Inspired by this thread (which I started):
In what film was Dean Martin at his absolute hippest?
The Silencers (1966) as Matt Helm
Don’t know about hippest, but he was at his absolute best in Rio Bravo and Some Came Running.
Don’t forget his buddy pics!
Sailor Beware being the best of those.
In the buddy pics, he was always cast as the ladies man, man’s man, all around hip guy. To contrast and set up the comedy* of Melvin, er…, Jerry Lewis.
*yeah, yeah, ymmv
Hey, LAY-DEE!!!
BTW, FTR, FWIW, IMHO, the buddy pics are where all the best songs come from.
You’re right Rio Bravo was definately his best. I haven’t seen it in over 20 years, I need to add it to my NetFlix queue.
He was actually acting and not just hamming it up & surpirisingly he was an excellant actor. He was actually good in Airport as the pilot but the movie hasn’t aged well.
I’ll need to look for Some Came Running.
I’m not sure anybody was good in Airport, but I did like this one bit (with Martin as the Captain):
As an aside: once I was watching “Mystery Science Theatre” with my brother. It was a ridiculous spy movie called Secret Agent Super Dragon. I said to my brother, “Gee, this makes you appreciate the Flint movies.” He replied, “Are you kidding? It makes you appreciate the Matt Helm movies!” Yikes.
Oh c’mon, it has to be Matt Helm. Anybody who has a wet bar and can mix and drink a martini while driving is cool (even M.A.D.D. would have to concede that much).
Though not a starring role, I think Dean was at his best as lounge singer Sam Harmon in the original “Ocean’s 11”.
He tries to talk his 10 friends (former 81st airborne members) out of trying to pull this heist of 5 Las Vegas casinos. “Are you the same guy you were 20 years ago? Well I’m not. Can you run as fast, think as fast ? This isn’t a reunion it’s an alumni meeting. In Vegas the odds are always with the house … with the house”. Well, I typed that from memory. I probably made some errors but it is a good speech.
Another vote for the Matt Helms here! Dino rules!
mm
Actually, slight correction ’ “The Silencers” and “The Wrecking Crew” were good. “Murderer’s Row” was tepid at best and “The Ambushers” was unwatchable, IMO. “The Wrecking Crew” had Dino looking older than Roger Moore in his last Bond go around, and Sharon Tate, who was really very good.
Oh, and “The Young Lions” was another really good Dino performance. Brando, Monty Clift and Dino. Could you imagine what a night drinking on the town with those three would have been like?
mm
Anither Dino fan, grew up watching his TV show.
Most eerily po-mo monent from The Wrecking Crew is when Dino and Sharon Tate are running by the bloody dead body of a villainess, and Dino says, “That coulda been you!” and Sharon replies, “Uh-uh—no, never!”