# Murderers' Row (1966 film)
**Murderers' Row** is a 1966 American spy comedy directed by Henry Levin, the second of four films starring [Dean Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/dean-martin) as secret agent [Matt Helm](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-helm), based on Donald Hamilton's 1962 novel of the same title. Irving Allen produced it for Meadway-Claude Productions #2, with [Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures) distributing, and the cast includes Ann-Margret, Karl Malden, Camilla Sparv, and James Gregory.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Series position | Second Matt Helm film, following The Silencers (1966)[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1095498/murderers-row) |
| Director / writer / producer | Henry Levin; Herbert Baker (screenplay), based on Donald Hamilton's novel; Irving Allen[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) |
| Principal cast | Dean Martin (Matt Helm), Ann-Margret (Suzie), Karl Malden (Julian Wall), Camilla Sparv (Coco Duquette), James Gregory (MacDonald)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) |
| Release | 21 December 1966 (New York); 8 February 1967 (Los Angeles)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) |
| Running time | 108 min (AFI); other listings give 105 min[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) • [3](https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0060728/) |
| Box office | Estimated gross receipts of $17 million, ahead of The Silencers' $15 million; 11th highest-grossing picture of 1966 in the United States[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1095498/murderers-row) |
| Music | Original score by Lalo Schifrin[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film's villain, Julian Wall ([Karl Malden](https://www.edgepedia.org/karl-malden)), plans to take over the world by kidnapping Dr. Norman Solaris (Richard Eastham), inventor of the helio-beam, a device that harnesses the rays of the sun to destroy the earth. To smooth the plan, Wall's organization, BIG O (the Brotherhood of International Government and Order), eliminates most of the agents of ICE ([Intelligence](https://www.edgepedia.org/intelligence) and Counter-[Espionage](https://www.edgepedia.org/espionage)).[4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/murderers-row-1966) • [2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1095498/murderers-row)
Matt Helm (Dean Martin) fakes his own death with the help of ICE chief MacDonald (James Gregory) and travels to the Riviera, where he meets Solaris's daughter Suzie ([Ann-Margret](https://www.edgepedia.org/ann-margret)). Posing as a gunman on the run, Helm is hired by Wall; the two eventually escape to Wall's island fortress, where they must find Solaris and disarm the helio-beam before Wall destroys Washington, D.C.[4](https://watch.afi.com/movie/murderers-row-1966) Gadgets in the story include a delayed-action gun that fires ten seconds after the trigger is pulled, fooling enemies who inspect the barrel, and the pint-size bomb pinned to Suzie's dress during a nightclub dance number, which Helm throws at a wall decorated with a picture of [Frank Sinatra](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-sinatra).[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1095498/murderers-row)
## Production
Irving Allen planned the sequel to [The Silencers](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-silencers) on location in [Saint-Tropez](https://www.edgepedia.org/saint-tropez), France, and [Monte Carlo](https://www.edgepedia.org/monte-carlo), Monaco, with interiors at Columbia Studios in Hollywood; a second unit photographed exteriors between Menton and Marseilles, and England's Isle of Wight appears in some listings as a location.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) Principal photography ran from 18 July to mid-September 1966.[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS-ROW)
**Casting history.** According to Daily Variety, Stella Stevens was initially set to return as Martin's leading lady, but Ann-Margret assumed the female lead in June 1966.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) Allen later revealed that actors such as [Paul Newman](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-newman) had refused the role of Matt Helm, fearing they could not compete with [Sean Connery](https://www.edgepedia.org/sean-connery)'s James Bond films; after a comedy element was added to the character, Allen cast Martin, who was then at the height of his popularity with his television variety series, which had launched the year before.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) • [6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/88880/murderers-row)
The film has a personal tie for Martin: the trio Dino, Desi & Billy appears in a musical sequence performing "If You're Thinking What I'm Thinking" by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. The band comprised Billy Hinsche, Desi Arnaz, Jr., and Martin's son, [Dean Paul Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/dean-paul-martin).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) The film marked the final screen appearance of stuntman Saul Gorss, according to his obituary in Daily Variety.[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS-ROW)
