Essentially shedding anything other than Helm’s name and a few events from the pages of the book, the film instead crafted a musical adventure that featured plenty of killings and villain-fuelled mayhem alongside the jokes, dance sequences, and many semi-naked women.

Within minutes of the film beginning there are two musical numbers - one sung by Helm himself - and a comedic bathing scene, establishing immediately that this is a far cry from the bleak world of Hamilton’s Helm. Columbia didn’t want to make Matt Helm movies, they wanted to make James Bond-inspired spoof films - and it transformed the character forever.Ĭasting Martin and veering away from the grim realism of the books, the Technicolor world of The Silencers reimagined Helm as a lackadaisical, boozy, singing spy surrounded constantly by beautiful women in varying states of undress. If that sounds like an unexpected casting for the older retired spy turned back-in-business cold-blooded murderer, you’d be right. Or if you did, it might have been in an entirely different guise: In 1965, Columbia Pictures acquired the Matt Helm book rights and quickly cast Dean Martin as the killer counter-agent. Unless you were scouring the vintage spinner racks for noir gems - or reading a lot of manga magazines in Japan (we’ll get there) - you might never have come across Helm at all.

Other top choices for the next James Bond include Regé-Jean Page, Tom Hardy, and Gangs of London's Paapa Essiedu.Polygon is diving into the world of espionage throughout fiction and pop culture history with Deep Cover, a two-week special issue covering all sorts of spy stories and gadgets. The actor was previously up for Casino Royale, but was dubbed too young for the role, with director Martin Campbell recently expressing that, ironically, the Man of Steel star might now be too old. The actor has largely avoided addressing the Bond topic, but has said that it's ' flattering' that he has been a popular fan-cast for the role.įollowing Taylor-Johnson and Norton, Henry Cavill is generally considered the third most likely candidate. While there has been little in terms of official announcements, there are several names that continue to crop up when it comes to 007 hopefuls.Īaron Taylor-Johnson is currently considered the most likely star to become the new Bond and is reported to have had a meeting with producer Barbara Broccoli earlier this year. It must be mentioned that, as of this writing, the actual Bond producers who determine which actor will be cast in the role have played their cards close to the chest in terms of what stars are being seriously considered.

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