Saturday, January 31, 2015

"At War With The Army": The classic musical comedy starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis will enlist on Blu-ray this spring.


Tom Landy
Hey pallies, likes more and more great Dino-news of new Dino-treasure bein' released just  keeps pourin' in from all over the 'net.  Likes today we takes you to the flick pad, "HIGH-DEF DIGEST
where scriber Mr. Tom Landy shares the news that the Dino and Jerry flick, "At War With The Army" is comin' out in Blu-ray DVD on March 24th.

Our most beloved Dino's big screen efforts have been kinda slow in gettin' the Blu-ray treatment, but we just know before it's over each and every Dino-classic will gets released in this high-def technology.  Accordin' to the prose below, it is the pallies at Kino Classics who will be doin' the releasin' of this one and only Dino-flick in public domain.

So, likes pallies marks your calenders for March 24th to grabs onto this comedy caper from the greatest comedy team ever.  ilovedinomartin sez our thanks to Mr. Tom Landy for puttin' us on to this Dino-news and spreadin' some Dino-devotion with his review.  To checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks on the first few words of today's Dino-report.


Hal Walker's 'At War with the Army' Announced for Blu-ray

Posted Mon Jan 19, 2015 at 10:00 AM PST by Tom Landy



The classic musical comedy starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis will enlist on Blu-ray this spring.

In an early announcement to retailers, Kino Classics is working on 'At War with the Army' for Blu-ray on March 24.

After their supporting roles in My Friend Irma and My Friend Irma Goes West, At War with the Army was the first film starring the legendary duo of Dean Martin (Artists and Models) and Jerry Lewis (Scared Stiff)... they went on to co-star in thirteen more comedies becoming Paramount Pictures new comedy team and box office champs. Lewis is a hapless bungling private and Martin is his bossy first sergeant and ladies man with the crooner's voice. Together the duo is thrown into a series of classics gags and routines and some great musical pieces. Directed by Hal Walker (Road to Utopia, Sailor Beware), one of the few directors to work both with Martin & Lewis as well as with Hope & Crosby.

Specs and supplements have yet to be revealed, but the suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $24.95.

You can find the latest specs for 'At War with the Army' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it is indexed under March 24.


Order the Blu-ray

Friday, January 30, 2015

Dino-amore Month Comin' Very Soon At ilovedinomartin




Hey pallies, likes while ilovedinomartin tries 365 days a year to provide the coolest and newest informatio on our most beloved Dino, we set aside three months each and every Dino-year for special accentin' of the Dino-message.  Each June, the month of our King of Cool's entrance onto the planet on June 7, 1917, we spend the whole month celebratin' the anniversary of his birth.  Each and every  December, the month in which our Dino departed the planet on December 25, 1995 (Dino-winter-day)  we honor his life and times durin' what we tagged it, Dino-winter-month.

And, our third month of special Dino-remembrance is February, the month in which Valentine's Day lands smack dab in the middle on February 14.  We honor our Dino, the man of amore with a Dino-amore-month theme, with the 14th, of course, bein' Dino-amore-day!

There is simply no end to the possibilities of homagin' our amorin' Dino durin' Dino-amore-month....great pixs, great tunes, great tributes to the one and only Dino.  In the past, we have invited our readership to step forward and create they own post of Dino-amore....perhaps sharin' a particularly meanin'ful Dino-croon, or sharin' their personal testimony of Dino-devotion...such as when they first came to know, love, and honor our King of Cool.  Or....the possibilites are endless of how to homage our most beloved Dino....only limited by your Dino-creativity!

So, we are truly truly hopin' that a number of faithful readers of our humble little Dino-blog will step forward and personally share their passion for our one and only amorin' Dino.  If you would likes to join the ilovedinomartin Dino-amore-month festivities, simply email Dino Martin Peters at kentsmokerguy@yahoo.com your desire and we will get the ball rollin' from there.  What you say pallies, ain't it about time that you proudly and publicly profess your awesome appreciato for our Dino?!?!?!?!    Dino-always, ever, and only, DMP

Not trying hard was Dean Martin’s prime charm

Hey pallies, likes here's the full-in-all-it's-glory review of Helmer numero tres..."The Ambushers" that was partially shared yester-Dino-day right here at ilovedinomartin.  From the swingest of swingin' blogs, "He Watched It Sober. - Trust us. We won't let this happen to you," comes this most wondrous of wonderful pix and prose essay accentin' "The Ambushers."

Scribed by an obviously in-the-Dino-know pallie tagged  Endless Dave Hudson, this patter is guaranteed to gives all us Dino-philes likes unendin' Dino-pleasure.  Likes there are almost two dozen vid screen caps many many of which feature our most beloved Dino in all his Dino-glory as swingin' spyster Matt Helm.

 Likes when Hudson puts words to print he has tons and tons of cool Dino-insights to share, such as "The Ambushers (1967), is the third of four Matt Helm spy films starring the preternaturally-loose, turtle-neck-clad Dean Martin," and "Not trying hard was Dean Martin’s prime charm after all."  Likes all youse Dino-philes are simply simply gonna needs to take the time to bask in the "endless" glorious thin's that Hudson has to share 'bout our glorious man as Helm.

We sezs thank you very much to Endless Dave Hudson and all the pallies at " "He Watched It Sober. - Trust us. We won't let this happen to you."  This is a truly superior review of what most Dino-holics consider the least of the 4 Helmers, showin' how even the least is so so worthy of our Dino-enjoyment!  To checks this out in it's original source, simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-report.   Dino-psyched, DMP
















Due to somebody's running headstart at celebrating the pending New Year, the regular writer of this website has, well, kinda disappeared for a weekend bender. Fear not, faithful readers, Operation: 00-Oddballs marches right along thanks to the timely intervention of long time reader, and even longer time friend, Endless Dave Hudson. And m'man has drawn a plum assignment, dissecting one of Dean Martin's Matt Helm films. And though this series of spoofs isn't exactly what author Donald Hamilton envisioned with his pulp novel spy hero, it did help cement Martin as one of the Kings of Cool in my book. Enjoy!

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The Ambushers (1967), is the third of four Matt Helm spy films starring the preternaturally-loose, turtle-neck-clad Dean Martin. While Martin was capable of excellent dramatic work (more on this later), this movie is best seen while in a state of relaxation just short of coma. Don’t expect its 101 minutes to make much sense, for the location footage to match the sound stage shots or for anyone involved to try particularly hard.

,Not trying hard was Dean Martin’s prime charm after all. If it bothers you, have another drink fer Christ’s sake. It’s what Dino would do.



Our opus opens with bikinied girls dancing to the title song sung by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart: "They getcha in the sun. They getcha in the shade. They’re the ambushers!" -- sure, it’s not Cole Porter, but this ain’t Citizen Kane, either.

