#marshall efron

[hedleylamarr]

Baby Blue Marine (1976).

[scenesandscreens]

THX 1138 (1971)

Director - George Lucas, Cinematography - David Myers & Albert Kihn

"How shall the new environment be programmed? It all happened so slowly that most men failed to realize that anything had happened at all."

[nerds-yearbook]

In the future. Sex (though machine assisted masterbation is ok), reproduction, family, emotions and names (just random letters and numbers i.e. THX 1138) are all prevented. To keep the populace docile, they are drugged. Also, to insure uniformity amongst the masses, they are all shaved bald, wear identical clothing, and make confessions and prayer to the state. The underground world is policed by androids.

[jingle-bones]

THE RICHEST CAT IN THE WORLD (Dir: Greg Beeman, 1986).

By 1986 Walt Disney branded feature films had all but died out, the studio finding greater success with movies released through its adult oriented Touchstone Pictures division. Conversely the opposite was true on television where the success of the fledgling Disney Channel (launched in 1983) and the re-invigorated Disney anthology TV series had created a demand for new made-for-television feature content. One such feature was The Richest Cat in the World.

Palmer the cat stars as Leo, a pampered puss left $5 million in the will of his deceased owner Oscar (Ramon Bieri). When Oscar’s nephew learns of this he and his wife set out to kidnap and dispose of Leo, thereby inheriting the cash themselves. Leo confides his ability to speak (!) to an employee’s children who determine to protect the cat and stop the catnappers from stealing his fortune.

The Richest Cat in the World debuted on the newly re-titled The Disney Sunday Movie on the ABC network. In truth, TV is where this modest comedy-thriller belongs. Greg Beeman directs with a smooth efficiency but cannot disguise the movie's TV origins. The teleplay by Marshall Efron and Alfa-Betty Olsen is satisfactory enough, but with marked similarities to Disney's animated The Aristocats (Wolfgang Reitherman, 1970) is not particularly original. To describe the slapstick humour of the movie as broad would be an understatement. To be fair, there are some laughs to be had, not just ironically; there is something inherently funny about a cat using a touchpad telephone to order a pizza!

The Richest Cat in the World is just silly enough to appeal to young audiences and nostalgic enough to appeal to adults who enjoyed it when they were young. It is wholly innocent and appealing in a ramshackle kind of way, especially if you like cute cats. It is the kind of movie where you can predict the ending in the first five minutes but, if you are in the right mood, it should raise the odd chuckle and honestly, I can think of worse ways to waste 90 minutes.

Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME to read a longer, more in-depth review of The Richest Cat in the World! Link below.

Jingle Bones Movie Time

[greginspace-blog]

This show aired on PBS from 1971 to 1973. It included some wonderful sketch comedy bits by Marshall Efron and others.

[mudwerks]

(via Marshall Efron, Funny Cog in the PBS ‘Dream Machine,’ Dies at 81 - The New York Times)

[havemanymonkeys]

merciless to the olives.

[havemanymonkeys]

I’d like to see him try to make fried chicken