Eddie Murphy's '80s Action Movie That Spawned A Franchise Is A Must-Watch On Netflix

Eddie Murphy was 19 years old when he joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" for its sixth season in 1980. He was nearly witness to a broadcast viking funeral.

This was the first season after the departure of creator Lorne Michaels (and his anti-improv stance) and the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players. Producer Jean Doumanian was handed the reins and assembled a cast that had zero chemistry and a fraction of the skills of the troupe they replaced. Individually, there was talent, but Gilbert Gottfried was ill-suited to sketch comedy. Gottfried played against his acerbic strengths and briefly damaged his career as a result. Joe Piscopo was the show's standout impressionist, but its writing staff let him down at every turn. It didn't take long for viewership to plummet. It was a depressing spectacle. Watch a random episode from this season, and you'll be stunned by the crickets that greet every sketch.

The show was speeding toward cancellation when something miraculous happened: Murphy appeared on Weekend Update as a high school basketball player ticked off by a Cleveland judge's decision that every team must have two white players, and he positively killed it. Suddenly, there was uproarious laughter again in Studio 8H. Over the last few episodes of that season, Murphy singlehandedly saved "SNL." When he essentially took over the show in Season 7, Hollywood came calling with a co-lead role opposite Nick Nolte in Walter Hill's rough-and-tumble action comedy "48 Hrs." Some Paramount executives were concerned Murphy was too young and, seriously, not funny enough (they'd initially courted Richard Pryor), but as you can currently see on Netflix, Murphy heisted every last scene. Ultimately, the film was a big enough hit to spawn a sequel, "Another 48 Hrs.," that, sadly, lacks the original's juice.

"48 Hrs." stars Nick Nolte as San Francisco Police Department Inspector Jack Cates, an alcoholic grouch who's dead set on capturing the escaped prisoners who gunned down two of fellow detectives in a botched hotel raid. To do so, he furloughs one of the crooks' former associates, Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy), who knows where and how these killers operate.

Jack and Reggie hate each other from jump (with the former casually spouting racial epithets), but they both want to catch these guys for urgent reasons, so they make their partnership work. Barely. Jack initially has zero respect for Reggie, but when the convict uses his badge to roust a redneck bar, he becomes a believer in Reggie's "bulls*** and experience."

This scene instantly turned Murphy into a movie star. He cows these racist good ol' boys with nothing but attitude. "Listen up. I don't like white people. I hate rednecks. You people are rednecks. That means I'm enjoying this s***." It's one of the funniest scenes in Murphy's brilliant oeuvre and, really, film history.

According to actor Chris Mulkey, Paramount execs (particularly Michael Eisner) wanted to fire Murphy during the shoot. How they could watch dailies and not see that a star was being born before their eyes explains how so many potentially great films get mangled. In any event, they all ate crow when "48 Hrs." became a box office hit, leading the studio to sign Murphy to a long-term contract. Still, it's important to note that "48 Hrs." isn't Murphy's triumph alone. Walter Hill is on top of his game as a director, and the script is absolutely airtight. It's an electric motion picture that's highly rewatchable. Find out for yourself by checking out "48 Hrs." on Netflix today.