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The 10 Most Rakish Villains Of Cinema
From The Italian Job’s Mr Bridger to James Bond’s famous adversary Emilio Largo, some of the most rakish characters of cinema have been villains. Here are the most memorable…
Words Christopher Modoo
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Mr Bridger, The Italian Job (1969)
The original 1960s version has everything that is great (and sometimes not so great) about Britain; Savile Row suits, Benny Hill, and camp villains. Noel Coward is the English crime boss, Mr Bridger, controlling his syndicate from the comfort of his prison cell. Fiercely patriotic, he supports the ambitious Italian heist with a sense of duty to his country. He is immaculately presented in his prison uniform and is deliberate in his speech. He is feared and respected throughout the prison, from the convicts to the governor. And in a film littered with memorable lines, he still has the best one with; “everyone’s bent.”
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Sir Lawrence Wildman, Wall Street (1987)
With the cult villain of Michael Douglas’s Gordon Gekko as the double-crossing corporate raider still revered in popular culture, we should occasionally pause to remember that there was a bigger end-of-level baddie in Wall Street. Played to absolute perfection by Terence Stamp, Sir Lawrence Wildman is Gekko’s adversary and has a knighthood to complement his killer wardrobe. The six-button double-breasted glen check that Stamp wears with a mid-blue shirt and navy tie is the best suit in the movie and the cream cable-knit sweater he wears on his yacht is as timeless as his brick-sized mobile phone is dated.
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Don Logan, Sexy Beast (2000)
Ben Kingsley stars as Don Logan in this classic British heist movie and is utterly convincing as the menacing psychopath sent to convince retired safe-cracker Gary Dove (Ray Winstone) to do one more job. Logan’s language is colourful and threatening but delivered with composure and wit. The way he talks his way out of being detained by airport security is masterful.
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Eddie Temple, Layer Cake (2004)
Layer Cake has all the ingredients to be a Bond movie. A great soundtrack, quotable dialogue, a plot that does not quite make sense and it even has Daniel Craig as the anti-hero. But perhaps the most Bond-like feature of the movie is the villain Eddie Temple performed by Michael Gambon. Temple is the rags-to-riches crime lord who can mix with lords or cocaine dealers and is protected by a personal army of uniformed ex-special service military personnel. He dresses expensively with his handmade suits and bold-coloured ties and wears a proper bottle-green silk velvet smoking jacket to deliver his Bond villain-esque monologue at the end of this much underrated film.
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Hans Gruber, Die Hard (1988)
Alan Rickman’s character is the best thing in this classic Christmas movie. Hans Gruber is sophisticated, ruthless, funny and has an appreciation of fine tailoring. He recognises a suit as “John Phillips, London” with only a cursory glance before claiming ownership of two himself.
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Hannibal Lecktor, Manhunter (1986)
Based on the Red Dragon novel by Thomas Harris, Brian Cox gave us the first cinematic interpretation of Hannibal “Lecktor” in Michael Mann’s “Manhunter”. Less camp than the more famous Anthony Hopkins version, Cox brings a certain charm to the role. The scene where he obtains a phone number with his polite but persuasive telephone manner is equally impressive and terrifying.
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Darth Vader, Star Wars (1977)
Baddies are cool. I usually do not approve of totally black outfits and usually suggest a pop of colour but Lord Vader (like Johnny Cash) is cool enough to carry it off. Single-minded but multi-talented, he carries himself with the swagger of the self-made man.
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Emilio Largo, Thunderball (1965)
Officially the most rakish of Bond villains. Emilio Largo is a member of the crime syndicate SPECTRE and the antagonist in Ian Fleming’s Thunderball. As well as a zero tolerance towards failure and a penchant for torture, Largo has the best style of any Bond villain. His eight-button double-breasted navy blazer is cut in the style of a guard’s officer and he has a fine selection of resort shirts with straight hems and side slits. But Largo’s iconic outfit is the cream double-breasted dinner jacket; cut with a stylised shawl collar and fastening below the waist in a button one, show two configuration, it is complemented with pearl buttons and a slim diamond shaped silk bow. But the best accessory is his eye-patch that creates an air of mystery and menace. Outside of traditional piracy, it is an underused accessory that is, perhaps, due a revival. It was that other fan of the cream dinner jacket, Bryan Ferry, who last wore one with any style.
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Jack Napier, Batman (1989)
Jack Nicholson’s wardrobe for Batman was created by legendary Savile Row tailor, Tommy Nutter. Single-breasted vests with double-breasted suits are unusual today but were rarer still in the late 1980s. And Jack Nicholson can wear a suit. He probably looked his best, in this Tim Burton directed Batman reboot, since Chinatown. As Jack Napier –
the DC villain who would become The Joker – Nicholson exudes cockiness and swagger. When his mistress, played by Jerry Hall, compliments Napier whilst he fixes his tie in a mirror with “You look fine”, he snarls “I didn’t ask”. Perfection.
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Le Chiffre, Casino Royale (2006)
The original Bond villain (Casino Royale, Fleming’s first novel, was published in 1953) is brought to life by Mads Mikkelsen in the 2006 film starring Daniel Craig in his first outing as Bond. Meticulous and cruel, Le Chiffre is an excellent gambler and faces Bond at the card table. The tension between the two is high and Bond sips Vesper Martinis whilst Le Chiffre gasps from a silver inhaler. Never has asthma been so rakish.
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cinema, Jack Nicholson, james bond, Michael Gambon, movies, Rakish Villains, Sexy beast, the italian job, Thunderball, WALL STREET
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