The production crew included cinematographer Sam Leavitt, editor Walter Thompson, composer [Lalo Schifrin](https://www.edgepedia.org/lalo-schifrin), and costume designer Moss Mabry.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW)
## Release and box office
Murderers' Row opened on 21 December 1966 in New York City and on 8 February 1967 in Los Angeles.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) Variety partially credited the film with contributing to a 322 percent revenue increase for Columbia Pictures, and in April 1967 estimated gross receipts at $17 million, compared with $15 million for The Silencers.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) David Sterritt of Turner Classic Movies places it as the eleventh highest-grossing picture of 1966, crediting the teamwork of Martin and Ann-Margret.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1095498/murderers-row) Variety estimated the film's 1967 rental income at $6.24 million, and Columbia reissued the two Matt Helm pictures as a double feature in September 1967, imitating United Artists' marketing strategy for its Bond series.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW)
## Reception
Contemporary reviews were mixed. The Los Angeles Times praised Martin's performance, while the New York Times described the picture as "a feeble serving of James Bond leftovers."[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 43% Tomatometer score from three reviews; Dennis Schwartz gave it a C-, writing that "Dean Martin as an action hero is a bit much," and Steve Crum called it "very dated Matt Helm ... but has campy appeal."[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/murderers_row)
Later assessments have been more textured. The film finished second at the 1967 Producers' Guild of America Laurel Awards for Best Action Drama and Best Action Performance for Martin.[8](https://cinemascholars.com/matt-helm-a-movie-retrospective/?amp=1) Sterritt notes its Bond parallels, from MacDonald's initial "M" to a plot resembling Thunderball (1965), and observes that the series may have repaid its debt by influencing the Bond franchise's more jocular tone under Roger Moore.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1095498/murderers-row) Critics have also noted its more Bond-like structure compared with The Silencers, including the opening montage of agent assassinations that Live and Let Die (1973) would later echo, and Moss Mabry's costumes as a strong point.[8](https://cinemascholars.com/matt-helm-a-movie-retrospective/?amp=1)
## The Matt Helm series
Helm was the creation of novelist Donald Hamilton, who published more than two dozen Matt Helm novels between 1960 and 1993 with a darker, grittier approach than the films; the novels were intended as America's answer to James Bond.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1095498/murderers-row) • [6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/88880/murderers-row) The Silencers had performed well at the box office, and Murderers' Row was quickly put into production as the next installment.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/88880/murderers-row) Five more sequels were planned after Murderers' Row, although only two were released: The Ambushers (1967) and The Wrecking Crew (1969, according to the AFI Catalog; some retrospective sources date it 1968).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW) A fifth installment, "The Ravagers," was teased at the end of The Wrecking Crew but never made because Martin opted out, foreseeing declining profitability.[2](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1095498/murderers-row) The series is remembered as a precursor of the Austin Powers films, and DreamWorks later optioned the 27 Helm novels from Hamilton.[6](https://www.tcm.com/articles/88880/murderers-row)
## References
1. [Murderers' Row (1966), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS%27-ROW)
2. [Murderers' Row, by David Sterritt, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/1095498/murderers-row)
3. [Murderers' Row (1966), IMDbPro](https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0060728/)
4. [Murderers' Row, American Film Institute (watch page)](https://watch.afi.com/movie/murderers-row-1966)
5. [Murderers' Row, AFI Catalog (full page view)](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23115-MURDERERS-ROW)
6. [Murderers' Row, by Genevieve McGillicuddy, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/88880/murderers-row)
7. [Murderers' Row, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/murderers_row)
8. [Matt Helm: A Movie Retrospective, Cinema Scholars](https://cinemascholars.com/matt-helm-a-movie-retrospective/?amp=1)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released 1960s and 1970s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license