The Ambushers: The Slaygirls credited and uncredited

[Mikey]

Having watched the third Matt Helm movie The Ambushers, I find that the Slaygirls (who feature in all four films, but are usually played by different models) are credited for this one. However, I have found a couple of instances of uncredited Slaygirls in the film and at least one Slaygirl in an additional uncredited role. Mainly the Slaygirls appear in two sequences, the first being at the training facility dressed in nautical themed outfits and then later, on location in Acapulco, Mexico, where they take part in a fashion show and then get involved in backing up Helm after the villain’s henchmen realise who he is.

As the models are simply credited as Slaygirls, I’ve attempted to put names to faces and although I think I have managed this with some of them, there are others that I’m not completely sure about and I’ve also ended up with several names who I cannot place at all.

I know there are a number of extras specialists here on Britmovie who are extremely good at placing names to faces and perhaps that can assist in this.

The 12 credited Slaygirls were Yumiko Ishizuka (real name Tomiko Ishizuka), Karin Fedderson (real name Karin Feddersen), Ulla Lindstrom. Marilyn Tindall, Lena Cederham, Susannah Moore, Terri Hughes, Penny Brahms, Kyra Bester, Jann Watson (real name Jan Watson), Annabella (real name Annabella Incontrera), Dee Duffy.

I also have documentary evidence that Inga Neilson and Alena Johnson were also Slaygirls in the film.

1 Left to right Inga Neilson (6 feet tall in bare feet), Penny Brahms (The British Slaygirl), Unknown trainer, Jann Watson (She's the one who gave Matt Helm a lift on the scooter) and Alena Johnson (Seen later in 2 and 3 doing the massage and as one of the dancing models).



2 Alena Johnson



3 Alena Johnson



4 Left to right Unknown Slaygirl, could be Karin Fedderson, Lena Cederham, Marilyn Tindall.

[Mikey]

Continuing on from number 4.

5 Karin Fedderson as the fencing trainer.



6 Lena Cederham as the girl in the railway compartment training exercise.

[StoneAgeMan]

I want to do a Terry-Thomas "I Say!" and a Leslie Philips "Ding-Dong!"... with just a smidgeon of Kenneth Connor saying "Phwoar!"

[Mikey]

7 Another group shot, this time showing eight of the models in Acapulco. Left to right,

Yumiko Ishizuka (there was only one Asian Slaygirl, so this has to be her).

Annabella (aka Annabella Incontrera), who also appeared uncredited as the hotel manager’s wife (see 8).

Long blonde hair: Unknown.

Orange dress: Unknown,

Shorter lady with long blonde hair: Unknown.

I reckon the tall one has to be Inga Neilson again with a different hairstyle.

Copper dress: Unknown.

Pink, lime and yellow top: Unknown.

So I have five missing names and as luck would have it I also have five models who were credited, but I’ve not been able to identify them… Ulla Lindstrom, Terri Hughes, Kyra Bester, Susannah Moore and Dee Duffy.

Can anybody match a name to a face?

As always thanks in advance to the talented film buffs of BritMovie.



8

[cornershop15]

I've identified at least three more 'Slaygirls', Mikey:

Kyra Bester:




That must be Susannah Moore below Penny Brahms, on the left:



The other girls named in the caption are, as you probably know, Jan Watson (top) and Alena Johnson.


Only two are mentioned here - Penny Brahms (left) and Karin Fedderson, who I believe is next to her.
Based on other images I've seen, Annabella Incontrera is in the middle, and Ulla Lindstrom at the end:



As I can account for all the others, including Dee Duffy, I've deduced that the 4th girl can only be Terri Hughes. Agreed?

[CliveT]

Hi Mikey, Frame # 4 the girl on the left looks a mite like Sharon Tate? I'm 99.9% certain it isn't her.

[Mikey]

Cornershop

Thanks for taking the time to take a look at this. I was hoping you would because you appear so good at identifying extras and actors on other threads. So the lady I thought was Karin Fedderson (far left 4 and the fencing instructor 5) is really Kyra Bester. Thankfully all the Oleg Cassini designer outfits seen at the training facility are slightly different and it’s easy to match the promotional image to the screengrabs.

