Efrem Zimbalist Jr. | Knowingly Undersold

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November 15, 2019 · 2:18 pm

The Set of 400: #209 – My Favorite Heroin Stuffed Doll

Today! Because there was a murder around here last night, they found the body this morning. A lady from Scarsdale –

Wait Until Dark (1967)

Directed by Terence Young

Starring Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin (x3), Richard Crenna, Jack Weston, Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (x2), Julie Herrod, Samantha Jones

Apparently my favorite movie from 1967 (take that #263 Jungle Book and #311 The Graduate!), Wait Until Dark was a tremendous play by Frederick Knott (that I secretly and not so secretly burned to stage, back in my theater days), turned into a very effective locked-in movie, featuring the best acting Audrey Hepburn would ever do. Many of her most famous roles largely required her to show up – not saying she wasn’t talented, but light comedies like Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Sabrina and Roman Holiday aren’t exactly showcases for towering talent. Or maybe I just give more credit to drama/thriller acting – which probably isn’t fair. You know what, forget what I said. Audrey Hepburn is fine.

Hell, I couldn’t pull off this look

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Tagged as Alan Arkin, Audrey Hepburn, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Favorite Movies Ever, Jack Weston, Richard Crenna, Terence Young, Wait Until Dark

August 14, 2019 · 1:04 pm

The Set of 400: #276 – My Favorite Veal Piccata

Today! Because you have the whitest white part of the eyes I’ve ever seen. Do you floss?

Hot Shots! (1991)

Directed by Jim Abrahams

Starring Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golino, Jon Cryer, Cary Elwes (x4), Lloyd Bridges, Kevin Dunn, William O’Leary, Kristy Swanson, Bill Irwin (x2), Bruce A. Young, Ryan Stiles, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Heidi Swedberg, Don Lake

Indirectly responsible for foisting Two and a Half Men on the world, I imagine, Hot Shots! is a direct parody of Top Gun, plus a bunch of other movies mocked along the way. Abrahams spun off from his frequent collaborators the Zucker brothers to concoct this largely solid gagfest with Naked Gun/Police Academy writer Pat Proft, and while a little dated today – this movie being the height of Gulf War comedy – it’s still a pretty funny movie, all things considered.

As mentioned earlier, there aren’t a ton of opportunities to see Cary Elwes do zany comedy – despite this being what he does best, outside of smarmy villain roles – so couple that with Airplane! vet Lloyd Bridges, future Veep great Kevin Dunn, clowning genius Bill Irwin, improv maestro Ryan Stiles, and a weirdly suited for this type of comedy Valeria Golino, and Hot Shots! totally keeps the comedy rolling. I’ve mentioned before how franchise films blend together for me from when I was a kid, and Hot Shots! Part Deux is no exception. It’s more a Rambo thing, right? So that makes it a little easier to differentiate.