Blu Ray review: Salt and Pepper Double Feature

When Peter Lawford was unceremoniously removed from The Rat Pack, he remained friends with Sammy Davis, Jr. In 1968 the two of them teamed up to produce and star in a secret agent spoof to be filmed at Shepperton studios and on location in London. Two films were produced, and Kino Lorber has released both Salt and Pepper films in a double feature on blu ray.

The massive popularity of the James Bond series resulted in a lot of offshoots attempting to capitalize on the parody of spy films, and Rat Packer Dean Martin’s seriocomic Matt Helm movies were among the more successful. This likely inspired Lawford and Davis to also attempt a similar idea, and the decision to film it in England was probably an attempt to further connect it to the James Bond films.

The plot of the first movie, entitled simply Salt and Pepper, deals with Charlie Salt (Davis) and Christopher Pepper (Lawford) who own a swinging nightclub in London. When a woman dies in their establishment, the resulting investigation involves both men and becomes increasingly deeper and more complicated.

As with the Matt Helm films, Salt and Pepper attempted to balance violent sequences with cheeky humor, the two leads cagily handing troublesome situations while offering wry commentary. Both Lawford and Davis had formidable acting chops, able to play both comedy and drama effectively.

Another area of interest with Salt and Pepper is that it comes early in the career of its director, Richard Donner. Donner had made his directorial debut in 1961 and didn’t direct another theatrical feature until this film seven years later. There are elements in Salt and Pepper that would later inform some of Donner’s ideas when he directed Lethal Weapon some years later.

Dean Martin’s Matt Helm series was making roughly 5 to 7 million dollars per film, Salt and Pepper grossed under $2 million. However, in 1968, this was reasonably good box office. It was released in the summer, played mostly Drive-In movie theaters, and moviegoers found it to be generally amusing.

By the time they filmed the sequel in 1969, the Matt Helm series had released its final film, and the idea of James Bond-influenced spy spoofs had run its course as well. The fact that One More Time was not released until May of 1970 further separated it from the era in which it might have flourished better. That said, One More Time is just as amusing as the first film, albeit a bit more bombastic. Director Donner was replaced by Jerry Lewis, making One More Time notable as the only feature film the comedian directed in which he did not star. Also, the cameo by Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as Dr. Frankenstein and Count Dracula is a neat touch.

Both films look great and are amusing, enjoyable throwbacks to another era of pop culture and of filmmaking. This double feature blu ray is recommended and can be ordered at this link: SALT/PEPPER