HAPPY BIRTHDAY/HALLOWEEN, CMS!

Happy 61st Birthday, Charles Martin Smith!

It's that special time of year again when my favorite holiday and my favorite actor's birthday meet face-to-face. It's been an extra good year for Mr. Smith.  It makes me happy to see Charles doing so well in both his professional life as well as his personal life. Besides directing a successful sequel to his hit film "Dolphin Tale" (2011), he's also been spending time with a special ladyfriend recently. Is love in the air? Possibly maybe... Judging from what I've seen the two of them share via Twitter, it looks like it may be serious! Awww...

Regular readers know my yearly ritual by now: I watch a double feature of CMS's directorial debut, "Trick or Treat" (1986), paired with a 2nd horror-related feature starring the sexiest man alive: Charles Martin Smith! This is a film that I will always have a bit of a special feeling for, since it ties in personally with my own life in the 1980s. For one thing, it makes me nostalgic for Fangoria Magazine (I was a huge horror nerd even then), where I first saw mention of this film shortly before it's release in theatres. I also relate somewhat to the main character, as I struggled as a bit of a misfit myself back in junior high and high school at the time. I think this film does a great job with the main character of unpopular kid Eddie Weinbauer (Marc Price), making his humiliation at the hands of the school bullies uncomfortably realistic... and his final revenge so satisfyingly cathartic.

This year, the 2nd half of the double feature is another installment of "The Ray Bradbury Theatre" first broadcast February 22, 1986. Ace Award-winning episode "Banshee" pairs CMS with the legendary Peter O'Toole in a story based partially on true experiences when Bradbury interacted with director John Huston. Bradbury was writing the screenplay adaptation of Herman Melville's classic novel "Moby Dick" and Huston was directing the film. Apparently, the time the two spent together in Huston's house in Ireland was very unpleasant for Bradbury, who was tormented by his host with insults and pranks. The story that was drawn from these experiences adds a supernatural torment in the form of a beautiful but eerie banshee (Jennifer Dale). Smith is great as the early-career Bradbury stand-in, and O'Toole is fabulous as ever playing Huston's fictional alter ego. I can see why the episode won the Ace Awards for Best Directing- Dramatic Series (Douglas Jackson)... and of course Best Actor- Dramatic Series (O'Toole). 

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!

The Experts (1989)

More CMS cuteness in this Cold War comedy from actor-turned-director Dave Thomas, with co-stars John Travolta and Kelly Preston. 

The Ray Bradbury Theater: Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in Your Cellar (1989)

Charlie finishes out the 80s with a truly adorable guest appearance, as he returns for another starring role on this entertainingly eerie TV series.

Wow! Such great movie and TV watching ahead of me! I am so eager to dig in and share it with you! See you soon with more CMS love!

CMS: 59th BIRTHDAY / HALLOWEEN FUN!

Happy Birthday, Charles Martin Smith!

It's that time of year again, where my favorite actor's birthday (10/30/53) and favorite holiday meet each other face-to-face. With the impressive financial and critical success of last year's "Dolphin Tale 3D" behind him, this upcoming year could prove to be an even bigger triumph: besides directing a new TV episode currently in production, he also has 2 high-profile movies in development.  Like his colleague and friend Ron Howard, CMS seems to have switched entirely to being behind the camera and given up performing in front of it. I must admit I'll miss seeing him acting (the last time was a 2010 episode of "Fringe"), but it does make me happy to see him thriving as a director. And there's always those cute shots of him on the red carpet to look forward to...

It seems like it's becoming a Halloween tradition for me to watch a horror-themed double feature of CMS's directorial debut, the rock-and-roll cult classic "Trick or Treat" (1986), paired with one of his other spooky projects.  This year, the second feature is going to be an episode of "The Ray Bradbury Theater" that he starred in from 1989: "Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in Your Cellar!"

Charles plays a paranoid father concerned that the mysterious mushrooms his son has begun cultivating are tied in to the other strange events happening in his life.  Damn, what a DILF! I've turned several of my friends on to the cute & cuddly charms of CMS. One of them felt that his appearance in this episode was among his hottest, and I would have to agree. Charles Martin Smith was then, and still remains (in my opinion), the sexiest man alive.