The first scene of the movie proper gives us the launch of America’s first flying saucer. A group of military and CIA types watch a big screen in a control room and a voice says everything is "go."

The thing takes off, and the stiffs applaud. But meanwhile, on a nearby sound stage that bears a striking resemblance to The Gilligan’s Island set, a satellite dish atop an armored truck emits sparks and an eerie sound is heard as the saucer falters and is sucked back to earth. Back in the control room, Vince, one of the crew cuts, is heard saying "It’s jammed! Everything is jammed!"



Apparently this is one control room that guides rockets and saucers using a finely calibrated system of levers and pulleys. Maybe they forgot to grease something.

The saucer sets down beside the armored truck built, I’m guessing, out of coconuts and bamboo. Inside, the pilot removes her (of course) helmet. The saucer’s door opens and, there, leering away, is a dude with a white, collarless jacket and rose-tinted glasses. The scene closes with a guitar-chord that really wants to be the one used in the Bond films.

Cut to somewhere else – I don’t believe we’re told where. It’s the Intelligence Counter Espionage (ICE) Rehabilitation Center. Sort of a de-tox center for spies was my guess, knowing who our star is. Wherever we are, it’s warm. The girls aren’t wearing much. Dressed in red, white and gray outfits baring their flat, sexy tummies, the girls are topped with berets with pom-poms and tassels. So it’s sort of a Q’s lab/testing center facility, but instead of a new Astin Martin DB5, there’s a gadget that dissolves belt buckles. And although it works fine on the department-store manikin used in the test, "I like my way better," one of the trainees says.

"Everybody loves Somebody" coming out of an open window heralds our hero, who is discovered necking with a blonde on a couch as a turntable spins nearby. Dean looks pretty good, wearing the first of a medley of turtle-necks. They go at it until we hear a shot. The girl was wearing a loaded bra in more ways than one; there’s a gun barrel sewn into the bra stays. You reach the moment of glorious unlatching and blammo! you’re done. Thankfully, the cartridges were blanks (falsies?). After some off-color jokes, we gather that Dean is there for training in the opposition’s newest gadgets.

All that’s set-up, though. The first major plot point comes when a white-faced woman in a straitjacket runs into Martin’s arms as he walks across the grounds leaving his coursework. It’s Sheila Summers (Janice Rule), we learn, one of Martin’s former partners. A doctor-type says that she stumbled out of the jungle recently and can’t remember anything. Sharp eyes will recognize the pilot of the flying saucer.



A girl in a scooter drives up to tell Martin he’s got a long-distance phone call. And after some more off-color jokes – during which Dean coyly glances our way with a raised eyebrow – he rides off seated behind her. On the phone is MacDonald (James Gregory), Martin’s chief. Gregory also played the bad guy in the John Wayne/Dean Martin western The Sons of Katie Elder and was, I think, a regular on I Dream of Jeanie. [Editor's note: And don't forget Barney Miller.] He tells Dino that the case involves Summers (startling revelation, huh? I do like the way the movie explains itself for those of us who have used alcohol to get through it...) and that his private secretary would fill him in on the details.

After a couple of comic set pieces that frankly don’t play too well today, Dino is interrupted in the midst of a massage that is regrettably "just a massage." Doing the interrupting is Dino’s private secretary, Lovie Cravesit – a name that is always repeated at least once when first introduced so the boozers in the audience can come around. She brings his mouthwash – apparently a fifth of whisky.

"Only 36 percent more cavities… but you don’t care," Dino says with a sly look.

Incidentally, there’s a scene just like it in The Silencers, except he asks for his shampoo and is handed a tiny airline bottle of liquor, which he drinks, saying "Ah, I feel clean all over!" or something like it.

Cravesit doesn’t know anything about the plot, but her bra does. Undoing the catch while they’re in the steam room starts a recorded message. The key to the caper is Summers, the recording of Mac says. "I want you on top of this from morning ‘til night."

More information comes our way after a set piece in a mock railroad car. MacDonald, who arrived just in time to save Dino from a David Niven look-alike, explains another little wrinkle. Owing to the "electromagnetic propulsion" the saucer uses, only a "female of the species" can fly it. Men curl up and die after, we discover later, turning bright, Magic Marker red, even their clothes.



Summers is ICE’s best pilot, man or woman. Unfortunately, she can’t remember anything. Because of Dean’s history working with Summers – during a case where they posed as newlyweds – MacDonald thinks Dino can help her remember. ("Me?" Dean says, pointing nonchalantly at his chest with a .38 caliber revolver.) Interestingly, this seems a bit like a homage of From Russia with Love, where there’s a tussle in a railcar where Bond and his Chickie de Jour posed as newlyweds. Though, on further reflection, I think perhaps homage is stretching it. Lazy, half-assed tip of the snap brim pork-pie is more like it.

Before leaving the train, Dean says he thinks there’s a traitor in ICE’s midst. In the split second between cuts, Dean and Mac have already rooted out the fink. Quick work. Summers’ white-coated "physician" is about to inject her with "just something to quiet you." Dino hits him or something – anyway, Mr. Whitecoat falls down as Dino gets near him – and Summers embraces Dino, already thinking, or so it seems, that he is her husband.

Following the logic inherent in these foleyed fistfights, you could stand across the room from somebody, swing your arm through the air and across the room he’d fall down.

Dino gets a little bit more briefing when a filmed boxing match he and Mac are watching is interrupted by a commercial for Montezuma beer. Girls shaking their asses to a jingle that Mac explains is actually the marching tune for a sacred European organization. He walks over to a phonograph to hand Dino the album cover: "Songs Men Have Died For."

Mac tells Dean the leader of the organization is a cat called Casselius and that the beer company, owned by a man named Quintana believed to be mixed up in it, is based in Acapulco. (What did we expect? A real beer town like Milwaukee, Wisc.? The girls would have to wear clothes.) Now, Dean is to take pictures of the organization leaders, and Summers is supposed to come too and hopefully remember details about her abduction.

There’s the obligatory stock footage of that south-of-the-border paradise, and an absolutely paralyzing scene with Summers and Dino drinking and smoking in enormous-seeming airline seats. (It was a different world, baby, back when flight attendants were called stewardesses and were hired for their looks.) Just behind the Helms is a guy in a fez and sunglasses. He also shows up at their groovy Mexican hotel, where Dean grabs a drink from a tray on a passing pink Jeep. (He does his own stunts! Later we’ll see him drink his own liquor! Take that McQueen!)



That evening they go to the brewery, where the receptionist oohs and ahs about his pictures. They meet Quintana and a bunch more dancers. I don’t know why they were there. They just file out of Quintana’s office. During the following tour of the brewery there’s some pretty good jokes:

Looking at guys using hydraulic exoskeletons to move barrels of beer:

Quintana: "They can carry a 1,500-pound load."

