Charles Martin Smith is the Sexiest Man Alive!: 01/01/2013

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Another film festival for THAT DARN BEAR!

Back in the fall of 2011, I mentioned a short film I had pieced together paying tribute to my favorite actor, Charles Martin Smith. In particular, it examines the impact his performance in Disney's 1983 movie "Never Cry Wolf" had on me in my younger days. Initially meant for just myself, I ended up submitting it to a San Francisco short film festival where the audience response was very positive. So whad'ya know? "That Darn Bear" (2011) is screening publicly again! The fine folks at Tucson AZ's "Out in the Desert" LGBT Film Festival 2013 have selected my CMS-centric short to be part of an "Adults Only" program (Behind Closed Doors, Friday January 25th @ 10:30 PM). Sadly, I won't be there to see how this bunch of moviegoers react to my little labor of love. But if you are in the vicinity of Tucson on January 25th, perhaps you can drop in and check it out (as well as any of the other awesome-sounding films running in the festival).

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

ESSENTIAL '80s CMS

Woo hoo! It's the start of a new year, and I've made it to the second decade of Charles Martin Smith's career! I'm very excited that I was able to acquire almost everything he appeared in from the 1980s. There are two exceptions, and both are television projects. The first is the 2nd episode of the short-lived 1980 TV series "When the Whistle Blows" and the second is a unsold TV pilot from 1981 called "Gabe and Walker" (so obscure it's not even on Mr. Smith's IMDb page). Besides those, I've gotten my hands on all the rest. It's true, it was an easier task than getting the 1970s stuff, but we're also comparing a shorter list (the '80s have 11 total titles compared to the 24 from the '70s I had to search for). Even if his pace slowed down, he made up for it by giving us his strongest and most entertaining work. Best of all, Charles reaches his highest peak of total sexiness during this time period. Here's a preview of the next batch of CMS I'll be examining:

Herbie Goes Bananas (1980)

I'm totally bananas for Charlie's second appearance in a Walt Disney motion picture, looking even hotter than in his previous film for the studio ("No Deposit, No Return")!

Never Cry Wolf (1983)

The third time really is the charm when CMS plays the lead role in his third film for Disney. The movie itself is incredible on so many levels, and there are no words strong enough to describe how super-sexy Charlie is in it!

Starman (1984)

Another top-notch chunk of celluloid: not only a career highlight for CMS, but also stars Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen, as well as director John Carpenter. And the Smith sexiness is still going strong...

Twilight Zone: The Beacon (1985)

Charlie's first full-on horror title, from the '80s revival of the popular '60s series. Cuteness levels still remain high...

The Ray Bradbury Theater: Banshee (1986)

More horror for CMS with this ACE award-winning episode, playing opposite the great Peter O'Toole. Charlie's hotness shows no signs of stopping...

Trick or Treat (1986)
CMS makes a cameo appearance in his highly entertaining directorial debut. Even disguised, he cannot conceal his cuteness.

The Untouchables (1987)

Perhaps Mr. Smith's most well-known performance is in this superb Brian De Palma classic, playing in his best ensemble cast since "American Graffiti" (1973)... and of course he's hella handsome in it too!