William Smith plays nice in:
THE MEAN SEASON
1985


Directed by Phillip Borsos
Written by 
John Katzenbach  (novel) 
Leon  Piedmont 

CAST [first billed only]
Kurt Russell as Malcolm Anderson 
Mariel Hemingway as Christine Connelly 
Richard Jordan as Alan Delour 
Richard Masur as Bill Nolan 
Richard Bradford as Phil Wilson 
Joe Pantoliano as Andy Porter 
Andy Garcia as Ray Martinez 
Rose Portillo as Kathy Vasquez 
William Smith as Albert O'Shaughnessy 
John Palmer as Himself 
Lee Sandman as Harold Jacoby 
Dan Fitzgerald as Carl Mason 
Cynthia Caquelin as Ruth Lowenstein 
Fred Ornstein as Warren Phillips 
Fritz Bronner as Peter Peterson 


Video Box Cover
Richard Jordan played the suave villain in this complex thriller centered around the relationship between newspaper reporter Malcolm Anderson and a serial killer who gives him his story.  William Smith's one-scene appearance here is a real gem and very unlike his usual roles.  His character, Albert O'Shaughnessy shows up late in the movie, after Anderson's girlfriend Christine has been kidnapped by the killer.  The killings Anderson has been writing about are similar to those that occurred in Chicago while O'Shaughnessy was working in a half-way house.  Alan Delour came into his office and told him he'd committed the five Chicago killings.  O'Shaughnessy accompanied him to the police where a psychiatrist discounted Delour as a false confessor.  Bill's scene takes place entirely as he recounts his experience with Delour to Anderson and the detective [played by a young Andy Garcia] working with him.  He chain smokes through the whole thing (not a stretch for Bill) and just plain makes this an effective little scene.  O'Shaughnessy's tip leads them to the killer's home.

William Smith in Mean Season


William Smith -- no killing here
William Smith with Andy Garcia
William Smith smoking and talking
Bill Smith with Kurt Russell

Cast Note: Bill previously worked with Kurt Russell in the first season Laredo episode "Meanwhile Back at the Reservation."

A preGoldie Kurt RussellPeter Brown and William Smith with Kurt Russell in Laredo


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