Dean: "I know the feeling."

The exoskeletons, by the way, look like something made out of cardboard for Halloween. You and your 12-year-old big brother could do better. I’m sure of it. And I don’t even know your big brother.

Later the same day, at a big swinging party, who should arrive in a helicopter but the dude in a rose-tinted glasses. It is clear by the particularly motionless fixity of Summers’ face – even more stony than her signal for other emotions – that she recognizes "Jose Ortega," as he’s called.

There’s some intrigue with the bad guys whispering about Helm and Summers and more booze and sex jokes and then Helm meets Francesca Maderus (Senta Berger), who looks pretty good. (Everybody looks pretty good in the movie, but they all look they were out too late the night before.) Dino takes Ortega’s picture, holding the camera all wrong, pinched between his fingers with his crooked pinkie sticking out. A nearby thug demands the film, telling Dino that Ortega is sensitive about "the scar," which I hadn’t even noticed. The thug, who was standing like 5 feet away when the photo was snapped, should have prevented the photo, because it was instantly sent via wireless fax to ICE headquarters. Later, Dino dons a pair of Mr. Magoo glasses to read ICE’s reply which becomes visible on a piece of film: "Ortega is Leopold Casselius."

Wireless fax cameras and talking bras. Haven’t these people ever heard of a radio?

Basically, we’ve got some intrigue and shit in this section which doesn’t make a lick of sense. I don’t see any reason to waste your time with it. What it comes down to is that Ortega recognizes Summers and begins steps to eliminate her and Dino. Maderus saves the pretend newlyweds from a musician in the band who holds a pair of maracas with gun barrels that poke out the ends like nipples. Chased by bad guys, Summers and Dino run into the parking lot, which Summers leaves behind in a huge, black Lincoln. Meanwhile Dino hides behind the fins of an equally huge 1961 Cadillac while he extends a pistol barrel from his Swiss Army camera (does everything but actually expose film). Meanwhile, several of the girls from the ICE training camp appear to run interference. Spotting a motorcycle, he runs for it, shooting and using a buckle disintegrating ray on a group of bad guys, who push their pants down as they run while they act like they’re trying to hold them up. It’s an embarrassingly stupid scene just as pitiful as a guy wrestling with a limp rubber octopus.



But it only gets worse, for some enormously convenient reason the marching theme -- from "Songs Men Have Died For" -- plays, halting the bad guys, pants around their ankles. Dino just weaves between them on his motorcycle as they stand at attention. (He weaves beautifully. Practice, baby, practice.) Meanwhile, in the Lincoln, a bad guy has come out of the back seat to menace Summers. They park off the road and are both in the back seat when there’s a gun shot. Summers comes out alone, safe and sound. The henchman is slumped over in the back seat, another victim of the bra gun.

In the new scene Dino is visiting Maderus’ hotel room, where he discovers two album covers, S.M.H.D.F. and "Sinatra Sings." She wants to know the identity of Casselius and the location of his headquarters. Dino refuses a drink, saying, "I’m not too fond of that chlorohydrate," but doesn’t refuse a kiss. Pretty soon he’s lying on the bed, dazed and mumbling. The antidote to the knock-out drug was in the drink, as it turns out. Summers arrives and demands that he be gotten out of it. Once more or less sober (about as good as you’re going to get), Dino asks Maderus why she’s after Casselius. It turns out she’s more or less a good guy, charged with putting down Casselius in order to calm the unrest in Mexico. They decide to work together. Driving with Dino back to the brewery, Summers also says her memory came back when Dino and Mac saved her from the syringe-wielding bad guy at the beginning. She played crazy so that she could come back and kill her captors.

As darkness falls, Summers and Dino pull off a real road and magically onto the Gillian’s Island set, where they plan to spend the night. They look for blankets in the Lincoln’s trunk, find a lever there and pull it, releasing an inflatable "outdoor Hilton." A camouflaged inflatable tent unrolls from the trunk. As Dino and Summers stand before the tent, the sped up film quickly inflates the tent. (You can see Dino and Summers jittering back and forth on their feet, obviously having to wait an actual half hour to get the footage.) Inside, their an inflated round bed, lamp and refrigerator -- probably stocked with inflated gin and inflated tonic.

The next scene finds them seated outside the brewery like a couple of sleepy Mexicans beneath comically huge sombreros. A worried looking Quintana arrives, followed by the goon who was working for Maderus. Dino follows them into the brewery, wearing a yellow turtleneck this time. The brewery guard is dead and the goon is firing at Dino, slowing him down even further, because he seems compelled to drink from every bullet-punctured, beer-spewing pipe. Ducking from a bullet, Dino plunges into a vat of beer. "Ah! Saved!" he says. Treading beer nearby in the same vat is Quintana. He’s not doing so well.







Dino saves him in return for information. Quintana admits he told Maderus where Casselius’ hideout is and gives Dino the same piece of information. When they escape the vat, Quintana is shot but Dino escapes with the help of Summers, who’s wearing the exoskeleton, rolling beer barrels at the bad guy. The tables soon turn, with Dino chasing the henchman – hampered, as Dino was most of his life, by his compulsion to snag a drink here and there. The chase comes to blows (and I have to say that Dean can throw a convincing looking punch when he wants to). Finally the bad guy falls into a huge open trough of beer which runs into a transparent pipe ascending to the ceiling. The pipe feeds a sign or sorts – with a raised hand eternally pouring beer into a mug. Poured from the giant bottle, the goon overshoots the rim of the mug and another sawdust-filled dummy falls to its death. Dean looks over a ledge following the fall of the dummy, then raises one of his beat-up, crooked hands in a farewell. The camera pulls back the instant he says "Ole!", revealing Dino to be standing surrounded by the word "ole!" in lights.









This fight scene in the brewery and its dénouement is probably the strongest sequence in the movie. It moves nicely and is well choreographed. Dino, it has to be said, is far more convincing as an action hero than his little runt of a buddy Francis Albert Sinatra. Anyhoo, the next scene finds Dino and Summers in a Ford Bronco heading to Casselius’ jungle hide-out. They come upon Maderus, whose car couldn’t take the desert road. Dino, knowing she knew where the hide-out was and that she had papers to get safely inside, had told her the road was good. (I don’t remember the part about the papers, but damned if I’m going to watch this turkey again.) The three of them cook up a plan. Maderus is to go inside saying that she is being followed by Dino. After Dino allows himself to be captured, he’ll use a dart-gun camouflaged to look like a packet of cigarettes (Smoking’ll kill you, kids.) to free himself. He gives the smokes to Maderus so that he won’t have the pack when searched. Meanwhile Summers is to find the saucer and fly away.

