The Silencers

The Silencers is a 1966 American spy comedy directed by Phil Karlson, starring Dean Martin as secret agent Matt Helm in the first of four Matt Helm films produced by Irving Allen for Columbia Pictures. It adapts two of Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm novels, The Silencers (1962) and Death of a Citizen (1960), and recasts Hamilton's ruthless agent as a wisecracking playboy in the tradition of James Bond.^{1 • 2}

Origin and development

Producer Irving Allen told the Los Angeles Times in 1967 that he decided to film the Matt Helm series after randomly purchasing one of the novels at an airport. He licensed the character the next day and, after shopping the series to several studios, reached an agreement with Columbia Pictures on the condition that he finance the option with his own money. Allen explained that actors such as Paul Newman refused the role, fearing they could not compete with Sean Connery's James Bond films. After a comedy element was added, Allen cast Dean Martin, who was enjoying a wave of popularity from the launch of his television variety series that same year.¹

Allen had earlier parted company with Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli, the producer of the Bond films, over the value of making a film series from Ian Fleming's character; after seeing the box office returns of Dr. No (1962), he optioned Matt Helm instead. A TCM essay describes Helm, created by novelist Donald Hamilton as a ruthless, no-nonsense assassin, as intended as America's answer to 007, with Martin's version becoming a prototype for the style later parodied in the Austin Powers films.⁷

Production

Daily Variety announced a 20 April 1965 start for the first film in the series, with director Phil Karlson, a veteran of hard-edged films such as The Phenix City Story (1955), screen-testing eight actors for the lead while Oscar Saul's screenplay was revised by Maurice Richlin and later Herbert Baker. The Ford Motor Company designed a custom automobile for the film, and the title was temporarily changed to The Silencer before Dean Martin's casting was announced on 22 March 1965.¹

Filming began 6 July 1965 at rented space in Desilu Studios in Hollywood, with location shooting in New Mexico; the first five days included an automobile chase staged, coincidentally, on Stunt Road in the Hollywood Hills. Photography was completed in late September 1965, and Daily Variety estimated the budget at $3.5 million. Custom tailor Sy Devore created Martin's $8,500 wardrobe for the film.¹

During production, Geoffrey Shurlock of the Motion Picture Association of America disapproved several scenes as too sexually explicit. Allen said he intended the film to be "sexier than James Bond," and Martin played a scene in the nude surrounded by young women known as his "Slaymates," later publicized as the "Slaygirls." The film's explicit content led a Kansas City, Missouri, official to ban patrons under eighteen, a ban lifted by city welfare director James Reefer as "a misunderstanding"; the Spanish government banned the film entirely.¹

Music and cast details

Elmer Bernstein, a thirteen-time Oscar nominee, composed the score, and the title song's music and lyrics were by Bernstein and David Mack. Singer Vikki Carr provided the singing voice for Cyd Charisse in the opening musical sequence, while other songs were sung by Dean Martin. Warner Bros. Records supported the release with the album Dean Martin Sings Songs From "The Silencers" on its Reprise label. The film also marked the screen debut of Carol Cole, daughter of Nat "King" Cole.^{1 • 2}

Reception and box office

Reviews were lukewarm, but public response was enthusiastic: the Los Angeles Times of 13 November 1966 included the film among the highest earners in the history of Columbia Pictures. TCM reports earnings of $7 million, ranking it seventh among 1966's highest grossing films, while The Numbers records a domestic gross of $16,318,124. The film received minor honors, including the Rocky Mountain Motion Picture Association's Best Actress Award for Stella Stevens and the Interstate Theatres Gold Star for Dean Martin and Irving Allen.^{1 • 2 • 4}

The film's success put Murderers' Row into production quickly as the next installment, and Martin starred in three further Matt Helm films through 1968. A fifth was planned, but Martin felt he had done enough; a Matt Helm television series starring Anthony Franciosa followed in 1975 and lasted one season.^{2 • 7}

Place in the 1960s spy cycle

The success of the Bond franchise spawned a wave of spy spoofs in the mid-1960s, including Our Man Flint (1965), Modesty Blaise (1966), and Casino Royale (1967). A scholarly comparison notes that the Matt Helm films, distributed by Columbia from 1966 to 1969, sought to directly parody the Bond films to compete in a marketplace where Martin was not as marketable as Sean Connery or James Coburn, relying on camp, wisecracks, and long sequences of light striptease dances, in contrast to the Flint films' comparatively straight treatment.^{7 • 8}

References

1. The Silencers (1966), AFI Catalog of Feature Films
2. The Silencers, TCM article by Lang Thompson
3. The Silencers (1966), IMDb
4. The Silencers (1966) Box Office, The Numbers
5. The Silencers Cast and Crew, Rotten Tomatoes
6. The Silencers, Sony Pictures Entertainment
7. Murderers' Row, TCM article by Genevieve McGillicuddy
8. Allusions in the films to Bond are not tongue-in-cheek but rather seem crafted to forge a connection with the Bond franchise. The Flint films do not spoof the spy genre as much as they enter a different version of the product into the genre pool. Later films like the Matt Helm series starring Dean Martin, which were distributed through Columbia from 1966-1969, sought to directly parody the Bond films as a way to differentiate themselves and compete within the marketplace when their leading man was not as marketable as either Sean Connery or James Coburn. There are four Matt Helm films: The Silencers (1966), Murders’ Row (1966), The Ambushers (1967), and The Wrecking Crew (1969). These films rely on camp to sell an over-the-hill Martin in the lead role. Helm is a languorous lothario who wisecracks his way to women and alcohol and the films contain long sequences of light striptease dances. In contrast, the Flint films play it somewhat straight. The characters, plot, and production design are all treated relatively seriously and Coburn steadfastly refrains from winking at the audience. Flint is dedicated to the work of spycraft and while the telephone gag is played for laughs, other treatments of technology are quite serious. One such scene from Our Man Flint illustrates the faith in technology that underpins the film’s ideology.

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 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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