{ "id": "epf5pqhnmj", "slug": "the-villain-1979-film", "title": "The Villain (1979 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s", "label": "Comedies of the 1970s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s.yr-1977-1979", "label": "Released 1977 to 1979", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s.yr-1977-1979" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Comedies of the 1970s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s", "label": "Comedies of the 1970s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Villain (1979), also known as Cactus Jack, is a Hal Needham Western comedy starring Kirk Douglas, Ann-Margret, and Arnold Schwarzenegger; a live-action Road Runner-style spoof that critics panned (0% Tomatometer, Metascore 22).", "snippet": "The Villain (1979), also known as Cactus Jack, is a Hal Needham Western comedy starring Kirk Douglas, Ann-Margret, and Arnold Schwarzenegger; a live-action Road Runner-style spoof that critics panned (0% Tomatometer, Metascore 22).", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-the-1970s.yr-1977-1979", "markdown": "# The Villain (1979 film)\n\n**The Villain** is a 1979 American Western comedy directed by [Hal Needham](https://www.edgepedia.org/hal-needham), in which the bumbling outlaw \"Cactus Jack\" Slade ([Kirk Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/kirk-douglas)) repeatedly fails to rob a cash shipment escorted by the naive cowboy Handsome Stranger ([Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://www.edgepedia.org/arnold-schwarzenegger)) and the flirtatious Charming Jones (Ann-Margret). Needham described the picture as a \"'Roadrunner' cartoon done with live characters,\" and it was his third feature film as director.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | 20 July 1979 (New York opening); Los Angeles opening 3 August 1979; MPAA rating PG[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN) |\n| Runtime and format | 89 minutes, color, sound, Panavision lenses and camera[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN) |\n| Lead cast | Kirk Douglas (Cactus Jack), Ann-Margret (Charming Jones), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Handsome Stranger)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN) |\n| Key crew | Director Hal Needham; writer Robert G. Kane; producer Mort Engelberg; cinematographer Bobby Byrne[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN) |\n| Budget | $4.5 million per a 4 Oct 1978 Los Angeles Times article; a 6 Dec 1978 Variety article listed costs at $6 million[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN) |\n| Critical reception | 0% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 7 reviews; Metascore 22, \"Generally Unfavorable\"[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_villain_1979) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-villain/critic-reviews/) |\n| Audience score | 39% on the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter from more than 5,000 ratings[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_villain_1979) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nCactus Jack Slade arrives in the Western town of Snakes End and tries to rob the local bank; his explosives destroy the building but fail to crack the safe, and when his stubborn horse, Whiskey, refuses to help him escape, he is caught and jailed.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN) Meanwhile the silver mine owner Parody Jones sends his daughter Charming to Snakes End to collect a large cash loan, and asks the strong, kind-hearted cowboy Handsome Stranger to escort her home. Charming is captivated by the muscular cowboy, but the simpleminded Handsome appears oblivious to her flirtation.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN)\n\nThe crooked bank owner Avery Simpson offers to buy Jack out of jail, plus a $500 payment, if Jack will rob Charming; if the cash never reaches Parody, Simpson keeps the money and takes control of the silver mine put up as collateral. Jack agrees, receives a $20 advance, and immediately spends it at the saloon.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN) [Sony Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures)' synopsis adds that Handsome owes Parody Jones his life, and that Jack schemes to double-cross the double-crosser while plotting to outsmart Handsome with slapstick determination.[4](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thevillain)\n\n## Production\n\nThe picture was financed independently by producer Mort Engelberg and Rastar Films, the production company founded by producer Ray Stark. Engelberg and Rastar had also produced Needham's directorial debut, *Smokey and the Bandit* (1977), one of the highest-grossing films of 1977.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN) Before turning to directing, Needham was one of Hollywood's top stuntmen and stunt coordinators, and, without onscreen credit, he had worked as a stunt double for Douglas on *[In Harm's Way](https://www.edgepedia.org/in-harms-way)* (1965), *The War Wagon* (1967), and *The Way West* (1967).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN)\n\n**Filming** began on 16 October 1978 on location in [Monument Valley](https://www.edgepedia.org/monument-valley), Arizona, with other Arizona sites including Magma Mine, Benson, Rio Rico, the Flying V Ranch, and the Old Tucson Western set outside Tucson; shooting was scheduled to finish by 3 December 1978.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN) The film was copyrighted by The Villain Company on 17 September 1979 (PA44982).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN) The Numbers lists [Columbia Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-pictures) and Rastar Production as production and financing companies and records a wide domestic release on 20 July 1979 by Columbia.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Villain-The-%281979%29)\n\n**Supporting cast** included [Paul Lynde](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-lynde) as Nervous Elk, Jack Elam as Avery Simpson, Strother Martin as Parody Jones, Foster Brooks as the bank clerk, [Ruth Buzzi](https://www.edgepedia.org/ruth-buzzi) as the Damsel in Distress, Robert Tessier as Mashing Finger, and country singer [Mel Tillis](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-tillis) as the telegrapher; Bill Justis composed the score.