The sad thing about the scene is that Summers’ reaction shot to Dino and Maderus’ kiss late in the scene was shot on a lushly green sound stage far, far away from the dusty Southern California road the rest of them are on. It’s obvious on first viewing.

Maderus leaves in the Bronco, and Dino, Summers and two body doubles climb through a combination of real jungle, sound stage jungle and Southern California desert to reach a ridge overlooking Casselius’ compound. They use a 50-year-old Speed Graphic camera loaded with "heat picture" film to locate the saucer through the foliage. After dark, Dino takes off carrying another pack of cigarettes, this time Mexican cigarettes loaded with "happy gas." (Uh huh, sure. Yeah, I went to a liberal arts college, too. I know all about that.) Dino gets himself captured, but so does Summers. Brought into Casselius’ palatial underground hide-out (is there any other kind?), Dino tries to get the dart gun cigarettes from Maderus, but she turned them over to Casselius (Albert Salmi). Bringing down Casseius was only a small part of her mission. Maderus, an operative of the Bureau of International Government and Order (BIG-O), also wants the saucer.



The fez guy is there, too, also making a bid on the saucer. Although Casselius says the bid is generous, he already accepted a bid of $100 million. "Who would have thought the first men on the moon would be eating Chow mein," he asks rhetorically. In celebration, Casselius makes drinks for everybody using a spark-shooting gun. Like its larger cousin on the truck, it makes things levitate. The strings are only faintly visible.

"I always wanted a magic bartender," Dean slurs, expressing the wishes of many of us. In fact, it’s one of the reasons I got married.

Quintana finally arrives with his arm in a sling to warn everybody that Dino is on his way. Casselus – obeying the evil madman’s prime credo (always make sure your assassins are incompetent) -- tells Quintana to kill Dino. As they leave, Maderus gives Summers (oh yeah, she’s there, too) a little make-up and a drink -- the knock-out drug and its antidote. It’s meant for Casselius, but more about that later. The fez guy and Maderus escape. While they travel to the saucer separately, they arrive together. Maderus is strangled unconscious by the fez guy before she can initiate the saucer’s take-off process. The fez guy gets that far but dies horribly – horribly for him and horribly for us. It’s a long death. He turns bright red, screams and stumbles out of the saucer, his arms stiff and straight down his sides, and finally out of the scene.

Dino meanwhile is lounging nonchalantly in front of a firing squad commanded by Quintana. He’s ready to die but wants a last smoke. After securing a match from a helpful leetle Mexican. Dino starts puffing on a happy cigarette, blowing smoke toward the nearby Quintana, who’s working his way through the "Ready, Aim, Fire" routine. Naturally, he busts out laughing before he gets to "fire." Dino doses the squad the same way. They helpfully give him their guns and lie down in the dirt to look up at that happy old, smiling sun and dream the rest of the day away. Meanwhile, Casselius is going to get it on with Summers. He tells the guard outside his bedroom door to keep his eyes straight ahead and not to investigate any strange sounds. The guard’s smirk, offered in reply, stands as the best piece of acting in the film.



Casselius uses the spark gun to unzip Summers’ dress. Summers gets sexy and plants a big drugged smackero on Casselius, who starts to go down for the count. He shouts, but naturally the guard just smirks bigger. Summers runs away, leaving through the door guarded by the smirking henchman. This time he shakes his head a little. (Boy that Casselius! He be having a good time.)

Ok, starting about here the cuts come fast and frantic as the movie tries to build some steam toward a climax.

Outside, Dino is running rampant. Disarmed, he takes off his belt and runs it under a stream. It gradually straightens and gets hard (Hey, the same thing happens to me in the shower). He runs off, using it as a sort of blade. About this time Casselius revives and tells Quintana to intercept the girl (Summers) at the saucer before leaving himself. Dino also runs right through Casselius’ bedroom and grabs the spark gun he had used to unzip her clothes. This time, the guard looks faintly confused. Summers arrives at the saucer and gets ready to start it. Casselius appears in its doorway holding a gun. Dino arrives at the ship and the armored truck sitting nearby, taking out two guards with the spark guns. He also plays chicken with Quintana, who also holds a spark gun. Dino wins and disables the satellite dish. Quintana is knocked unconscious.

Back in the saucer, Summers starts the saucer as she holds Casselius down, killing him. Dino gets the armored truck going, firing at the soldiers on a nearby building as he drives away. Meanwhile, Quintana comes to enough to pull the lever that releases the train car the saucer sits on. It starts rolling down hill. Chasing it, Dino sits on a roller mounted on the track. Basically he slides down the steel rail like it’s a polished wooden banister ... Leaving the rail behind, Dino steals a motorcycle and sidecar and continues riding along the track. It’s a pretty embarrassingly bad back-projection shot with Dean hunched over the handlebars facing into a breeze from a fan. People off camera throw palm fronds at him. The motorcycle goes through a river and comes out with an alligator in the sidecar. At some point Dino loses the sidecar, but continues without it.



Finally, Dino catches up with the saucer and uses the spark gun to carefully lift Summers from the saucer through the air and into the space behind him on the motorcycle.

The saucer goes over a cliff.

How exactly this is a victory for ICE I don’t understand, but at least the movie is nearly finished.

Cut to the epilog: Dino, wearing a jacket with his turtleneck now, is back with Mac at ICE. Mac says he’s supposed to teach the new agents some tricks. He’s shown into a room where a hot blonde is seated on a couch (This is a movie that begins and ends with blondes on couches). Dino explains how she should be soft and yielding when it comes to seducing an enemy agent. Music is important, he continues, putting on "Everybody Loves Somebody." It doesn’t move her. Dino plays "Strangers in the Night" by his buddy Sinatra and she gets turned on.

"You really like Perry Como that much?" Dino says.

The music comes up and words appear on the screen: "Next in View: The Necking Crew." The "N" is crossed out to be replaced by a "Wr".

Credits and...

The End

I like this movie, and I like it mainly because of the star. It’s a sloppily written, sloppily filmed movie from a sloppy decade. You get the feeling you’re not meant to watch it sober.

To Martin’s credit, The Ambushers was shot while he was performing regularly in Vegas, recording music and starring in his own TV show. (If a guy who showed up 30 minutes before taping and read off cue cards can really be said to be the start.) Considering that and considering that he’s the best thing in the picture, you’ve got to give him credit. Janice Rule, who plays Sheila Summers, also gives a nice, crookedly-smiling performance. In fact all of the principals do a good job.

But the screenwriter should be found and, if not shot, than at least sobered up.

If this review is your first experience with Dean Martin, don’t let it be your last. He’s far, far better than this movie. He had fantastic comic timing, good looks and an unearthly voice – naturally richer and smoother than his pallie Frank Sinatra.

