''The Wrecking Crew'' is a 1968 American spy

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Phil Karlson Phil Karlson (born Philip N. Karlstein; July 2, 1908 – December 12, 1982) was an American film director. Later noted as a ''film noir'' specialist, Karlson directed ''99 River Street'', ''Kansas City Confidential'' and ''Hell's Island'', all ...

and starring

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

Matt Helm 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 ...

, along with Elke Sommer, Sharon Tate, Nancy Kwan, Nigel Green, and

Tina Louise Tina Louise (née Blacker; born February 11, 1934) is an American actress widely known for her career on stage, film and television, including her role as movie star Ginger Grant in the popular television situation comedy ''Gilligan's Island'' ...

. It is the fourth and final film in the Matt Helm series, and is loosely based on the 1960 novel of the same name by

Donald Hamilton Donald Bengtsson Hamilton (March 24, 1916 – November 20, 2006) was an American writer of novels, short stories, and non-fiction about the outdoors. His novels consist mostly of paperback originals, principally spy fiction, but also crime ...

. The film opened in Canada in December 1968 before premiering in the United States in February 1969. It was Tate's last film released before her death in 1969. It was also the

Hollywood film The cinema of the United States, primarily associated with major film studios collectively referred to as Hollywood, has significantly influenced the global film industry since the early 20th century. Classical Hollywood cinema, a filmmakin ...

debut for two future action movie stars:

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

, who worked behind the scenes as an action choreographer, and

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. Born in Oklahoma, Norris first gained fame when he won the amateur Middleweight Karate champion title in 1968, which he held for six consecutive years. H ...

, who made his film debut in a small role.

Plot

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 Copenhagen, 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 Wen Yurang, 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 British 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 with the gold on a train bound for Luxembourg, but Helm and Freya are able to catch up to him in a minihelicopter. Freya is almost killed by Contini, but Helm rescues her, then kills Contini by throwing him through a trap door onto the railroad tracks. Successful and alone at last, Helm finally has an opportunity to thank an appreciative Freya as only he can.

Cast

The film featured a number of

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

s, boxers, and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

experts in small or uncredited roles, including Wilhelm von Homburg, Pepper Martin, Joe Gray, Joe Lewis, Ed Parker and – in his first screen role –

(background player in the House of 7 Joys scene).

does not appear in the film, but receives a production credit as "Karate advisor" (what would later be called an action choreographer) for training the actors and orchestrating the fight scenes. ''The Wrecking Crew'' was Tate's last film released before her murder in August 1969.

Production

The film is the first in the series to not be written or co-written by regular screenwriter

Herbert Baker Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He was ...

, who was working on Irving Allen's more serious spy film '' Hammerhead''. The screenplay was written by former police reporter and crime novel author William P. McGivern. Helm's chief at ICE, MacDonald, is played by

John Larch John Larch (born Harold Aronin; October 4, 1914 – October 16, 2005; also credited Harry Larch) was an American radio, film, and television actor. Early life John Larch was born Harold Aronin"California County Marriages", marriage licens ...

in this film, replacing James Gregory, who played the role in the other three films. Gregory said in an interview in ''Filmfax'' magazine that he was sent a reduced amount for his fee in the film. He was told that the film was reducing its budget, and Gregory refused to take the lower fee.

, who worked on set as an action choreographer, remarked that he "tried to teach Dean Martin how to kick but he was too lazy and too clumsy" and that they had to mostly rely on stand-in Mike Stone. Lee stated that Sharon Tate and Nancy Kwan were better, "doing sidekicks pretty good with just a minimum of teaching". Lee said that Kwan approached him to become her private long-term teacher but he told her that she wouldn't be able to afford him. ''The Wrecking Crew'' is the only film in the series not to feature Helm's secretary, Lovey Kravesit, played by Beverly Adams, who was also appearing in ''Hammerhead''. It is also the only movie in the series not to feature the villainous group BIG O. Principal photography took place in California, with locations including

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

, Idyllwild, and the Walt Disney Ranch.

Music

Hugo Montenegro Hugo Mario Montenegro (September 2, 1925 – February 6, 1981) was an American orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks. His best-known work is interpretations of the music from Spaghetti Westerns, especially his cover version of Ennio M ...

who wrote the score for '' The Ambushers'' returned to compose the score.

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

and Frank DeVol wrote the theme song played over the opening and end credits, "House of Seven Joys", which was the

working title A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...

of the film.

Reception

Box office

''The Wrecking Crew'' opened in New York in 44 theaters and despite the worst snowstorm in New York in eight years on the Sunday, grossed $316,000 in its first five days. In the United States and Canada, the film earned in

theatrical rental A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is frequ ...

Legacy

The film ends with the announcement of a fifth Matt Helm entry, ''The Ravagers'' (which would have been based upon Hamilton's 1964 novel of the same title). However, Martin declined to return for another film in despair over the murder of Tate six months after the film's release. When Martin refused to make ''The Ravagers'', Columbia held up Martin's share of the profits from the second Matt Helm film, ''

Murderers' Row Murderers' Row were the baseball teams of the New York Yankees in the late 1920s, widely considered some of the best teams in history. The nickname is particularly used for the first six hitters in the 1927 team lineup: Earle Combs, Mark Koen ...

''. The project was then cancelled. Several years later, a ''

'' TV series featuring

Tony Franciosa Anthony George Franciosa (né Papaleo; October 25, 1928 – January 19, 2006) was an American actor most often billed as Tony Franciosa at the height of his career. He began his career on stage and made a breakthrough portraying the brother of t ...

was attempted, with Helm now a private detective. Sharon Tate's biographer Greg King described ''The Wrecking Crew'' as containing probably the best performance in her short acting career, with contemporary reviews often praising her comedic role as a highlight of the film. ''The Wrecking Crew'' is referenced and briefly seen in

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

's 2019 film ''

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ''Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, and Visiona Romantica, and distributed by Sony Pict ...

'', in which Tate (played by Margot Robbie) is shown enjoying the film while barefoot at the Fox Bruin Theater. The

first name First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared an ...

of Kwan's character is Yurang. The real

Yu Rang Yu Rang (traditional 豫讓; simplified 豫让, fl. mid-5th-century BC) was a legendary Chinese assassin. Life according to the legend Background Yu Rang was an assassin in the early days of the Warring States period. He lived in the S ...

was a Chinese assassin during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wrecking Crew, The 1968 films 1968 action comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films 1960s spy comedy films American action comedy films American sequel films American spy comedy films Columbia Pictures films English-language action comedy films English-language spy comedy films Films based on American novels Films directed by Phil Karlson Films scored by Hugo Montenegro Films set in Copenhagen Films set in London Films shot in California Films shot in Los Angeles County, California Matt Helm films Films about nobility