The Silencers (Columbia Pictures) (1966)

—_——, Hands Off! Dean Martin does a lot of fighting as special agent Matt Helm in “The Silencers” at the eats Theatre in color, but he never once uses his fists. There’s a reason for it. Like all good intelligence men, he has a “front,” a cover-up for his real activities. And in his case it’s that of a photographer, which means his hands are important and cannot be injured. So when he gets into battle with enemy agents and hoodlums —and before the Columbia Pictures release is over, he has taken on more than a platoon of them—Dean uses the side of his hands, shoves his elbow into all kinds of stomachs, judo chops the back of one neck or another, kicks feet from under all sorts of tough guys and fights with an umbrella as though it were a spear or fighting stick. rere Daliah Lavi “Motion picture crews reflect their nationalities strongly,” says Daliah Lavi, brunette Israeli beauty who portrays an international agent working with Dean Martin as Matt Helm in “The Silencers,” the Columbia Pictures spy-spoof at the Theatre in color. Daliah, who last was seen here as the girl in “Lord Jim,” has made pictures in England, France, Germany, Israel, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Italy and Spain, as well as in the United States. Each country makes movies in its own inimitable way, she says, but she prefers the American and Israeli freedom. “English crews are very classconscious and one must be careful never to cross the boundaries created by status, German crews are thorough, work hard but show little humor during the course of the day. French crews, although they adhere strictly to protocol, seem to emanate a ‘joie de vivre’ that is part of their heritage. “American crews are free and easy, will call the producer and director by their first names, and talk to a star whom they have never seen before as if they had known her or him for years,” said Daliah. “Israel, which shows a preference for American ways, follow almost the same trend in pictures making and their crews are as free and easy as those in this country. I like working with American and Israeli crews because it’s so much easier. There’s a little more gaiety and less pressure.” Produced by Irving Allen and directed by Phil Karlson from a screenplay by Oscar Saul based on novels by Donald Hamilton, “The Silencers” also co-stars Stella Stevens, Victor Buono, Arthur O’Connell, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Roger C. Carmel and Cyd Charisse. Featured are the “Slaygirls,’ and Beverly Adams as Lovey Kravezit, Dean Martin’s secretary. Music for the Meadway-Claude production is by Elmer Bernstein and vocals by Vicki Carr. Stella Stevens It’s show business tradition that the fun-making clown is really a sad man. The villain offstage is a kindly person, whereas the “nice guy” is apt to turn out a sadistic “no goodnick” when you finally get to know him. Which made it perfect type-casting for Stella Stevens as the awkward, accident-prone, always-in-theway, always introuble, zany redhead who drives Dean Martin nearly out of his mind in his starring role as secret agent Matt Helm for “The Silencers,” the Columbia Pictures release now on _ the screen of the Theatre in Columbiacolor. “The Silencers” is a spy spoof, and Stella gets more than her share of the assorted violence and mayhem. In actuality, Stella is a well coordinated, as well as an exceedingly well-proportioned, blonde with phenomenal reflexes. Several times during the filming of “The Silencers,” producer Irving Allen offered her a stunt check for taking the risks which, ordinarily, would have been assigned to a stunt girl. Stella is not an athlete, and she gives the impression of being like the chorus girl who believed “a person should take at least one deep breath a day.” But Stella has the natural physical grace of a Pavlova, a choreographer’s mind, and a high trapeze artist’s sense of balance and timing. This enables her to both plan out and actually perform physical feats that would be possible only for a trained gymnast. Director Phil Karlson says of her: “Just as physical prowess, translated into awkwardness, gets laughs for a clown, so Stella’s split second instincts add quality to her talents as a comedienne.” “The Silencers,” based on a screenplay by Oscar Saul, from novels by Donald Hamilton, costars Daliah Lavi, Victor Buono, Arthur