Now I have four Sinatra CDs -- all reissues of classic Capitol platters of the 50s -- and only two Martin CDs, a stellar "best of" and a very good Christmas album. (And naturally I’ve got piles of LPs by each of them, most of the Martin disks hijacked from my father. Thanks, Dad!) The fact is, Sinatra produced better work over the course of his career. Martin recorded a lot of clinkers along with the gems. He was like the slacker in the back of the class who could think rings around the birds in the front of the room but didn’t care.

"Hey Dean," a music producer says, "you know what would sound good with this tune? A bunch of hokey background singers."

"Yeah, sure, Pallie. Whatever." says Dean, exhaling smoke, "Ring-a-Ding-Ding."

On the other hand, Sinatra was combative, competitive and often an asshole – and recorded the greatest collection of tracks ever laid down in wax and iron oxide tape. In front of the camera, he earned a supporting actor Oscar.

The things Martin did well were the things that were effortless for him – crooning and comedy. Acting took effort, though, which is why there are only a few dramatic performances where Martin shines. Check out The Young Lions, Some Came Running, Rio Bravo and even Ocean’s Eleven, where Martin tries to dissuade his cohorts from the Vegas caper. (Also see that movie for a collection of the sharpest cut suits ever to be immortalized in celluloid.) He’s as good as anybody in the speech that ends "The percentage is always with the house. With the house!"

The Ambushers (1967) Meadway-Claude Productions Company :: Columbia Pictures Corporation / P: Irving Allen / AP: Douglas Netter / D: Henry Levin / W: Herbert Baker, Donald Hamilton (novel) / C: Edward Colman, Burnett Guffey / E: Harold F. Kress / M: Hugo Montenegro / S: Dean Martin, Senta Berger, Janice Rule, James Gregory, Albert Salmi, Beverly Adams

Thursday, January 29, 2015

.... it did help cement Martin as one of the Kings of Cool in my book.

Hey pallies, likes here's yet still 'nother  bit of Dino-devotion that bubbled up from our trilogy of posts from pallie Keith over at "Teleport City which was shared here at ilovedinomartin on October 28-30 of last Dino-year. Likes we had planned to share today and tomorrow's Dino-grams soon followin' those fabulous Dino-diggin' posts by Keith, but one thin' or the other came up, so we are thrilled to be sharin' 'em early in this new Dino-year!

 This time we visit with the blog "Micro - Brews Reviews where a dude tagged "W.B. Kelso" posted "Operation 00-Oddballs :: Matt Helm vs. the Magic Sparkomatic Bartender and Slaygirls Dressed to Kill!"  It's a prose and pix essay on Helmer numero tres, "The Wrecking Crew" scribed by a pallie tagged "Endless Dave Hudson."

As W.B.'s sharin' is only a partial review by Hudson, we ain't gonna say much more then that is is always always so so cool to see our Dino as hipster spyster Matt Helm continually showin' up in post after post on the web.  'Cause tomorrow we are plannin' on runnin' Hudson's remarkable review in total from a pad tagged  3B Theatre :He Watched It Sober. , we simply gonna sez, thanks very very much W.B. Kelso for honorin' our most honorable Dino at your blog and pointin' the way to the full review.

To checks this out in it's original pad, simply clicks on the tag  of this Dino-message.  Dino-psyched, DMP

Thursday, December 27, 2012


Operation 00-Oddballs :: Matt Helm vs. the Magic Sparkomatic Bartender and Slaygirls Dressed to Kill!


Wow. Has it really been over six months since I last tinkered with this marathon? That, my friends, is a lot of Red Tape or something. Anyhoo, due to somebody's procrastinating and a running headstart at celebrating the pending New Year, the regular writer of this retrospective has, well, kinda disappeared for a weekend bender. Fear not, faithful readers, both of you, OPERATION: 00-Oddballs marches right along thanks to the timely intervention of long time reader, and even longer time friend, Endless Dave Hudson.


And m'man has drawn a plum assignment, dissecting one of Dean Martin's Matt Helm films. And though this series of spoofs isn't exactly what author Donald Hamilton envisioned with his pulp novel spy hero, it did help cement Martin as one of the Kings of Cool in my book.


The Ambushers, says Dave, was the third of four Matt Helm spy films starring the preternaturally-loose, turtle-neck-clad Dean Martin. While Martin was capable of excellent dramatic work (more on this later), this movie is best seen while in a state of relaxation just short of coma. Don’t expect its 101 minutes to make much sense, for the location footage to match the sound stage shots or for anyone involved to try particularly hard. Not trying hard was Dean Martin’s prime charm, after all. If it bothers you, have another drink fer Christ’s sake. It’s what Dino would do...




Other Points of Interest: 




The Ambushers (1967) Meadway-Claude Productions Company :: Columbia Pictures Corporation / P: Irving Allen / AP: Douglas Netter / D: Henry Levin / W: Herbert Baker, Donald Hamilton (novel) / C: Edward Colman, Burnett Guffey / E: Harold F. Kress / M: Hugo Montenegro / S: Dean Martin, Janice Rule, Senta Berger, James Gregory, Albert Salmi, Beverly Adams  

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Dean was just right and Lewis fumbling. successful formula.



Hey pallies, likes today we gets the privilege of sharin' some more internationale Dino-devotion with all youse Dino-philes....actually in this case devotion to both our most beloved Dino and his beloved partner Mr. Jerry Lewis.  Scribed by Brazilian  Mr. Eli Braz in Portuguese at his beautiful blog "Welcome to the 70's!  -  A blog made for those born in the 70s and was a teenager in the 80s or 90s TV, music, facts and trivia season. Relive the past,"  his post is tagged "Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin double the noise."

 Likes ain't it cool to know that devotion to the team of Martin and Lewis can be found 'round the entire globe?!?!?!?!  As Eli powerfully proclaims 'bout the greatest comedic team ever..."On them I will never stop talking. Represented much to my childhood, I say, to the childhood of many people."
From those openin' thoughts, Mr. Braz goes on to speak 'bout the partnership that our Dino and Mr. Lewis shared as well as their solo careers.

While there is nothin' written that hasn't been shared before here, we are thrilled to be able to share yet '  more proof positive of the international nature of adulation for our Dino, and in this case, for Mr. Lewis as well.  We sez our thanks to Mr. Eli Braz for so boldly and openin'ly sharin' his passion for Martin and Lewis with his readership....sure to bring many more into the Dino-fold! Clicks here to visit "Welcome to the 70's" and reads Braz's potent prose it it's original form.  Dino-sharin', DMP



Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin double the noise


On them I will never stop talking. Represented much to my childhood, I say, to the childhood of many people. The Jerry Lewis movies and Dean Martin, were remarkable.The art of making smile was their office. So it is only fair that in tone and gratitude write about man who cheered and did much to laugh many children and adults in the 70's and 80's Jerry Lewis actually Joseph Levitch (Newark, March 16, 1926) is a comedian, screenwriter, producer, American director and singer.

