Alan Arkin movies

                                                                Part 2

        Here’s another bunch of good movies from the storied career of the late Alan Arkin. 

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) has an A-list cast that includes Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey and Alan Arkin. Skillfully adapted from David Mamet’s Tony-winning Broadway play, it is the story of desperate men doing desperate things. They are real estate salesmen who try to make deals from leads they are furnished. They are told that only the top two salesmen will be retained after the current period. Not many gentlemen in sight here.

Alan Arkin is the star of the hilarious The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1996). A Russian sub ventures too close to a tiny New England island and runs aground. Lt. Rozanov (Arkin) is sent with a detail of soldiers into town to try to find a boat to dislodge the sub. Their comedic encounters with the townspeople runs into more and more trouble. They rob a dry cleaner and steal the clothing, trying to “blend in”. And then a small boy’s dilemma unites them all in a peaceful solution. Arkin was nominated for an Oscar but lost to Cliff Robertson for Charly.

Arkin is the baddest of bad guys in the bite-your-nails suspenser Wait Until Dark (1997). Blind Susy (Audrey Hepburn) is beset in her apartment by three thugs looking for a doll that contains heroin. Roat (Arkin) is the worst of the bunch. He kills the other two and goes after the desperate Susy. A tip: In total darkness, the blind have an edge. This film is on Bravo’s Scarest Movie Moments list. The title is instructive...

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) is an extremely dark comedy with Dan Akroyd (Grocer) and John Cusak (Martin) as competing hit men. Alan Arkin has a good turn as the psychiatrist of the very twisted Martin.  Minnie Driver chips in as the clueless, ever hopeful, high school sweetheart Martin still has a thing for. 

Alan Arkin undergoes yet another complete change of character in the humorous Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). His role is Murray, father of a couple of renegade kids who don’t help his efforts much. He moves them from cheap apartment to cheap apartment in a comical effort to assure they can attend Beverly Hills’ superior public schools. He is an extremely unsuccessful Oldsmobile salesman during an energy crisis. 

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. Only The Russians Are Coming is suitable for all ages. The rest are for grown-ups. Wait Until Dark is only for those with a strong heart. And there’s just enough in the trunk for one more Arkin outing.