O’Connell, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Roger C. Carmel and Cyd Charisse. Bathing Beauty The day may come when Beyerly Adams might say she “floated” to success, thanks to a comedy scene in “The Silencers,” now at the Theatre in color. It is when she uses Dean Martin’s swimming pool in one of the most hilarious and sassiest sequences in the Columbia Pictures release, in which Dean plays Matt Helm, a pleasure-loving special agent, and Beverly is Lovey Kravezit, his very private secretary. “The Silencers” co-stars Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Victor Buono, Arthur O’Connell, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Roger C. Carmel and Cyd Charisse. Featured in “The Silencers” are Miss Adams and the “Slaygirls.” Irving Allen produced and Phil Karlson directed “The Silencers,’ from an Oscar Saul screenplay based on novels by Donald Hamilton. Music for the Meadway-Claude production is by Elmer Bernstein and the vocals are by Vicki Carr. ese ee we a a ae a (Mat 1C; Still No. R732) Dean Martin as Matt Helm, playboyphotographer and special agent, plays Matt Helm in “The Silencers,” Columbia spy-spoof also starring Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi and Cyd Charisse in Columbiacolor. The girl here is Nancy Kovac, with more on her mind than amour. Man of Action Dean Martin is a man of outdoor action, regardless of what his public image might infer. Which is why he prefers to work in “westerns” or movies like “The Silencers,’ the Columbia Pictures release at the... .Theatre in color, in which he stars as Matt Helm, special agent with a sense of humor and an eye for girls. Dean likes horses, he rides, and well, every chance he gets. He’s an excellent swimmer and golfer and he also is an expert with the motorcycle. Too, Dean likes fast cars. He drives a dual Ghia that can make an automobile whose top speed is 110 miles per hour look like it is poking along. He hits roads where there is no speed limit— like on the desert. He is a safe and sound driver who knows every trick that keeps a race track “hog” sticking to the road. A one-time boxer who made a living at it, Dean became an expert in “Okinawa Te’, the ancient form of unarmed combat he uses in “The Silencers.” His reflexes are an athlete’s and he keeps himself fit at all times. “It’s the young whiskey,” he tells any one who asks him how. “Old whiskey stiffens the muscles.” “The Silencers,’ produced by Irving Allen and directed by Phil Karlson, co-stars Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Victor Buono, Arthur O’Connell, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Roger C. Carmel and Cyd Charisse. Featured are Beverly Adams as Lovey Kravezit, Dean’s private secretary, and a bevy of beauties called the “Slaygirls.” “The Silencers” is based on novels by Donald Hamilton, and a screenplay by Oscar Saul. Elmer Bernstein did the music for the Meadway-Claude production and the vocals are by Vicki Carr, (Mat 2A; Still No. 64-27) Victor Buono holds Stella Stevens hostage for Dean Martin’s good behavior in “The Silencers,” intrigueand-action Martin starred as supersleuth Matt Helm. Daliah Lavi and Cyd Charisse are others in the cast of the Columbiacolor thriiler. comedy with (Mat 2B; Still No. R890) As a playboy-photographer special agent, Dean Martin plays Matt Helm in “The Silencnew international adventure comedy in Columbiacolor. Daliah Lavi, right, Stella Stevens and Cyd Charisse are others in the cast of the Columbia release. who doubles as ers,” Dangerous Fun! Though high comedy keynotes the tongue-in-cheek spy drama of “The Silencers,” Columbia Pictures release starring Dean Martin at the ...... Theatre in color, unexpected violence became a prime factor in front of and behind the camera during production. Victor Buono, the villainous 360-pound head of “Big O,” climbed a 15-foot wall to escape an explosion which wrecks the headquarters of his organization. He came safely down the other side, only to slip on a tiny pebble, sprain his ankle and break a blood vessel in his foot. In the same explosion, Arthur O’Connell nearly lost an ear from a sliver of flying glass. The wound required six stitches. Big and rugged stunt actor Tom Hennessey, portraying a “killer” in the pay of the “other side,” received such an enthusiastic karate going-over by Dean Martin in another exciting scene that it cost