He became famous for his comedies slapstick style made on stage, film, radio and TV programs and in their music. Perhaps what few people know is that Lewis is also known for its annual charity program, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, with the goal of helping children with muscular dystrophy. Lewis won several honorary awards including the American Comedy Awards, The Golden Camera, Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Venice Film Festival, and has two stars on the Walk of Fame. In 2005, he received the Governors Award from the Academy of Arts and Sciences television.

In February 2009, Jerry Lewis received the Arts and Sciences Academy Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Oscar humanitarian. Lewis was also credited as inventor of the video assist system in order to have more visibility as an actor and director at the same time while recording a movie (some people still doubt that today).   Lewis also partnered with singer and actor Dean Martin in 1946, forming the duo Martin and Lewis. In addition to having been successful in venues, the duo also charted making films for Paramount.The two separated ten years later.

About the Partnership Jerry Lewis and Dean

Jerry Lewis e Dean Martin

Every partnership or corporation is equal to a wedding, the honeymoon begins and as is the relationship may end in a contested divorce.Well, that's life. and so too was the partnership of Lewis and Dean. Even in the 40's they started a series of movies in which the plot almost always the duo involved in confusion. Dean was just right and Lewis fumbling. successful formula.

But already in the 50's, due to issues of characters and its prominence, and Dean had its importance diminished in the double. This led to the remote and finally the breakup of the partnership.
Both continued in solo career, with success. But never spoke in act together again. A pity. After separation of the duo, Lewis continued at Paramount and became a top artist with his first solo film, The Delicate Delinquent (Delicate Delinquent) 1957.

In 1966, Lewis, 40, saw his career decline slowly with his films of little box. Thus, Lewis ended his contract with Paramount and signed with Columbia Pictures, where he went on to make a few more films. Lewis was a professor of management at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles for many years, and students like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

As for Dean Martin, and he has three stars on the "Walk of Fame", one (6519 Hollywood Boulevard) for his work in film, the second (1817 Vine) for their recordings, and the third (6651 Hollywood Boulevard) for his work on television. Unfortunately died from a lung cancer in 1995 christmas, aged 78. It has a great historical films and songs that are available to humanity.

Phew! I loved making this trip to the 70s and 80s when I was a child and saw on TV these two engaging in hilarious situations. It was a privilege. Hugs to all.

Jerry Lewis e Dean Martin

Jerry Lewis e Dean Martin dupla do barulho

Sobre eles eu nunca ira deixar de falar. Representaram muito para minha infância, digo, para a infância de muitas pessoas. Os filmes de Jerry Lewis e Dean Martin, foram marcantes. A arte de fazer sorrir era o ofício deles. Então nada mais justo que em tom e gratidão escrever sobre homem que alegrou e fez rir muito muitas crianças e adultos nos anos 70 e 80. Jerry Lewis, na verdade, Joseph Levitch (Newark, 16 de março de 1926), é um comediante, roteirista, produtor, diretor e cantor norte-americano.

Tornou-se famoso por suas comédias estilo pastelão feita nos palcos, filmes, programas de rádio e TV e em suas músicas. O que talvez poucas pessoas sabem é que Lewis também é conhecido por seu programa beneficente anual, o Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, com o objetivo de ajudar crianças com distrofia muscular. Lewis ganhou vários prêmios honorários incluindo os do American Comedy Awards, The Golden Camera, Los Angeles Film Critics Association e do Festival de Venice, além de ter duas estrelas na Calçada da Fama. Em 2005, recebeu o Governors Award da Academia de Artes e Ciências Televisivas.

Em fevereiro de 2009, Jerry Lewis recebeu da Academia de Artes e Ciências Cinematográficas o Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, o Oscar Humanitário. Lewis também foi creditado como inventor do video assist system, com o objetivo de ter mais visibilidade como ator e diretor ao mesmo tempo durante uma gravação de um filme (algumas pessoas ainda duvidam disso até hoje). Lewis também fez parceria com o cantor e ator Dean Martin em 1946, formando a dupla Martin e Lewis. Além de terem feito sucesso em casas de shows, a dupla também emplacou fazendo filmes para a Paramount. Os dois se separaram dez anos depois.

Sobre a Parceria de Jerry Lewis e Dean
Jerry Lewis e Dean MartinToda parceria ou sociedade é igual a um casamento, começa no lua de mel e conforme for a relação pode terminar num divórcio litigioso. Bem, assim é a vida. e assim também foi a parceria de Lewis e Dean. Ainda na década de 40 eles  iniciaram uma série de filmes em que o enredo quase sempre a dupla se envolvia em confusões. Dean era o certinho e Lewis o atrapalhado. formula de sucesso.

Mas já na década de 50, devido a questões de personagens e seu destaque, sendo que Dean teve sua importância diminuída na dupla. Isso levou ao afastamento e por fim a dissolução da parceria.

Ambos continuaram na carreira solo, tendo sucesso. Mas nunca mais falaram em atuarem juntos novamente. Uma pena. Depois da separação da dupla, Lewis continuou na Paramount e se tornou um artista top com o seu primeiro filme solo, The Delicate Delinquent  (O delinquente delicado) de 1957.

Em 1966, Lewis, com 40 anos, viu sua carreira declinar aos poucos com seus filmes de pouca bilheteria. Com isso, Lewis terminou o seu contrato com a Paramount e assinou com a Columbia Pictures, onde passou a fazer mais alguns filmes. Lewis foi professor de direção na University of Southern California, em Los Angeles, por muitos anos, tendo alunos como Steven Spielberg e George Lucas.

Quanto a Dean Martin, bem ele possui três estrelas na “calçada da fama”, uma (6519 Hollywood Boulevard) por seu trabalho no cinema, a segunda (1817 Vine) por suas gravações, e a terceira (6651 Hollywood Boulevard) por seu trabalho na televisão. Infelizmente morreu em decorrência a um câncer de pulmão no natal de 1995, aos 78 anos. Ele tem um grande histórico de filmes e canções que estão a disposição da humanidade.

Ufa! adorei fazer essa viagem aos anos 70  e 80 em que eu era uma criança e via na TV estes dois se envolvendo em hilárias situações. Foi um privilégio. Abraços a todos.

Jerry Lewis e Dean Martin

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Casino Claims Right Dean Martin's Image

Hey pallies, likes we just never ever know when we opens our email 'count likes what the good ol' pallies at google Dino-'lerts are goin' to send our way.  Today we hear from a Mr. Mike Heuer who has scribed the report "Casino Claims Right Dean Martin's Image." for the 'net pad "Courthouse News Service."

