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Matt Helm is a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton
Donald Hamilton

Donald Bengtsson Hamilton was a United States writer of novels, short stories, and non-fiction about the outdoors. His novels consist mostly of paperback originals, principally spy fiction but also crime fiction and Western fictions....
. He is a U.S. government counteragent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in spy thrillers.

The character and the series
The character appeared in 27 books over a 33-year period beginning in 1960 and established Helm as one of the most tough-minded, pragmatic, and competent of all fictional agents, whatever their roles.






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Wrecking Crew Back Cover1 Close Up
Matt Helm is a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton
Donald Hamilton

Donald Bengtsson Hamilton was a United States writer of novels, short stories, and non-fiction about the outdoors. His novels consist mostly of paperback originals, principally spy fiction but also crime fiction and Western fictions....
. He is a U.S. government counteragent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in spy thrillers.

The character and the series


The character appeared in 27 books over a 33-year period beginning in 1960 and established Helm as one of the most tough-minded, pragmatic, and competent of all fictional agents, whatever their roles. The series was noted for its between-books continuity
Continuity (fiction)

In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot , objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer. It is of relevance to several mass media....
, which was somewhat rare for the genre. In the latter books, Helm's origins as a man of action in World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 disappeared and he became an apparently ageless character, a common fate of long-running fictional heroes.

In the first book in the series, Death of a Citizen
Death of a Citizen

Death of a Citizen is a 1960 spy fiction by Donald Hamilton, and was the first in a long-running series of books featuring the adventures of assassin Matt Helm....
, which takes place in the summer of 1958, 13 years after the end of the WW2, Helm is frequently referred to by other characters as being of incipient middle age and apparently soft and out of shape, although no specific age for him is given.

In the next story, which apparently takes place in the summer of 1959, a hostile agent from a rival American spy organization taunts Helm as being a shopworn 36-year-old and clearly over the hill as a physical specimen. Later in the book, Helm himself says that he is 36 years old.

A long Internet article by Hayford Peirce
Hayford Peirce

Hayford Peirce is an United States writer of science fiction, Mystery fiction, and spy thrillers. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and received his Bachelor's degree from Harvard College....
 examining the issue of Helm's age, however, finds this figure to be improbably young given the information about Helm's background in Death of Citizen. Peirce postulates that Helm was actually several years older than the 36 years mentioned in The Wrecking Crew
The Wrecking Crew (novel)

The Wrecking Crew is a spy fiction by Donald Hamilton first published in 1960. It was the second novel featuring Hamilton's ongoing protagonist, counter-agent and assassin Matt Helm....
 and that he was probably born around 1918. In the remaining 25 books of the series, however, the age issue vanishes completely.

Critic Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher

Anthony Boucher was an United States science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short story. He was particularly influential as an editor....
 wrote: "Donald Hamilton has brought to the spy novel the authentic hard realism of Dashiell Hammett
Dashiell Hammett

Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an United States author of hardboiled detective fiction novels and short stories. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op ....
; and his stories are as compelling, and probably as close to the sordid truth of espionage, as any now being told." Golden Age
Golden Age of Detective Fiction

The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of classic murder mystery novels produced by various authors, all following similar patterns and style....
 mystery writer John Dickson Carr
John Dickson Carr

John Dickson Carr was an United States author of detective stories, who also published under the pen names Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn....
 began reviewing books for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine is a monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction. Launched in 1941 by The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, EQMM is named for the author Ellery Queen, who wrote novels and short stories about a fictional detective named Ellery Queen....
 in 1969. According to Carr's biographer, "Carr found Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm to be 'my favorite secret agent,'" although Hamilton's books had little in common with Carr's. "The explanation may lie in Carr's comment that in espionage novels he preferred Matt Helm's 'cloud-cuckooland' land. Carr never valued realism in fiction."

Matt Helm in film and television

A movie series was made in the mid-to-late 1960s starring Dean Martin
Dean Martin

Dean Martin was an United States singer, film actor and comedian of Italians descent. He was one of the best known musical artists of the 1950s and 1960s....
, who co-produced with his Meadway-Claude Production company and received a partnership in the films. The series was produced by Irving Allen
Irving Allen

Irving Allen was a theatrical and cinematic producer and director. He won an Academy Awards in 1948 for producing the short movie Climbing the Matterhorn....
, ex-partner of James Bond
James Bond

James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections....
 film producer Cubby Broccoli
Albert R. Broccoli

Albert Romolo Broccoli, Order of the British Empire , nicknamed "Cubby", was an Academy Award-winning United States film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios....
— the same man who had told Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming

Ian Lancaster Fleming was an English literature author and journalist. Fleming is best remembered for creating the character of James Bond and chronicling his adventures in twelve novels and nine short stories....
 that his 007 novels weren't "good enough for television," a point of contention between the two producers from 1958-1960 when they dissolved Warwick Films
Warwick Films

Warwick Films was the name of a film company founded by film producers Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli in London in 1951. The name was taken from the Warwick Hotel in London....
 and went their separate ways.

