Charles Napier Movies
Towering blonde American character actor Charles Napier has the distinction of being one of the few actors to transcend a career start in "nudies" and sustain a successful mainstream career. Napier, clothed and otherwise, was first seen in such Russ Meyer gropey-feeley epics as Cherry, Harry and Raquel (1969) and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970). Graduating from this exuberant tawdriness, Napier became a dependable film and TV villain. Even when he wasn't totally nasty, he was at least dishonest, as witness his comically bigamous truck driver in Handle With Care (1977) Not only were Napier's characters mean, they were often foolhardy; look what happeded to him when he double-crossed Sylvester Stallone in Rambo (1984). Some of Napier's more recent credits include The Blues Brothers (1980), Married to the Mob (1990), Ernest Goes to Jail (1991) and the-Oscar winning Silence of the Lambs (1991) (as Lt. Boyle). TV also served Napier well, allowing him recurring roles on such series as "The Oregon Trail" and "Outlaws," and at least one bonafide heroic title role in the TV movie Big Bob Johnson's Fantastic Speed Circus (1978), in which he played a barnstorming aerialist. He was also a most imposing Adam in the 1969 "Star Trek" episode "The Way to Eden." In 1994, a most atypical Charles Napier could be seen as the incorruptible judge in "Philadelphia," compassionately trying a homosexual-discrimination case with nary a sneer or scowl on his weatherbeaten countenance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1969
Jake Ellis (Charles Napier) is a cowboy who arrives in a two-fisted cattle town looking for work. Frank Hall (Jim Lemp) and his gang frame Jake for a crime he didn't commit. Dance-hall girls and cowgirls, most notably Bambi Allen and Deborah Downey, are shown in various stages of undress in this western featuring nudity. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Napier, Deborah Downey, (more)
- 1969
Captain Kirk and the Enterprise become unwitting parties to the quest for a legendary, utopian planet in this episode from the third season of the well-known science fiction series. When the starship Aurora is stolen, the Enterprise is ordered to capture the hijackers. When the ensuing chase drives the Aurora to the point of collapse, Captain Kirk must rescue the thieves by beaming them aboard the Enterprise before their starship self-destructs. Unexpectedly, Kirk finds that the group is not a band of hardened criminals but an idealistic collective bearing a striking resemblance to 1960s hippies. Due to the seemingly nonviolent nature of the group, which includes a famed scientist and the son of an important Federation official, Kirk is lenient, treating them more as guests than prisoners. This proves to be a mistake when the group seizes control of the Enterprise, hoping to use the starship to find the planet of Eden which they believe holds an ideal paradise worthy of its name. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
