They Stink, Stank, Stunk -- Ten Great Movie Villains

Joseph Cotten in Shadow of a Doubt.

What's a hero without a villain? The proverbial man in the white hat need the proverbial man in the black hat to serve as his raison d'etre. Sherlock Holmes needed Moriarty, just as Superman needed Lex Luthor and Luke Skywalker needed Darth Vader. Of course the bad guy does more than just provide a foil for the leading man. He can also provide an archetype of a real menace to society, be it a serial killer or a corrupt politician. A good film villain shines a light on some of the worst that humanity has to offer, often in sheep's clothing. Villains also provide meaty roles for actors. Scoundrels, sinners, blackguards and evil doers are often flamboyant characters.

After watching Sam Waterson in Heaven's Gate recently, I got the idea to write a post on movie villains. As I began compiling the list the exercise started to feel familiar. I had my archivist (that's me) look into the matter and sure enough nine years ago I posted Touches of Evil, Interesting Movie Villains in which I'd written about ten great (terrible?) bad guys from filmdom. Those mentioned included Hans Landau from Inglorious Basterds (2009), Anton Chiugurh from No Country For Old Men (2007) and Marcus Licinius Crassus from Spartacus (1960). Undaunted by this discovery I reckoned that surely I must be able to easily find another ten stinkers from films. Indeed I did. I've confined myself to men in this time but in a future post will look at ten evil female characters.

Joseph Cotten as Uncle Charley in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) — Serial Killer Evil. Good ole Uncle Charley, comes to visit bearing gifts for everyone. Successful, cheerful and beloved. The evil that comes in disguise. This is a man who marries and kills widows to assume their fortunes. The ultimate sociopath. When his beloved niece and namesake discovers his secret, he even tries to kill her. All while the town he has adopted is feting him for his philanthropy and good character. Revealing quote: "The cities are full of women, middle-aged widows, husbands, dead, husbands who've spent their lives making fortunes, working and working. And then they die and leave their money to their wives, their silly wives. And what do the wives do, these useless women? You see them in the hotels, the best hotels, every day by the thousands, drinking the money, eating the money, losing the money at bridge, playing all day and all night, smelling of money, proud of their jewelry but of nothing else, horrible, faded, fat, greedy women... Are they human or are they fat, wheezing animals, hmm? And what happens to animals when they get too fat and too old?"

Edward Arnold in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Edward Arnold as James Taylor in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) — Political Boss Evil. This type of evil has been prevalent in American politics since before the Gilded Age, if not before. He is like Rupert Murdoch, the Koch brothers and every other greedy kingmaker who manipulates the electorate to get their man in office. Make that men. It is the type of evil one must be diligent in searching for and exposing. Easier said than done as they work behind the scenes and have the veneer of respectability. James Taylor (no relation to the singer/songwriter) controls the political machinery of an entire state with senators, congressmen and the governor in his hip pocket. He’ll stop at nothing to maintain power, employing muscle or money as needed. He meets his match in Senator Smith (Jimmy Stewart) who is too naive to know what’s going on and too honest and persistent to be bought off or intimidated. Revealing quote: "Aah, he'll never get started. I'll make public opinion out there within five hours! I've done it all my life. I'll blacken this punk so that he'll - You leave public opinion to me. Now, Joe, I think you'd better go back into the Senate and keep those Senators lined up."

John Huston as Noah Cross in Chinatown (1974) — Corrupt Sexual Deviant Evil. Speaking of the the veneer of respectability Noah Cross has that in spades which is what makes this incestuous, grafting, power-hungry monster so truly horrible. That and the fact that he gets away with it, time and again. Cross used to literally own the L.A. area water but he still controls it and wants to use that power to add even more to his power and wealth. By any means necessary. Never mind the cost to other poorer people (actually, everyone is poorer than Cross). He’s also a pervert who raped and impregnated his then 15-year old daughter and want to raise the child who herself is now a teen. Murder isn’t the only thing he gets away with. Revealing quote: "Either you bring the water to L.A. or you bring L.A. to the water."

Sam Waterson as Frank Canton in Heaven’s Gate (1980) — Big Business Xenophobic Evil. He reminds me of the quintessential Republican of today. He’s a committed xenophobe who scapegoats immigrants, has no empathy for the poor and lives to fill his coffers and those of his cronies. Canton is so utterly ruthless that he helps compile a list of over 100 people to be killed for supposed crimes against the wealthy landowners of Montana of which he is a member. Perhaps in some respects Canton is merely a part of the evil then present as he organizes and participates in the murders with the full blessing of the powers that be up to and including the US President. Perhaps the worst thing about the Canton character and his actions is that they are based on historical fact. Revealing quote: "Mr. Champion, my grandfather was the Secretary of War to Harrison. His brother was the governor of the state of New York. My brother-in-law is Secretary of State. And to you, I represent the full authority of the government of the United States and the President."

Lionel Barrymore in It's A Wonderful Life.

Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) — Greedy Old Man Evil. He’s like the mean old neighbor who confiscates your ball if it lands in his yard and barks at you not to play near his house. Except this is a man who, through his wealth, wields great power in his community. Were it not for the brave Bailey family, he’d run the whole damn town of Bedford Falls. Nary a smile every escapes his lips. Laughter is unknown to him. He does not give out compliments nor does he give to charity. He’s a miser whose sole purpose seems to be to get more, more and still more. He is Ebenezer Scrooge without the intervention of the ghosts. Utterly unrepentant. Revealing quote: "Look at you. You used to be so cocky. You were going to go out and conquer the world. You once called me "a warped, frustrated, old man"! What are you but a warped, frustrated young man? A miserable little clerk crawling in here on your hands and knees and begging for help. No securities, no stocks, no bonds, nothin' but a miserable little $500 equity in a life insurance policy."

Orson Welles as Harry Lime in The Third Man (1949) — Charming Old Friend Evil. Harry Lime  is the protagonist’s best friend He is an urbane, articulate and intelligent man. But he places little value on human life willingly profiting off the misery of others. Lime steals penicillin from military hospitals, dilutes it, and sells it on the black market, leading to many deaths. It seems all the worse because Lime is full of bonhomie with his friend and rationalizes his evil deeds. Revealing quote:  "You know, I never feel comfortable on these sort of things. Victims? Don't be melodramatic. Look down there. Tell me. Would you really feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving forever? If I offered you twenty thousand pounds for every dot that stopped, would you really, old man, tell me to keep my money, or would you calculate how many dots you could afford to spare? Free of income tax, old man. Free of income tax - the only way you can save money nowadays."

Lee J Cobb as Johny Friendly in On the Waterfront  (1954)— Mobster Union Boss Evil. What does he want? Power! When does he want it? Always? What’ll he do to maintain it? Anything. And that anything includes murder. Our Mr. Friendly — that last name is ironic, n'est ce pas? — does whatever it takes to maintain his total control of the union. Stool pigeons are thrown off high roofs or shot. Beatings are administered to keep underlings in line. There's nothing better for our labor force than good, honest unions and nothing worse than corrupt, gang-controlled ones. Revealing quote: "Where you guys going? Wait a minute! I'll remember this! I'll remember every one of you! I'll be back! Don't you forget that! I'll be back!"

Ezra Miller as Kevin in We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) — Teenage Mass Murderer evil. When we first meet Kevin as a toddler we know there’s something wrong with the kid. He is cold, manipulative and mischievous. This is not Dennis the Menace mischief, this is calculated, dangerous mischief. He’s a bad seed. Kevin grows up to be an intelligent, handsome teen but also a cold-hearted one who cruelly mocks his mother. It is chilling to realize that this reptilian creature is a functioning member of society and the evil that surely lurks within will someday be released on innocents. It is. As he takes bow and arrow to fellow students who he has trapped in the gym. Carnage follows. In the aftermath, Kevin is typically emotionless. Revealing quote:"It's like this: you wake and watch TV, get in your car and listen to the radio you go to your little jobs or little school, but you don't hear about that on the 6 o'clock news, why? 'Cause nothing is really happening, and you go home and watch some more TV and maybe it's a fun night and you go out and watch a movie. I mean it's got so bad that half the people on TV, inside the TV, they're watching TV. What are these people watching, people like me?"

Conrad Veilt in Casablanca. 

Conrad Veidt as Major Strasser in Casablanca (1942) — Classic Film Nazi Evil. The only good thing you can say about Nazis is that they make for perfect film villains and by god have film goers seen a lot of them over the years. They’re made to order for the part and don’t even need to espouse the Nazi doctrine. Just putting on the uniform does the trick. Of course some are depicted as sadists (not a stretch) or capricious or impervious to reason. Nazis first started appearing on the big screen immediately before the U.S. entered World War II. They were a staple of films throughout the war. Of the early portrayals of Nazis this is my favorite and it certainly the most iconic. Strasser comes off as a sophisticate, intelligent and charming and happy to have drinks with his foes. But we know that he is willing and perhaps to use any means including murder to achieve this ends. Revealing quote: "Perhaps you have already observed that in Casablanca human life is cheap."

Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth in Schindler’s List (1993) — Real Nazi Evil. This was a different sort of Nazi than the type personified by Major Strasser. First of all he was based on a real person. Secondly there was no effort to be charming. There was an ugly reality to this portrayal. His utter contempt for Jews is clearly evidenced by his using them for target practice but what is in someways more chilling is what he says to Jewess he has a crush on. If this isn’t the personification of the purity of Nazi evil, I don't know what is. Revealing quote: “Sometimes, we're both lonely. I mean ... I would like so much to... reach out and... touch you in your loneliness. What would that be like, I wonder? I mean... What would be wrong with that? I realize that you're not... a person in the strictest sense of the word, but….” Not a person 'in the strictest sense.' Wow.