The films used the name Matt Helm, his cover identity, plus book titles and some very loose plot elements, but otherwise the series bore no resemblance at all to the character, atmosphere, or themes of Hamilton's original books, nor to the hard-edged action of Bond. One reason was the attitude of the filmmakers that the only way to compete with the Bond films was to parody them. (See also Casino Royale
Casino Royale (1967 film)

Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy film spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre and is lightly based on Ian Fleming's Casino Royale ....
). Likewise, a 1970s TV series, which cast Tony Franciosa as Helm as an ex-spy turned private detective, also departed from the books and was unsuccessful. Another variation from the books in the movie is that Matt's department was named. In the books it never was but for the films Matt worked for Intelligence and CounterEspionage (ICE), goes well with the drinks.

Martin played the part with his own persona of a fun-loving, easygoing, wisecracking playboy with plenty of references to alcohol consumption. Like the Bond films, the Helm ones feature a number of sexy women in each, in this case a group of "Slaygirls." Supposedly the idea of a tongue-in-cheek Helm came from the first director, Phil Karlson
Phil Karlson

Phil Karlson was a Chicago-born film director known for his no-nonsense film noir. Karlson directed 99 River Street, Kansas City Confidential and Hell's Island all with actor John Payne in the early 1950s....
. Karlson had the idea of filming The Secret Ways
The Secret Ways

The Secret Ways is a 1961 in film thriller film based on Alistair McLean's novel The Last Frontier ....
 with that approach, but the star, producer, and husband of the screenwriter Richard Widmark
Richard Widmark

Richard Widmark was an United States actor of films, stage , radio and television.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death ....
 fired him from the film and took over the direction himself without credit. Bond films of the 1970s adopted the style and setpieces of Helm films while also mostly ignoring the plot elements of Fleming's original books.

In 2002, it was reported that DreamWorks
DreamWorks

DreamWorks, LLC, also known as DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks SKG or DreamWorks Studios, is a major film studios United States film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games, and television programming....
 had optioned
Option (films)

In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement between a movie studio, a production company, or a film producer and a writer, in which the producer obtains the right to buy a screenplay from the writer, before a certain date....
 the entire Helm book series. On August 9, 2005, Variety
Variety (magazine)

Variety is a weekly entertainment trade newspaper founded in New York in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Hollywood, was founded by Silverman in 1933....
 reported that DreamWorks has signed Michael Brandt and Derek Haas to write a screenplay for a high-six-figure deal. According to the article, the film will be a contemporary adaptation of the character, but no casting or release information has been announced.

The Martin version of Helm served as a significant inspiration for Mike Myers
Mike Myers (actor)

Michael John "'Mike" 'Myers is a Canada actor, comedian, screenwriter and film producer. He was a long-time cast member on the NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live in the late 1980s and the early 1990s and starred as the title characters in the films Wayne's World , Austin Powers , and Shrek...
' comic character Austin Powers
Austin Powers

Sir Austin Danger Powers, Order of the British Empire, is a fictional character from the Austin Powers series of films. He first appeared in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and is portrayed by Mike Myers ....
 and many references can be seen. Most significantly, both are fashion photographers as their cover jobs.

Books


(all by Donald Hamilton)
  1. Death of a Citizen
    Death of a Citizen

    Death of a Citizen is a 1960 spy fiction by Donald Hamilton, and was the first in a long-running series of books featuring the adventures of assassin Matt Helm....
     (1960)
  2. The Wrecking Crew
    The Wrecking Crew (novel)

    The Wrecking Crew is a spy fiction by Donald Hamilton first published in 1960. It was the second novel featuring Hamilton's ongoing protagonist, counter-agent and assassin Matt Helm....
     (1960)
  3. The Removers
    The Removers

    The Removers is a spy fiction by Donald Hamilton first published in 1961. It was the third novel featuring Hamilton's creation, counter-agent and assassin Matt Helm....
     (1961)
  4. The Silencers
    The Silencers

    The Silencers is the title of a 1962 spy novel by Donald Hamilton, the fourth in a series of books featuring assassin Matt Helm....
     (1962)
  5. Murderers' Row
    Murderers' Row (novel)