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Villain-The-%281979%29) The title song, with music and lyrics by Buddy Cannon, Bob Younts, and Billy Williams, was performed by Mel Tillis.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080097/) End credits are superimposed alongside scenes of Cactus Jack's various sight gags from the film.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN)\n\n## Reception\n\nThe film was poorly received by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 0% Tomatometer from 7 reviews, against a 39% Popcornmeter audience score from more than 5,000 ratings.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_villain_1979) Metacritic records a Metascore of 22, \"Generally Unfavorable,\" with 6 of 7 critic reviews negative and 1 mixed.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-villain/critic-reviews/)\n\n**Contemporary reviews** were consistently dismissive. Variety wrote, \"Rarely has so much talent been used to so little purpose.\"[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-villain/critic-reviews/) Janet Maslin of The New York Times observed that Douglas does a lot of stunts, some reasonably good, but that these form the would-be comic backbone of a movie after \"heehaws\" rather than laughs, which it does not get.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-villain/critic-reviews/) Newsweek's David Ansen judged that, at 90 minutes, \"this cartoon is about 80 minutes too long.\"[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-villain/critic-reviews/) Gary Arnold of The Washington Post called it \"the sort of dumb comedy that never smartens up,\" faulting Needham's fragmented depiction of stunt sequences and noting that the film tries and fails to impose a genuinely cartoon-style gag in which Douglas paints a false tunnel entrance on a mountainside that the others drive through but he cannot.[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/07/23/the-villain-its-own-worst-enemy/a9ceec92-91d8-4c9d-9053-22fe98fe8836/) Judith Martin, reviewing for the same paper, placed the film alongside *The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again* in the family-comedy tradition of head bonks, ineptitude, and bosom gags.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/07/20/villian-just-heavy-duty-dumplings/dfcdb700-6215-49a0-bce1-5fbabd6777dd/)\n\n**Audience response** has been warmer than the critics'. Rotten Tomatoes users describe it as a [Roadrunner](https://www.edgepedia.org/roadrunner) and Wile E. Coyote cartoon come to life, praise Mel Tillis's soundtrack, and single out Paul Lynde's chief character as a highlight.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_villain_1979) Blu-ray.com lists a box office figure of $9,000,000.[9](https://www.blu-ray.com/The-Villain/186100/) The film was released on video by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on 1 January 2002, and Sony lists it as available on DVD.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Villain-The-%281979%29) • [4](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thevillain)\n\n## Place in Needham's career\n\nThe Villain followed *Smokey and the Bandit* (1977) and *Hooper* (1978) as Needham's third feature as director, reuniting him with Douglas, whom he had once doubled in stunts.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN) The Washington Post's Gary Arnold contrasted it with those successes: where *Smokey* had played like a happy, spontaneous accident, *The Villain* played like an academic exercise, with little conviction behind its kidding of Western cliches.[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/07/23/the-villain-its-own-worst-enemy/a9ceec92-91d8-4c9d-9053-22fe98fe8836/) The film remains one of the lesser-known entries in Schwarzenegger's filmography, made four years before his breakthrough in *Conan the Barbarian*.[10](https://as.com/meristation/cine/hace-47-anos-de-una-de-las-peliculas-mas-desconocidas-de-arnold-schwarzenegger-f202608-n/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [The Villain (1979), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57133-THE-VILLAIN)\n2. [The Villain (1979), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_villain_1979)\n3. [The Villain critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-villain/critic-reviews/)\n4. [The Villain, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thevillain)\n5. [The Villain (1979), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Villain-The-%281979%29)\n6. [The Villain (1979), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080097/)\n7. [\"The Villain\": Its Own Worst Enemy, The Washington Post, 22 July 1979](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/07/23/the-villain-its-own-worst-enemy/a9ceec92-91d8-4c9d-9053-22fe98fe8836/)\n8. [\"Villian\": Just Heavy-Duty \"Dumplings\", The Washington Post, 20 July 1979](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/07/20/villian-just-heavy-duty-dumplings/dfcdb700-6215-49a0-bce1-5fbabd6777dd/)\n9. [The Villain (1979), Blu-ray.com](https://www.blu-ray.com/The-Villain/186100/)\n10. [Hace 47 años de una de las películas más desconocidas de Arnold Schwarzenegger, AS](https://as.com/meristation/cine/hace-47-anos-de-una-de-las-peliculas-mas-desconocidas-de-arnold-schwarzenegger-f202608-n/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of the 1970s › Released 1977 to 1979*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-villain-1979-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-villain-1979-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Villain (1979 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-villain-1979-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Villain (1979 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-villain-1979-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-villain-1979-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-villain-1979-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Villain (1979 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-villain-1979-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Villain, also known as Cactus Jack, is a Hal Needham Western comedy starring Kirk Douglas, Ann-Margret, and Arnold Schwarzenegger; a live-action Road Runner-style spoof that critics panned." }