Matt Helm

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

Matt Helmis a fictional character created by American authorDonald 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 mostspy thrillers.

Matt Helm
First appearance	Death of a Citizen
Last appearance	The Damagers
Created by	Donald Hamilton
Portrayed by	Dean Martin
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Spy,assassin
Affiliation	United States government
Nationality	American

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 books

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-bookscontinuity,which was somewhat rare for the genre. In the later books, Helm's origins as a man of action inWorld War IIdisappeared and he became anapparently agelesscharacter, 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. WriterHayford Peirceexamined the issue of Helm's age, and found this figure to be improbably young given the information about Helm's background inDeath of a Citizen.Peirce postulated that Helm was actually several years older than the 36 years mentioned inThe Wrecking Crewand that he was probably born around 1918.ByThe Betrayers,the tenth book, the age issue vanishes completely.

CriticAnthony Boucherwrote: "Donald Hamilton has brought to the spy novel the authentic hard realism ofDashiell Hammett;and his stories are as compelling, and probably as close to the sordid truth of espionage, as any now being told. "Golden Agemystery writerJohn Dickson Carr,who began reviewing books forEllery Queen's Mystery Magazinein 1969, "found Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm to be 'my favorite secret agent,'" wrote Carr's biographer, noting that 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'. Carr never valued realism in fiction. "

List of 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.

All of Hamilton's Matt Helm novels were first published in the United States byFawcett Publicationsunder theirGold Medalimprint.

These titles have since been republished byTitan Books.

Matt Helm in other media

In 1965,Columbia Picturesacquired the film rights to eight Matt Helm novels.A five-film parody or spoof spy movie series was planned and four were produced, debuting withThe Silencers(from Hamilton's novelsThe SilencersandDeath of a Citizen,adapted by acclaimedA Streetcar Named DesirescreenwriterOscar Saul). The series was produced byIrving Allen,former partner ofJames Bondfilm producerAlbert R. Broccoli.They were made to starDean Martin,who co-produced them with his Meadway-Claude Production company and received a share of the profits.

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. Helm's government agency, unnamed in the novels, was called Intelligence and Counter-Espionage (ICE) in the films. Like the Bond series, the Helm films 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 asStella Stevens,Ann-Margret,Sharon Tate,Elke Sommer,Janice RuleandTina Louise.

A 1970s TV seriesMatt Helm,which castTony Franciosaas Helm, an ex-spy turnedprivate detective,also departed from the books and was unsuccessful.

In 2002, it was reported thatDreamWorkshadoptionedthe entire Helm book series.In 2005,Varietyreported that DreamWorks had signedMichael BrandtandDerek Haasto write a screenplay for a high six-figure deal.According to the article, the film was to be a contemporary adaptation of the character, but no casting or release information was announced.

Paramountretained the film rights to the Matt Helm series after its 2008 split from DreamWorks.In 2009, it was reported thatAlex KurtzmanandRoberto Orciwould produce a more serious version of the Helm franchise, withVarietysaying that the tone ofPaul Attanasio's script had a similar tone toThe Bourne Identity,and thatSteven Spielbergwas considering directing or producing.

In March 2018,Deadline Hollywoodreported that Tom Shepard had been hired to rewrite the script, withBradley Cooperattached to play Helm. Spielberg reportedly would remain involved in some unspecified capacity.

Films

(all starringDean Martinas 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 novelThe Ravagers,but Martin declined the opportunity to play the role again. The title of the film was announced at the end ofThe Wrecking Crew.

Box office performance

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

Home media

Murderer's Rowwas initially released onVHSin 1980, with reissues in 1987 and 1993.The Ambusherswas released on VHS in 1987, with a reissue in 1996.The SilencersandThe Wrecking Crewwere both released on VHS only in 1996, with no reissues for either film. The 1996 releases consisted of 2 box sets, one containingMurderer's RowandThe Ambushers,with the other containingThe SilencersandThe Wrecking Crew.It is unknown if these releases were sold exclusively as box sets, or if they were also issued individually. A 4-DVDbox set containing the four films was released inNorth Americain December 2005.

Television series

Main article:Matt Helm (TV series)

A television series loosely based upon Hamilton's character was launched by theABC Networkin 1975. Titled simplyMatt Helm,the series starredAnthony Franciosaas a retired spy who becomes aprivate detective.After being launched by a pilot TV movie, it ran for only 14 episodes.

Manga

InJapan,Jin Kimura (Japanese:Mộc thôn nhân), also known asMitsuhisa Kimura(Japanese:Mộc thôn quang lâu) drewMatt Helm Series(Japanese:マット・ヘルム・シリーズ,Hepburn:Matto Herumu Shirīzu),based on the novel, in the magazineBoy's Life(Japanese:ボーイズライフ), November 1968 – March 1969.

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,ISBN0-07-061121-1
• "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.