The Wrecking Crew (1968 film)
| The Wrecking Crew | |
|---|---|
original film poster by Robert McGinnis
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| Directed by | Phil Karlson |
| Produced by | Irving Allen |
| Written by | William P. McGivern |
| Starring |
Dean Martin Elke Sommer Sharon Tate Nancy Kwan |
| Music by | Hugo Montenegro |
| Cinematography | Sam Leavitt |
| Edited by | Maury Winetrobe |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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30 December 1968 |
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Running time
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105 minutes |
| Budget | $2.4 million (US/ Canada rentals) |
The Wrecking Crew, released in December, 1968, and starring Dean Martin, Elke Sommer, Nancy Kwan, Tina Louise, and Sharon Tate, is the fourth and final film in a series of American comedy-spy-fi theatrical releases featuring Martin as secret agent Matt Helm.
As with the previous three Helm spy movies (The Silencers, Murderers' Row, and The Ambushers), it is based only loosely upon Donald Hamilton's 1960 novel of the same title and takes great liberties with the plot and characters, being developed as a spoof of the James Bond films. The Wrecking Crew was the second Helm novel published and the earliest of the books to be adapted.
Chuck Norris makes his film debut in a small role.
This was the last film of Tate's to be released before her murder at the hands of Charles Manson's followers on August 9, 1969.
Matt Helm is assigned by his secret agency, ICE, to bring down an evil count named Contini, who is trying to collapse the world economy by stealing a billion dollars in gold.
Helm travels to Denmark, where he is given a guide, Freya Carlson, a beautiful but bumbling woman from a Danish tourism bureau.
A pair of Contini's accomplices, the seductive Linka Karensky and Yu-Rang, each attempt to foil Helm's plans. The former is killed in an ambush intended for Helm, the latter in an explosion. On each occasion, Freya's clumsy attempts to assist Matt are helpful, but not particularly appreciated.
McDonald, his chief at ICE, turns up to aid Helm, but is wounded in action. McDonald confides to Helm that the seemingly inept Freya is actually a top secret agent herself, using a clever guise.
They go to Contini's chateau for a showdown, and Helm creates chaos and destruction with a variety of unique gadgets. Contini escapes on a train bound for Luxembourg, but with a minihelicopter, Helm and Freya are able to catch up.
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Wikipedia