Which actor/actress made the best villain/heavy?

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jdb1

Post by jdb1 »

ChiO wrote:jdb1 said:
As for Big Chuck -- well, what could be bad?
That wouldn't have anything to do with where he was born or the first major league baseball team he played for, now, would it?

You know, he hit two home runs for our beloved Cubs, but, alas, he didn't get them a into a World Series, da bum.
As to your first query: Yes and Yes

As to your next paragraph: Your beloved . . . . sorry? Who? What? :?
klondike

Post by klondike »

moirafinnie wrote:
MissGoddess wrote:
I find it so cool that a guy who could play the most upright, stalwart and loving father all those years on "The Rifleman" could be so convincing as the most snivelling, cowardly dastard in The Big Country!
Well, if you want a "different" Chuck Connors, please read on...
Cool!
Thanks, M!
I'm now on the look-out for Ride Beyond Vengeance, sounds truly off-beat (and somewhat reminscent of Rough Night in Jericho) . . and if I'm still craving more Big Chuck in his no-mood-to-be-nice/arse-kickin' mode, I'll go out & rent a VHS of 99 & 44/100% Dead, wherein he & Richard Harris throw every vestige of taste & credibility out the window, and get caught up on their mortgage payments.
melwalton
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villians

Post by melwalton »

How about Laurence Olivier in 'Marathon Man?
All one needed was to look at Norman Lloyd to know he was guilty of something.
Even when George Sanders played the good guy, I suspected him.
..... mel
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Shonna
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Lee Marvin

Post by Shonna »

cinemalover wrote:Lee Marvin did create many memorable villains. My favorite of his has to be the wonderfully wicked Liberty Valance. It's a testiment to his villainy that he is so vividly remembered while playing opposite the favorite sons, John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart.
Hey Cinemalover, how about the film (the name of the movie just totally escapes me right now) where Lee Marvin throws hot coffee in Gloria Grahme's face and scalds her?!?!?!!?!?
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movieman1957
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Post by movieman1957 »

Hi Shonna. Glad you're visiting.

The movie you mention is "The Big Heat."
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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MichiganJ
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Post by MichiganJ »

I agree with all of these choices, particularly Huston in Chinatown.

A few others to consider:
In the Silents:
Lon Chaney in West of Zanzibar
Erich von Stroheim in Hearts of the World/Foolish Wives/Blind Husbands, pretty much anything he’s in (he is “the man you love to hate”, after all)
Eric Campbell in Easy Street

Some talkies:
Peter Lorre in M
Basil Rathbone in The Adventures of Robin Hood
The guy who played Barnaby in Laurel and Hardy’s March of the Wooden Soldiers

Women:
Lana Turner in Postman Always Rings Twice
Anne Baxter in All About Eve
(Angela Landsbury was already cited in Manchurian Candidate, but she was so evil she deserves another mention)
"Let's be independent together." Dr. Hermey DDS
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srowley75
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Post by srowley75 »

Don't know how I missed this thread, but seeing as how I'm in a listing mood, here are some of my favorite movie bad guys and gals (sorry not all of them are from theatrical films):

Actors
Martin Stephens in Village of the Damned (1960)
David Hess in Last House on the Left (1972) and The House at the Edge of the Park (1980)
Richard Widmark in Kiss of Death (1947)
Jack Palance in just about everything he made in Hollywood
Peter Lorre in Mad Love (1935)
Max Schreck in Nosferatu (1922)
George Macready in Gilda (1946) and My Name is Julia Ross (1945)
Keenan Wynn in The Absent Minded Professor (1961)
Robert Walker in Strangers on a Train (1951)
Charles Laughton in Devil and the Deep (1932) and Island of Lost Souls (1933)
Leslie Banks in The Most Dangerous Game (1932)
Brember Wills in The Old Dark House (1932)
Niall MacGinnis in Curse of the Demon a.k.a. Night of the Demon (1958)
Jay Robinson in The Robe (1953) and Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)
Conrad Veidt in The Thief of Baghdad (1940) and Casablanca (1942)

Actresses
Ann Savage in Detour (1945)
Mieko Harada in Ran (1985)
Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Peggy Cummins in Gun Crazy (1949)
Patty McCormack in The Bad Seed (1956)
Joan Crawford in The Women (1939)
Joanna Barnes in Auntie Mame (1958) and The Parent Trap (1961)
Ruth Gordon in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Ethel Merman in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) - in a group of not so nice people, she's probably the most grating
Sian Phillips in I, Claudius (1976)
Jane Greer in Out of the Past (1947)
Joan Bennett in Scarlet Street (1945)
Gladys Cooper in Now, Voyager (1942) and Separate Tables (1958)
Mercedes McCambridge in The Exorcist (1973) and Johnny Guitar (1954)
Shelley Winters in A Patch of Blue (1965) and Cleopatra Jones (1973)
Bette Davis in The Little Foxes (1941) and The Letter (1940)
Piper Laurie in Carrie (1976)
Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity (1944)

Oh, there are more, but I'm sure others will add their input.

Other favorites of mine have already been cited: Anne Baxter in All About Eve, Kathy Bates in Misery, Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter, Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate, Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West, and Dan Duryea in almost all of his films.

-Stephen
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