As you may gather from the title of the Dino-prose and the tag of the internet site, our most beloved Dino has found his way 'gain into the court system over a dispute of the use of his image in a casino's carpet.  Likes we don't wanna tells all the details, 'cause likes you can read 'em for yourselves below.
Likes we certainly woulda be interested in hearin' from some of youse Dino-holics what youse thinks and feels 'bout this matter.

We sez our thanks to Mr. Mike Heuer for puttin' pen to paper to shares this latest Dino-patter with you.  We will be interestin' in hearin' further news 'bout the outcome of this lawsuit and counter suit, but one thing is for sure pallies....our Dino is gettin' more and more attention and that of course is the best Dino-news of all!  To checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks  here.   Dino-reportin', DMP

Casino Claims Right Dean Martin's Image

     LAS VEGAS (CN) - The owner of the former Sahara Hotel and Casino wants court affirmation that it can use a large image of Dean Martin on the casino's carpet.
     Now known as the SLS Hotel & Casino and owned by Stockbridge/SBE Holdings, the remodeled casino has a larger-than-life image of Dean Martin and other celebrities in the carpet of its lobby.
     The Sahara opened in 1952 and has "great cultural significance" to Las Vegas and its history, Stockbridge says in the Jan. 23 lawsuit in Clark County Court.
     Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and others performed at the hotel, and "Dean Martin also frequented the casino" and "performed at the Sahara ... as part of the 'Rat Pack,'" according to the complaint.
     Stockbridge claims that appearances by the Rat Pack "have cultural and historical significance" and that the hotels and casinos that hosted them are known as "'Rat Pack' hotel-casinos." It claims the Sahara was one of the last Rat Pack hotel-casinos when it closed in 2011.
     When the property reopened as the SLS in 2014, Stockbridge says, it installed carpets featuring images "reminiscent of the Sahara's past."
     The SLS claims it uses Martin's image strictly for decoration and not in products, merchandise or goods or for advertising or other commercial purposes.
     On Dec. 4, 2014, Stockbridge says, it received a letter from Joel Smith, trustee for the Dean Martin Family Trust, saying the image infringed upon Dean Martin's right of publicity, which now is owned by the trust.
     The casino responded by saying the "singular use of a photograph in the carpeting for décor celebrating a part of the Sahara's and Las Vegas' history does not infringe Dean Martin's right of publicity" and is not a commercial use.
     Smith disagreed, and demanded $50,000 for a license fee and threatened to sue the casino if it did not pay the license fee or remove the image.
     So the casino sued Smith and the Dean Martin Family Trust. It seeks declaratory judgment that its use of Dean Martin's image does not infringe upon Martin's right of publicity. It also seeks attorney's fees and costs.
     It is represented by Michael J. McCue, with Lewis Roca & Rothgerber.
     Dean Martin was a popular singer, actor and television star. He had many hit records, including "Everybody Loves Somebody," and teamed with comedian Jerry Lewis in several hit comedies. He died in 1995.  

Monday, January 26, 2015

Perry Como & Dean Martin: Hometown Geography 101

  Hey pallies, likes we simply loves how when we goes searchin' with the ol' google blog puttin' the glorious name of our most gloriously  beloved Dino in the search bar that we never ever know where we will land and what new Dino-discovery that we are 'bout to make!

Case in point is recently  while doin' our usual 20 pages of Dino-explorin' we landed at new-to-ilovedinomartin pad, "Adam, Justin, and Luke Growing Up... and other things. Will keep up as much as possible."  Their post, "Perry Como & Dean Martin: Hometown Geography 101," features classic footage of our Dino visitin' the Perry Como Show for Kraft Music Hall and talkin' 'bout their hometowns of Steubenville, Ohio and Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania usin' a map that Como jokes "It looks like a blown up picture of one of your (Dino's) eyeballs."

 Likes no way of tellin' which of the boys be it Adam, Justin, or Luke who created the Dino-centric post, but we are delighted that they did so and thanks 'em very much for sharin' this terrific televisional Dino-history with us!  To checks this out in it's original site, simply clicks on the opennin' words of this Dino-devotion.  Dino-learnin' and Dino-growin', DMP


Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Perry Como & Dean Martin: Hometown Geography 101

I used to go to Steubenville often. Canonsburg is mentioned here too.

This is the info that was provided on the youtube site:

Pierino Ronald Como, born in Canonsburg, PA, is visited by Dino Paul Crocetti, born in Steubenville, OH. In this clip Perry Como (1912-2001) and Dean Martin (1917-1995) use a low-tech map to discuss growing up 35 miles apart. Additional assistance provided by the Videolongeaux Cartographic Division.

Thanks go out to RADIOBOCA, http://www.youtube.com/user/RADIOBOCA, for posting Parts 1 & 2 of Dean Martin visits the Perry Como Show, Kraft Music Hall on NBC from which video and audio snippets were collected. I threw another map, an enhanced Google map, myself.

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Danny G's Sunday Serenade with Dino: "Tangerine"




Welcome back mi swingin' Senoritas & Caballeros! Haha!
Anyone in the mood for some Dino Latino? Good! Me too!!!
It's just what I need to get through this last week of January. A fun fun Serenade to dig outta this snowstorm... we just got hit with!
 Don't bother me though pallies...just thow in my earphones...& let Dean lead the way! "Tangerine" should do the trick!

Now pals...PLEASE...be careful! Youse must use EXTREME caution while jamin' with a bouncy tune like this!
 If your neighbors see youse doin' the Salsa with your snow shovel...well...this might be frowned upon.  Hey...guess what?! Who cares?! Let em' laugh! We know the Dino-truth! Life's TOO short NOT to dance with your snow shovel! Hahaha!!!

Anythin' we do pals...should be as fun as it possibly can be...& who better to start the party than our Numero Uno Caballero...Dino! Ha!

Well ol' pals o' mine...guess I'd better get bundled up & hit the snow.
Now just to set the Latino mood...I MAY just have to throw back a wee bit of Tequila...or, "To-kill-ya", as my dear ol' Dad would call it! Haha!

Ok pallies...see youse next week for our first Serenade of Dino-Amore month!
 We're gettin' there pals! Only 53 days 'till Spring!!! Enjoy!


Tangerine she is all they claim
With her eyes of night lips as bright as flame
Tangerine when she dances by
Senoritas stare, caballeros sigh

And I sing toast to Tangerine
Raising every bar across the Argentine
Yes she has them all on the run
But her heart belongs to just one
Her heart belongs to Tangerine

Yes she has them all on the run
But her heart belongs to just one
Her heart belongs to Tangerine

(Tangerine) Tangerine (Tangerine) Tangerine (Tangerine) Tangerine

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Timmy As Dean Martin

Hey pallies, likes for some reason, likes we just couldn't resist sharin' this shortest of short Dino-emulation with all youse Dino-addicted pallies.  When we opened our email 'count this day we had a google Dino-lert that led us to the vid clip below that has just been posted at youtube of a pallie tagged Timmy croonin' a few bars (less then 10 seconds worth) of that Dino-standard, "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You."

