Silencers is the title of an American secret agent comedy motion picture produced in 1966 and starring Dean Martin as agent Matt Helm. It is only loosely based upon the novel of the same name by Donald Hamilton.
The film was the first of four produced between 1966 and 1969 starring Martin. Whereas Hamilton's books were generally serious spy novels about a former Second World War assassin who is recruited to continue killing for an American government agency, the film versions were more light-hearted spy romps spoofing the James Bond series in the same spirit as Our Man Flint, and have been named as direct inspirations for the Austin Powers spy spoofs of the 1990s and early 2000s.
The Silencers borrows a plot element from the first Helm novel, Death of a Citizen, as it begins with the agent being coaxed out of retirement. Helm's mission: to stop an evil organization called "Big O" from exploding an atomic bomb over New Mexico.
Co-starring with Martin are Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Victor Buono, and Cyd Charisse who opens the film with a song-and-dance performance of the theme song. James Gregory makes his first appearance as Macdonald, Helm's superior and a recurring character in the film series (although Gregory does not play him in all four films).
Released at the height of James Bond "mania", The Silencers was a major box office hit in 1966 and was followed by three more films: Murderers' Row (also released in 1966), The Ambushers (1967) and The Wrecking Crew (1969). A fifth film, The Ravagers, was announced but never produced.
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| The Matt Helm series by Donald Hamilton |
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| Books 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| The Demolishers (1987) | The Frighteners (1989) | The Threateners (1992) | The Damagers (1993) | The Dominators (unpublished) |
| Films The Silencers (1966) | Murderers' Row (1966) | The Ambushers (1967) | The Wrecking Crew (1969) |
| Television series Matt Helm (1975) |