him three front teeth and head bruises topside and on the forehead, serious enough to require first aid treatment. Among the stunt men who were injured, one sustained a broken wrist when he took a tumble after being shot down by Dean; he didn’t turn loose the trigger guard of a machine pistol fast enough. A second suffered a broken finger from an almost identical accident, this time in a slide across a floor. One electrician broke his arm when he slipped and fell from a scaffold and another man working on the ray guns fractured a bone in his shoulder when he wasaccidently crushed against a wall. All this, if you please, during the filming of a truly hilarious sophisticated comedy! Directed by Phil Karlson, the Meadway-Claude production also co-stars Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Roger C. Carmel and Cyd Charisse. Stunt Driving Hollywood’s most skilled automobile drivers were used in the spectacular “chase” scenes that feature several exciting sequences in “The Silencers,” which stars Dean Martin as counteragent Matt Helm at the Theatre in color. One of the more dangerous feats in the Columbia Pictures release utilized a huge moving van that actually disguises an electronics spy agency control room, with a ramp in a trailer that ejects a fast-moving station wagon. When filmed, the moving van was traveling sixty miles in one direction as the station wagon roared down the ramp and onto the road, going in the opposite direction as it hit the mountain road. “The Silencers” co-stars Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Victor Buono, Arthur O’Connell, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Roger C. Carmel and Cyd Charisse. Featured are Beverly Adams as Lovey Kravezit, and the “Slaygirls.” Perr ren Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse, after completing a tremendously successful nationwide tour of supper clubs with her husband, Tony Martin, joined Dean Martin in “The Silencers,”’ the Columbia Pictures release at the Theatre in color. Miss Charisse plays Sarita, a night club entertainer who doubles as a secret agent. Based on novels by Donald Hamilton, “The Silencers” is one of eight books which trace the adventures of Matt Helm, a hard-living and girl-loving espionage agent. Dean Martin plays Helm, and others in the stellar cast are Stella Stevens, Daliah Lavi, Victor Buono, Arthur O’Connell, Rebert Webber, James Gregory and Roger C. Carmel. Beverly Adams is featured as Lovey Kravezit, and a bevy of beauty appear as the “Slaygirls.” eeoeeee Expensive Speeding “The Silencers,” the swiftpaced intrigue-action comedy at Ge Bre eet cies Theatre in color uses a great deal of rolling equipment. Autos help Dean Martin as special agent Matt Helm, Stella Stevens and Daliah Lavi catch up to the villains or, on occasion, keep up with each other. A major feature of the rolling stock is a huge moving van which, on the outside, looks like almost any other moving van. Inside is the mobile headquarters of a spy ring. More than a quarter of a million dollars would be needed to duplicate the van and the equipment inside, with another $50,000 for a specially constructed ramp which can and does eject at high speed, when needed for immediate action, a bullet-proof limousine that would be the envy of an oil-rich sheik. A specially constructed breakaway station wagon duplicates another station wagon used in a key sequence, a love scene between Dean Martin and Stella Stevens, It has push button curtains, hideaway beds and a sumptuous bar. The whole thing works from a small pushbutton control board right under the steering wheel, and it is almost as intriguing a bachelor’s “pad” as Dean Martin’s apartment in the film, with its multiple-purpose round bed. Another specially constructed automobile has a futuristic body design that probably will not appear on the highway for a decade. Other vehicle costs included a station wagon and a limousine wrecked in a head-on collision in a special sequence filmed from a helicopter. Total value of all rolling stock in “The Silencers” comes to more than half a million dollars, a record, even for present day adventure films. Also starred in “The Silencers” are Victor Buono, Arthur O’Connell, Robert Webber, James Gregory, Roger C. Carmel and Cyd Charisse. Featured are Beverly Adams as Lovey Kravezit, Dean’s very private secretary, and the “Slaygirls.” Page 13