    Murderers' Row is the title of a 1962 spy novel by Donald Hamilton. It was the fifth novel featuring his creation Matt Helm, a Second World War assassin recruited as a counter-agent by a secret American agency....
     (1962)
  6. The Ambushers
    The Ambushers

    The Ambushers is the title of a novel by Donald Hamilton first published in 1963, continuing the exploits of assassin Matt Helm....
     (1963)
  7. The Shadowers
    The Shadowers

    The Shadowers is the title of a novel by Donald Hamilton first published in 1964, continuing the exploits of assassin Matt Helm. It was the seventh novel of the series....
     (1964)
  8. The Ravagers
    The Ravagers

    The Ravagers is the title of a novel by Donald Hamilton that was first published in 1964. It was the eighth novel in his long-running series of adventures featuring secret agent Matt Helm....
     (1964)
  9. The Devastators
    The Devastators

    The Devastators is the title of the ninth novel in the Matt Helm spy series by Donald Hamilton. It was first published in 1965....
     (1965)
  10. The Betrayers
    The Betrayers

    The Betrayers is the title of the tenth novel in the Matt Helm spy series by Donald Hamilton, which originated with Death of a Citizen in 1960....
     (1966)
  11. The Menacers
    The Menacers

    The Menacers, first published in 1968, was the eleventh novel in the Matt Helm spy series by Donald Hamilton....
     (1968)
  12. The Interlopers
    The Interlopers (novel)

    The Interlopers, first published in 1969, was the twelfth novel in the Matt Helm spy series by Donald Hamilton, which began in 1960. It represents a middle period in the Helm novels, being about 80,000 words in length, somewhat longer than the first four or five in the series, but considerably shorter than most of the Helm books of the e...
     (1969)
  13. The Poisoners
    The Poisoners

    The Poisoners was the first Matt Helm novel of the 1970s. It was first published in 1971, as the thirteenth novel in the spy series by Donald Hamilton....
     (1971)
  14. The Intriguers
    The Intriguers

    The Intriguers, first published in 1972, was the fourteenth novel in the Matt Helm spy series by Donald Hamilton....
     (1972)
  15. The Intimidators
    The Intimidators

    The Intimidators was the fifteenth novel in the Matt Helm secret agent novel series by Donald Hamilton. It was first published in 1974....
     (1974)
  16. The Terminators
    The Terminators

    The Terminators by Donald Hamilton is a spy novel first published in April 1975. It was the sixteenth episode in the Matt Helm series and was the first of the Helm books to portray him, on its cover, as a long-haired, side-burned citizen of the 1970s....
     (1975)
  17. The Retaliators
    The Retaliators

    The Retaliators was the seventeenth novel in the Matt Helm secret agent novel series by Donald Hamilton. It was first published in 1976. It was nominated for an Edgar Award in the paperback original category....
     (1976)
  18. The Terrorizers
    The Terrorizers

    The Terrorizers was the eighteenth novel in the Matt Helm secret agent novel series by Donald Hamilton. It was first published in 1977. Following the publication of this book, Hamilton put his longtime character on hiatus; the next Matt Helm novel, The Revengers , would not be published until 1982....
     (1977)
  19. The Revengers
    The Revengers (novel)

    The Revengers, published in 1982, is a novel in the long-running secret agent series Matt Helm by Donald Hamilton. It was the first Helm book published since 1977 and the nineteenth book published overall since 1960....
     (1982)
  20. The Annihilators
    The Annihilators

    The Annihilators, published in 1983, was the twentieth novel in the long-running secret agent series Matt Helm by Donald Hamilton....
     (1983)
  21. The Infiltrators
    The Infiltrators

    The Infiltrators was the twenty-first novel in the spy series Matt Helm by Donald Hamilton. It was first published in 1984....
     (1984)
  22. The Detonators
    The Detonators

    The Detonators, published in 1985, is a novel in the long-running secret agent series Matt Helm by Donald Hamilton....
     (1985)
  23. The Vanishers
    The Vanishers

    The Vanishers is the title of a spy novel by Donald Hamilton which was first published in 1986. It is the twenty-third book in a series of novels featuring the adventures of assassin Matt Helm....
     (1986)
  24. The Demolishers
    The Demolishers

    The Demolishers, published in 1987, is a novel in the long-running secret agent series Matt Helm by Donald Hamilton....
     (1987)
  25. The Frighteners
    The Frighteners (novel)

    The Frighteners is a 1989 spy novel by Donald Hamilton, continuing the adventures of his creation, assassin Matt Helm.Hamilton took a break from writing Matt Helm novels after this book; the next volume would not appear until 1992....
     (1989)
  26. The Threateners
    The Threateners

