"Favorite Black Hats in Film and Literature" Topic

We often discuss our favorite heroes, but I thought I would start a thread discussing villains from western film and literature. It's a bit tricky because with westerns we often find the outlaws as the protagonists and even law abiding heroes often have a dark past, but I want to focus on the antagonists those characters who do dastardly deeds and are meant to be "the bad guys". Which villains have you found most memorable?

Darth Vader – while not strictly a Western as such he is the blackest of black hats – down to the whole ensemble and Star Wars ripped off Westerns (and everything else).

The guy Westworld (The TV series) gets a nod, also not a Western per say but he was memorable and stayed in Western garb through most of it.

Professor Lovelace (yeah, I'm more of a scifi guy) from the Wild Wild West TV series (at least that one IS set in the old west).

Angel Eyes

Liberty Valence --AKA -- Lee Marvin.

Jack Wilson -- aka -- Jack Palance
Calvera -- aka -- Eli Wallach
Emma Small -- aka -- Mercedes McCambridge

Rupert of Hentzau – aka Douglas Fairbanks Jr

Any badman played by Jack Elam.

McKay – George Kennedy (from "The Good Guys and the Bad Guys".

Though, to be honest, David Carradine is the true black hat in this film, McKay is just an old washed up one.

Jack Palance in Shane

For me it's Henry Fonda in "Once Upon A Time in the West", really despicable shooting down a little kid.

Bruce Dern in "The Cowboys"

I've always been in favor of Kirk Douglas as Cactus Jack in "The Villain" (1979) link

Besides that movie has Ann-Margret as the sexy damsel in distress Charming Jones, Arnold Schwartenegger as the naive hero Handsome Stranger (he was named for his father), and Paul Lynde as Chief Nerrrrvous Elk.

Jim

Walter Brennan as Pa Clanton in "My Darling Clementine" for one. Robert Duvall in "True Grit", Kirk Douglas gives it a comedic take in "The Villain" as did Jack Nicholson in "Goin' South", and let's not forget the ladies;Joan Crawford played a baddie in at least one western as did Barbara Stanwyck. Lana Turner as Lady DeWinter in the 1948 version of "The Three Musketeers" ,Mel Ferrer in "Scaramouche"and no doubt, many others about to be mentioned.

Wolfman,

"When you pull a gun kill a man."

YouTube link

The first time I saw a really bad character played by a great actor was Richard Witmark in a '40s film-noir flick that I can't remember the name of. I never saw bad guys in film, the same again.

You must mean "Kiss of Death" for the Witmark movie where he pushes the old lady in the wheelchair down the stairs. Classic!!

When I saw the thread title, my first thought was Hans Gruber (as Die Hard references are showing up in pre-Christmas advertising). And even though the OP suggested Westerns, the second baddie that came to mind was the Sheriff of Nottingham from the Costner version of Robin Hood. But that's the wrong kind of Sheriff. So how about Elliott Marston from Quigley Down Under? No, I guess it's still not technically a Western if it takes place in Oz…

So how about Brian Dennehy's character Cobb from Silverado!

Basil Rathbone and George Sanders played their share of baddies on screen. Blanche Yurka as Therese DeFarge in "A Tale Of Two Cities"(and gets hers c/o Edna May Oliver)Even Humphrey Bogart had his time as a "black hat". Claude Rains as Jack Griffin(The Invisible Man) among others. Roman emperors Nero(Charles Laughton ,Peter Ustinov) Caligula(Jay Robinson and Malcolm McDowell) Commodus(Christopher Plummer and Joaquin Phoenix)Leslie Banks in "The Most Dangerous Game" . TBC.

So many to choose from.
Sheriff Stockburn (John Russell) and his deputies in Pale Rider
Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) in Tombstone
both Cpt. Terrill (Bill McKinney) and Fletcher (John Vernon) in The Outlaw Josey Wales

Evil Roy Slade (John Astin)

As mentioned above, +1 for Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo and his maniacal laugh pushing the old lady down the steps.

No one think Margaret Hamilton evil enough for a mention as the Wicked Witch of the West? "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!" She wore a huge black hat and, like Darth Vader, wore all black. Maybe she just wanted those ruby slippers for a splash of color or to offset that green skin.

Arthur1815: "Any badman played by Jack Elam."
Just saw him in the 1951 film "Rawhide", where his portrayal of a slavering, heavy-breathing lascivious untrustworthy degenerate badman is exquisitely nasty.

Ok, filmsters, picture me this:
Richard WIdmark (in character as Tommy Udo), Dan Dureyea (playing as Waco Johnny Dean in "Winchester '73"), and Frank Gorshin as a slightly less-manic Riddler character, playing a trio of badmen brothers out for no good. Find a common metier, be it film noir, western, or even a superhero movie. They'd blend rather well, don'tcha think?