The Villain (1979)

I first saw this movie in the theater when it was originally released. I had NO IDEA what it was about and I was kind of puzzled at first by it...then I really got into it and laughed uproariously throughout!!! Every crazy Road Runner gag is hauled out and used...and it works!!! Totally silly, totally nonsensical...but very very funny!!! How can you go wrong with a movie that has Paul Lynde as an Indian named Nervous Elk???? Leave your grumpiness at the door...get into a goofy mood and enjoy this flick!!!

Fmovies: If you like goofy-funny movies, this is a classic that will keep you laughing! Ann-Margaret plays the gorgeous Charming Jones, who recruits the help of Handsome Stranger (a VERY young Arnold Schwarzenegger) to escort her as she transfers her inherited fortune. Wealthy Avery Simpson, played by Jack Elam, wants her inheritance, and hires has-been cowboy Cactus Jack Slade (Kirk Douglas) to rob her. Slade, along with his horse Whiskey (the REAL star of this film!), keeps you in stitches with his Road Runner antics as he makes countless attempts to get the loot. This film is completed with the appearance of other stars that tie it all together, including Paul Lynde, Foster Brooks, Strother Martin, Mel Tillis, and Ruth Buzzi (just to name a few). A great film for anyone who enjoys comedy westerns!

Kirk Douglas, playing the title character of Cactus Jack, demonstrates his great ability to work in a comedy as he becomes the personification of Road Runner's nemesis, Wile E. Coyote. True, lovers of Road Runner and "Beep, Beep" will be left out because he isn't there. But, for those who watch just to see Wile E. get his comeuppance time after time, this is hilarious. This has all of the gags that have made it so much fun for us "older" folk watching the old cartoons. In fact, my 16 and 10 year old daughters love watching this one over and over.

A plot line is added with the beautiful Ann-Margret vamping like mad with Arnold Schwarzenegger as they are pursued by Cactus Jack. You should consider being with your kids when they watch this. It is full of innuendo and Ann-Margret definitely shows off her ample endowment and even a brief display of her legs.

Mel Tillis is the telegrapher. Here, he gets paid for what he worked so hard to eliminate - his stutter. Foster Brooks does his inebriated schtick as the bank clerk. Paul Lynde is the chief of one of the most inept tribes of Native Americans ever filmed. They can't even keep the blankets on their saddles. Finally, Jack Elam puts in a short piece and is his usual dastardly self. For my money, Jack was one of the best western character actors to grace the screen.

The Villain fmovies. You've got kids and you want the whole family to have good time. This is the right movie for you. This movie is simply hilarious. It's like watching the road runner or a sequel of Yosemite Sam and Buggs Bunny. Your kids will probably watch the movie several times and every time they're feeling bored or have nothing to do.

In this film Kirk Douglas gets squashed by a rolling big rock, he glues himself to the railroad, he falls in a ravine, he tries to run through a painted tunnel on a Mountain and he glides along a rope stretching between a tree and the mouth of his own horse.

I bet your kids are even gonna talk about it when they're grownups and they'll make their kids watch it too.

You've never seen Kirk Douglas or Arnold playing similar roles to this.

I certainly recommend it.

Are you looking for sophisticated humor? Subtlety? Nuance?

I didn't think so.

If what you desire is an outrageous Western spoof made in the mold of Road Runner / Wile E. Coyote cartoons, then "The Villain" is certain to tickle your funny bone.

Kirk Douglas is top billed as the title character, alias Cactus Jack Slade, an outlaw who screws up time and time again. He's determined but incompetent. He really is like that famous cartoon canine, what with his spectacular lack of success.

Cactus Jack is hired by crooked banker Avery Simpson (Jack Elam) for the purpose of screwing over a miner named Parody Jones (Strother Martin). Parody isn't dumb, though, utilizing his sexpot daughter Charming (Ann-Margret) and the ramrod straight Handsome Stranger (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to make sure that a critical payment reaches its destination.

All you really need to know about "The Villain" is this: special guest star Paul Lynde plays an Indian chief named Nervous Elk. And that's what you can expect in this gleefully goofy, comically sadistic, politically incorrect comedy with gags-a-plenty. Other guest stars include Foster Brooks as a drunken bank clerk, Ruth Buzzi as a damsel in no distress, Robert Tessier as an Indian sidekick, "Mashing Finger", and singer Mel Tillis as a stuttering telegraph agent (Mel also sings the three theme songs).

Kirk is hilarious as a bumbling bad guy, for whom you do feel rather sorry. Ann-Margret is tantalizing as the decidedly horny Charming, who lusts after Handsome Stranger. Arnold is appropriately sincere, and dense, as the supposed hero. Some of the supporting roles are really rather brief (you don't see Martin for long). The ones that tend to steal the show are Lynde, and a horse named Ott as Cactus Jacks' not so loyal steed, Whiskey.

"The Villain" is not always terribly funny, but when it works, it's a riot. There's even a classic "painted tunnel" gag in the Wile E. Coyote tradition!

Directed in style by Hal Needham of "Smokey and the Bandit" and "The Cannonball Run" fame.

Seven out of 10.

This is a perfect film if you just want to turn off your brain and have a good laugh. I was amazed at how low rated this film is--perhaps too many people take this film too seriously! This was never meant to be high art, but more like an extended live action version of a Wiley Coyote versus the Roadrunner cartoon. There was so much similarity, I half expected that this film would be sponsored by ACME.

Kirk Douglas is the hapless bad guy bent on killing the more than amply endowed Ann-Margret (you'll see what I mean if you watch the film) and the incredibly dumb hero played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Again and again and again his dopey schemes fall flat until the movie comes to a very unexpected and funny ending.

While I will admit this is more of a kids movie, adults can enjoy it too provided they don't think too much and just sit back and watch with an open mind.