[Mikey]

Cornershop

More thanks for another great publicity shot for The Ambushers and discovering Susannah Moore. Here below is a screengrab of her dancing during the fashion show segment filmed in Acapulco, Mexico.



9

[Mikey]

Cornershop

Again you’ve come up with a great image and I went to Getty Images and looking a little further I found another shot taken at the same time at Heathrow Airport before the various Slaygirls departed for Los Angeles. Though this second image gives the names of the models as Penny Brahms, Karin Feddersen, Annabella Incointrera, Lena Cederham and Ulla Lindstrom. So Lena Cederham as opposed to Dee Duffy, who I could find no images of at all on the net.





So if someone would give me a second opinion, have I correctly identified Lena Cederham in the screengrab below as the middle Slaygirl.

[Mikey]

Could this be Karin Fedderson?

[Mikey]

Hi Mikey, Frame # 4 the girl on the left looks a mite like Sharon Tate? I'm 99.9% certain it isn't her.

Hi Clive

Sharon Tate does not appear in The Ambushers, although she did play a mjor role in the next Matt Helm movie The Wrecking Crew.

[cornershop15]

Seems I was wrong about Terri Hughes, Mikey, but I have found a good image of Dee Duffy:



With Jan Watson too! From Jet magazine, 19th January 1967 (thanks to Google Books)

Hopefully this identification will help you locate both of Dee's Matt Helm appearances.

[Mikey]

Cornershop

Great image of Dee Duffy that inspired me to look further and turn up a promotional image of her from The Wildcats biker movie. I also took a look at Murderer's Row where she was uncredited as Miss June and took a screengrab of that. However, I'm still having problems locating her The Ambushers.



Dee Duffy from Murderer's Row far right



This is a screengrab taken just after image 7 of the various Slaygirls/models at the evening location filming done here. Left to right:

Yumiko Ishizuka (there was only one Asian Slaygirl, so this has to be her).

Long blonde hair: Unknown.

Orange dress: Unknown,

Shorter lady with long blonde hair: Unknown.

Green and red dress, not on image 7, I think this is Marilyn Tindall

I reckon the tall one has to be Inga Neilson again with a different hairstyle.

Copper dress: Looking closer at her face and taking into account that her accent is strong for her solitary line of dialogie, German model Karin Fedderson again.

Pink, lime and yellow top: Unknown.

So now I'm down to four names and can anyone match Dee Duffy, Ulla Lindstrom, Terri Hughes or Susannah Moore to the unidentified ladies below. The blonde on the right hand side of orange dress could be Dee Duffy or Ulla Lindstrom.

[cornershop15]

Mikey, I've hopefully identified all twelve Slaygirls.

'Image 7' is the better of the two from that scene, although the
girl you think might be Marilyn Tindall is sadly obscured here:



L-R - Yumiko Ishizura, are you sure that's Annabella Incontrera?, Karin Fedderson?,
Terri Hughes ("orange dress"), Dee Duffy, Inga Neilson, Kyra Bester?, & Jan Watson.

The last five actresses are wearing the same outfits in this picture with Dean Martin:



Top, l-r - Jan Watson, Marilyn Tindall?, Dee Duffy, Terri Hughes,
Alena Johns(t)on. Below - Kyra Bester? (left) and Inga Neilson.


Until yesterday, when I re-subscribed with newspaperarchive.com, Terri Hughes was the most elusive of all the Slaygirls
as I could find no confirmation anywhere that I was right about her being the girl in the orange dress. This article, from the
13th July 1968 edition of the Las Vegas Sun, was exactly what I hoped to find, identifying eight of the twelve in its caption:



Higher quality version:




Alternative shot in colour with a change of position for all except the Japanese model:



Left to right:
Yumiko Ishizuka (Japan), Terri Hughes (Australia), Annabella Incontrera (Italy), Lena Cederham (Denmark),
Ulla Lindstrom (Sweden), Karin Fedderson (Germany), Kyra Bester (France), and Penny Brahms (England).


'Reappearing outfits' for five of them in the picture you posted earlier, taken in London, (17th?) April 1967:


Have you spotted Ulla (at the end) in this film? If so, please post a screencap.

[StoneAgeMan]

The colour photograph makes it a lot easier to notice how the costumes are based on national flags (okay, not the Japanese one, but most of the others, see France, Sweden Denmark...).