BOO! HISS! Our volunteers pick their favourite movie baddies. (part 4)

Baddies can be problematic. Baddies can be meaningful and teach us lessons. Baddies can also just be fun and over-the-top. I’ve tried to have mix of these.

Blofeld

Blofeld (Various, 1963-present?)

As Helen Mirren recently mentioned, Bond films are "drenched in profound sexism" and the films can often follow damaging Hollywood tropes, but their villains (while sometimes thematically problematic) are delightfully bonkers and none more so than SPECTRE's number 1, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, mainly when he's played by Donald Pleasance (although Telly Savalas gets a nod as well). And his cat. I have allergies.

Sweet Smell of Success

J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster, Sweet Smell of Success, 1957)

His insidious tentacles reach everywhere, he has dirt on everyone and pulls all the strings. Every time you think he might change and make the right choices, he doesn’t and veers ever more into darkness. Not many characters make me feel this uncomfortable. Film noir at its darkest.

Misery

Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates, Misery, 1990)

Kathy Bates' amazing performance keeps you squirming on the edge of your seat, backed up by Rob Reiner directing and William Goldman writing - all three at the top of their respective games.

(I tried to stick to only one over-the-top full-on pantomime BADDIE, but Mr Potter from It's a Wonderful Life would be in there as well. Ridiculously evil and unredeemed in any way. Somehow even more relevant 80 years later.)

It’s A Wonderful Life