The Ambushers (1967)

Director:

Henry Levin

Writers:

Donald Hamilton (book)
Herbert Baker (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 March 1968 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy | Thriller | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Matt Helm rides again! ...with the Ambushers on his back, and some fun on the side!

Plot:

A government space saucer is hijacked mid-flight by a powerful laser beam under the control of Jose Ortega...

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Matt Helm | Flying Saucer | Spoof | Spy Hero

Cast

Dean Martin	...	Matt Helm
Senta Berger	...	Francesca Madeiros
Janice Rule	...	Sheila Sommers
James Gregory	...	MacDonald
Albert Salmi	...	Jose Ortega
Kurt Kasznar	...	Quintana
Beverly Adams	...	Lovey Kravezit
David Mauro	...	Nassim
Roy Jenson	...	Karl
John Brascia	...	Rocco
Linda Foster	...	Linda
Tomiko Ishizuka	...	Slaygirl (as Yumiko Ishizuka)
Karin Feddersen	...	Slaygirl (as Karin Fedderson)
Ulla Lindstrom	...	Slaygirl
Marilyn Tindall	...	Slaygirl
Lena Cederham	...	Slaygirl
Susannah Moore	...	Slaygirl
Terri Hughes	...	Slaygirl
Penny Brahms	...	Slaygirl
Kyra Bester	...	Slaygirl
Jan Watson	...	Slaygirl (as Jann Watson)
Annabella Incontrera	...	Slaygirl (as Annabella)
Dee Duffy	...	Slaygirl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Edit Angold	...	(uncredited)
Nick Dimitri	...	Parking Lot Thug (uncredited)
Joe Gray	...	Man (uncredited)
Alexandra Hay	...	Quintana's Secretary (uncredited)
Mauritz Hugo	...	Man in Train Compartment (uncredited)
John Indrisano	...	Rapist (uncredited)
Alena Johnston	...	Slaygirl (uncredited)

Directed by
Henry Levin

Writing credits
Donald Hamilton		(book "The Ambushers")
Herbert Baker		(screenplay)

Produced by
Irving Allen	....	producer
Douglas Netter	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Hugo Montenegro

Cinematography by
Edward Colman		(director of photography)
Burnett Guffey

Film Editing by
Harold F. Kress

Art Direction by
Joseph C. Wright		(as Joe Wright)

Set Decoration by
Richard Spero

Costume Design by
Oleg Cassini		(dresses and costumes designer)

Makeup Department
Virginia Jones	....	hair stylist
Ben Lane	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Howard Pine	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Curtis Havens	....	second unit director (as James Havens)
Jerome M. Siegel	....	assistant director

Art Department
Max Frankel	....	property master

Sound Department
James Z. Flaster	....	sound (as James Flaster)
Jack Haynes	....	sound
Charles J. Rice	....	sound supervisor

Special Effects by
Danny Lee	....	special effects
Marlowe Newkirk	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Nick Dimitri	....	stunts (uncredited)
Joe Gray	....	stunts (uncredited)
John Indrisano	....	stunts (uncredited)
Carey Loftin	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Tony Braun	....	camera operator: second unit
Jack A. Marta	....	camera operator: second unit (as Jack Marta)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sy Devore	....	wardrobe designer: Dean Martin

Music Department
Hugo Montenegro	....	conductor
Richard Hazard	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Jay Hill	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Albert Woodbury	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Harold Lewis	....	second unit assistant
Mary Jane Mangler	....	choreographer
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)
Dominic Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)
Ruth Santarone	....	caterer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents)
• Meadway-Claude Productions Company (I) (II)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1967) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films (1968) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Films (1968) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1971) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Nelonen (2007) (Finland) (TV)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 | USA:Not Rated | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

One of the films included in "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time (and how they got that way)" by Harry Medved and Randy Lowell.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Throughout the entire film you can see the wires that are used to lift things and people up whenever the "anti-gravity ray" is used. This is especially obvious in the scenes where the saucer is brought down to the jungle and when Matt rescues Sheila from the runaway train wagon.

Quotes:

Matt Helm: [passing each other] Hi!
Francesca Madeiros: A little.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Behind the Scenes of 'Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me' (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Ambushers

Dino Saunters Through Another Film At The Helm

The Matt Helm series never quite had the class that James Bond did. 007 is still going strong with many actors who now have done the role and it shows no signs of slowing down. But the locker room type humor that typifies the Matt Helm series was definitely wearing thin when The Ambushers came out.

Dean Martin is once again intrepid secret agent Matt Helm whose cover as a fashion photographer takes him to Acapulco in search of a satellite that was captured. By of all people, a Mexican beer baron who is considerably more than that. Try and imagine August Busch or Jacob Ruppert in the spy business as well and you have the part Albert Salmi plays.

Salmi did vile and disgusting things to pilot Janice Rule upon her capture because, well he's Albert Salmi. She's traumatized and only in the company of Dean Martin with whom she shared some tender moments back in the day will she go back and try to find the thing.

Oh by the way, they need Rule because the satellite can't be flown by a man. Something in the atmosphere when the switch is thrown kills all members of the male species. The bad guys don't find this out until too late.

Dino walked through this one as did the rest of the cast which looks bored, but also eager because the Matt Helm films did make money back in the day.

Well at least we know that the hormonal kinks must have been worked out before July of 1969 when Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins went to the moon