    The Threateners is the title of a spy novel by Donald Hamilton first published in 1992. It was the twenty-sixth installment of the Matt Helm series, and saw the return of the character after a three-year hiatus....
     (1992)
  27. The Damagers
    The Damagers

    The Damagers, published in 1993, is a spy novel by Donald Hamilton, and the twenty-seventh volume of the adventures of government assassin Matt Helm....
     (1993)
  28. The Dominators
    The Dominators (novel)

    The Dominators is the title of an unpublished novel by Donald Hamilton. The book, which was completed in the early 2000s, was intended to be the 28th novel in Hamilton's Matt Helm spy series, continuing the adventures of the character introduced in the 1960 novel Death of a Citizen and later popularized by actor Dean Martin in a seri...
     – unpublished. Hamilton finished this novel in the late 1990s, and was reportedly revising it in preparation for seeking a publisher in mid-2002, but as of 2007 it has yet to be published.


All of Hamilton's Matt Helm novels were first published in the United States by Fawcett Publications
Fawcett Publications

Fawcett Publications was an USA publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett . At the age of 16, Fawcett ran away from home to join the Army, and the Spanish-American War took him to the Philippines....
 under their Gold Medal
Gold Medal Books

Gold Medal Books, launched by Fawcett Publications in 1950, is a U.S. book publisher known for introducing paperback originals, a publishing innovation at the time....
 imprint
Imprint

In the publishing industry, an imprint can refer to two different things:* It can mean a brand name under which a work is published. One single publishing company may have multiple imprints; the different imprints are used by the publisher to marketing the work to different demographic consumer market segment....
.

Films


(all starring Dean Martin
Dean Martin

Dean Martin was an United States singer, film actor and comedian of Italians descent. He was one of the best known musical artists of the 1950s and 1960s....
 as Helm)
  1. The Silencers
    The Silencers (film)

    The Silencers is the title of an United States secret agent comedy motion picture produced in 1966 and starring Dean Martin as agent Matt Helm....
     (1966)
  2. Murderers' Row
    Murderers' Row (film)

    Murderers' Row is the title of a 1966 United States comedy-spy-fi motion picture starring Dean Martin and very loosely based upon the Matt Helm spy novel Murderers' Row by Donald Hamilton, which was published in 1962....
     (1966)
  3. The Ambushers
    The Ambushers (film)

    The Ambushers is a 1967 in film science fiction film spy film comedy film starring Dean Martin and Senta Berger. It is loosely based upon The Ambushers by Donald Hamilton....
     (1967)
  4. The Wrecking Crew
    The Wrecking Crew (1969 film)

    The Wrecking Crew, released in 1969 in film and starring Dean Martin, Elke Sommer and Sharon Tate is the fourth and final film in a series of United States comedy-spy-fi theatrical releases featuring Martin as secret agent Matt Helm....
     (1969)


A fifth film was planned, based upon the novel The Ravagers, but Martin declined the opportunity to play the role once more, even though the title of the film was announced at the end of Wrecking Crew.

A 4-DVD
DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
 box set containing the four films was released in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 in December 2005.

, however, a more serious adaptation of the Matt Helm novels is in the early planning stages, with DreamWorks
DreamWorks

DreamWorks, LLC, also known as DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks SKG or DreamWorks Studios, is a major film studios United States film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games, and television programming....
 holding the film rights to all of Donald Hamilton's books.

The TV Series


A television series loosely based upon Hamilton's character was launched by the ABC Network
American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an United States television network. Created in 1943 from the former National Broadcasting Company Blue Network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group....
 in 1975. Entitled simply, Matt Helm
Matt Helm (TV series)

Matt Helm is a short-lived United States mystery television series which aired on the American Broadcasting Company during the 1975-1976 season....
, the series starred Anthony Franciosa
Anthony Franciosa

Anthony Franciosa, born Anthony George Papaleo, Jr., , was an United States actor, usually billed as Tony Franciosa during the height of his career....
 as a retired spy who becomes a private detective. After being launched by a pilot TV movie, it ran for only 13 episodes.

Sources

  • John Dickson Carr, The Man Who Explained Miracles, by Douglas G. Greene, New York, 1995


  • Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, by Chris Steinbrunner and Otto Penzler, New York, 1976, ISBN 0-07-061121-1


External links

  • - extensive examination of the novels and characters
  • , an analysis by Hayford Peirce
    Hayford Peirce

    Hayford Peirce is an United States writer of science fiction, Mystery fiction, and spy thrillers. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and received his Bachelor's degree from Harvard College....
     of when Helm was actually born