© 2026 The Couch Critic
Tounge-in-cheek spy-spoof series staring Dean Martin. Loosely (VERY loosely) based on the series of novels by Donald Hamilton. 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.
Matt Helm is called out of retirement to stop the evil Big O organization who plan to explode an atomic bomb over Alamagordo, NM, and start WW III.
The handsome top agent Matt dies a tragic death in his bath tub - the women mourn about the loss. However it's just faked for his latest top-secret mission: He shall find Dr. Solaris, inventor of the Helium laser beam, powerful enough to destroy a whole continent. It seems Dr. Solaris has been kidnapped by a criminal organization. The trace leads to the Cote D'Azur.
When an experimental flying saucer crashes, secret agent Matt Helm has to bring back the secret weapons hidden on board.
When Count Contini attempts to destroy the world's economy by masterminding the theft of $1 billion in U.S. gold, ICE chief MacDonald summons secret agent Matt Helm to stop him.