Well, we gotta sez that Timmy ain't likely to make the big time as a Dino-impersonator, but we gives him huge huge kudos for proudly, publicly sharin' his profuse  passion for our most beloved Dino! On any given night, it makes us pause to reflections on the tons and tons of pallies 'round the globe who go to their local waterin' holes and picks up a mike and sings themselves some Dino.  Truly, truly this is one of the coolest ways that the Dino-legacy is bein' spread one pallie at a time croonin' a Dino-tune.

We thanks a dude tagged James Simon who captured Timmy on vid and posted it for all the world to see on youtube, and to Timmy himself for choosin' to croon a Dino-tune.  And, likes of course, we needs to share our most belove Dino singin' his stunnin'ly stellar ver-si-on from t he Dino-show.  Likes we digs this particular edition so so much, 'cause our Dino is havin' so so  much fun singin' it in the most playful of playful Dino-ways as he works his Dino-magic with the lyrics.  Dino-delightedly, DMP




Friday, January 23, 2015

.....a transparent self-portrait of Dean Martin as a cynical philanderer and alcoholic


Jonathan Rosenbaum
Hey pallies, likes here's more timely Dino-devotion.  Likes we shared real recently the great news that on February 7th Olive Films in releasin' both  regular and Blue-ray DVD ver-si-ons of the Dino-classic "Kiss Me Stupid."   Well, likes on the heels of that amazin' announcement, we take you this very Dino-day to the self-tagged blog, "JONATHAN ROSENBAUM" where Mr. Rosenbaum has shared a extremely  evocative review of that most powerfully provocative big screen Dino-effort.

Now retired, Jonathan, for two decades, held forth as the principal film reviewer for what was known as the Chicago Reader.  His revelatory review, "Kiss Me, Stupid/Billy Wilder" offers Rosenbaum's personal take on two most interestin' reasons for KMS receivin' the "C or 'condemned' rating from the Legion of Decency."  It's one that we have never heard before, and likes we have featured quite the number of KMS reviews here over the  years.  Likes you are simply gonna have to read Jonathan's remarkable review to see what you thinks.

We loves how much Mr. Rosenbaum digs KMS callin' it "one of Billy Wilder’s most underrated films" and  taggin' it a "masterpiece."  Likes we find Jonathan's passion of this long-before-it's-time flick remarkably refreshin' and applauds him for his amazin' appreciato  of KMS.  To view Jonathan Rosenbaum's review clicks here  to go directly to his prose pad.   Dino-always, ever, and only, DMP

Kiss Me, Stupid/Billy Wilder

KISS ME, STUPID, written by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, directed by Wilder, with Dean Martin, Kim Novak, Ray Walston, Felicia Farr, and Cliff Osmond (1964, 126 min.)
A fresh look at one of Billy Wilder’s most underrated films clarifies for me two essential facts about it for the first time: (1) It seems likely that this masterpiece mainly received a C or “condemned” rating from the Legion of Decency because of its scathing portrait of the hypocrisy of American small-town life and the corruption of big-time media, not because of its depiction of sex per se. (2) Wilder’s return to the American Southwest after his earlier Ace in the Hole (1951) is in fact a return to these very same topics, seen with a no less jaundiced eye — something Wilder was apparently fully aware of, as signaled by a virtual quote of a shot from the previous film: Dean Martin in the driving seat of a car being towed replicates Kirk Douglas in the driving seat of his own car being towed.
If Robert Osmond on TCM is to be believed, the previous C rating bestowed by the Legion of Decency prior to Kiss Me, Stupid was eight years before — which would make it Baby Doll (1956). For me that’s another case of a film being condemned principally because of its very unflattering picture of American small-town life — in this case Tennessee Williams taking some form of personal revenge on his background by honing in on the stupidity, venality, and hypocrisy of Mississippi rednecks — rather than, say, a couple of failed Nevada songwriters (Ray Walson and Cliff Osmond) and what they’re willing to do in order to sell one of their songs to Dino. The latter, I should add, is a transparent self-portrait of Dean Martin as a cynical philanderer and alcoholic who’s every bit as willing to sleep with a songwriter’s wife (Felicia Farr) as the songwriter (Walston) is willing to make him think that’s what he’s doing, at least when he hires a prostitute (Kim Novak) to impersonate her.
One reason why Avanti! (1972) continues to be my favorite Wilder picture is that, in spite of all its grace, romance, and sweetness, it refuses to hold back in its unsparing portrait of Wendell Armbruster, Jr. (Jack Lemmon) as a crass, smug, and hypocritical Republican boob, different from the small-town men in Ace in the Hole and Kiss Me, Stupid only to the degree that he’s rich with inherited money rather than poor or middle-class. Even if he eventually gets softened and loosened some by Pamela Piggott (Juliet Mills) — Wilder’s women are almost invariably smarter than his men — Avanti! leaves us with little doubt that he’s still mainly an uptight and clueless prig at the end. And the small-town creeps of Ace in the Hole and Kiss Me, Stupid are never truly redeemed either; Walston saves his own marriage only by becoming willingly complicitous in retaining his own ignorance. Having spent the first 16 years of my life in a small town, I find that there’s something about the desperation of these men that cuts to the bone. [8/10/08]

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Full Dino-remix FOUND!

Hey pallies, likes as promised we have done due diligence in trying to provide all youse Dino-philes with a link to that coolest of cool remix of our Dino's classic croon, "Ain't That A Kick In The Head" featured in the recent commercial  for Nissan's newest automobile, the Murano - the most social car they have ever designed.  We first featured the commercial and patter 'bout it  here, and have been tryin' to follow the comment discussion 'bout the availability of a download of the remix.

Very recently we checked back and delightedly  discovered  that a pallie tagged Fyrtamer on January 17 posted this:

FOUND IT!!!!
It is on the Nissan Website. Follow the link, scroll down past the big picture pane, past the specs, and you will get to a revolving set of Murano ads, and on one of them is the Download Tune button, gets the 2:37 full mix! You will not be disappointed!

So likes if you clicks on the download music link below, likes you will be able to download the full remix.  We thanks pallie Fyrtamer for is continuin' efforts to gets the full remix ver-si-on out to Dino-holics everywhere.  To checks this all out at the Nissan home pad, simply clicks  here .  Dino-awed, DMP


WELCOME TO THE MOST SOCIAL CAR WE'VE EVER DESIGNED.


Download

Dean Martin "Ain't that
a kick in the head" Remix
DOWNLOAD MUSIC