The Wrecking Crew

The Wrecking Crew (1968)

Matt Helm Is Alive And Well And Swinging In Copenhagen--So Far!

When Count Contini attempts to destroy the world's economy by masterminding the theft of $1 billion in U.S. gold, ICE chief MacDonald summons secret agent Matt Helm to stop him.

Date of release
1968-12-30
TMDB
5.7 / 10 (76)
Runtime
1h 45m
Genres
Action, Comedy
Director
Phil Karlson
Collection
Matt Helm Collection

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: California

The Wrecking Crew is a 1968 American spy comedy film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Dean Martin as Matt Helm, along with Elke Sommer, Sharon Tate, Nancy Kwan, Nigel Green, and Tina Louise. 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. The film opened in Canada in December 1968 before premiering in the United States in February 1969.

Production

The film is the first in the series to not be written or co-written by regular screenwriter Herbert Baker, 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 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 decreasing its budget, and Gregory refused to take the lower fee.

Bruce Lee, 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".

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, Idyllwild, and the Walt Disney owned Golden Oak Ranch.

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