Line #16 Film/TheVillain


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_villain_6282.jpg]]
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3	''The Villain'', aka ''[[MarketBasedTitle Cactus Jack]]'', is a 1979 live-action western comedy directed by Hal Needham (of ''Film/TheCannonballRun'' and ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit'') that parodies {{Western}} movies in general.
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5	It stars Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger as Handsome Stranger (yes, it's his actual name--he was named after his father), who is escorting Charming Jones (Creator/AnnMargret) so that she can claim money left by her father, Parody Jones (Creator/StrotherMartin). Avery Simpson (Creator/JackElam), the corrupt town boss forced to hand the money over, wants it back and so hires/conscripts an inept outlaw named Cactus Jack Slade (Creator/KirkDouglas) and Slade's [[SapientSteed super-genius horse]] Whiskey into stealing it back. What [[HilarityEnsues then unfolds]] is literally a [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner live-action Roadrunner cartoon.]]
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7	No relation whatsoever to the wrestler Wrestling/MickFoley.
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9	----
10	!! This movie contains examples of:
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12	* ActorAllusion:
13	** [[Film/LonelyAreTheBrave Kirk Douglas rides a horse named Whiskey]].
14	** While tearing the pages of the Villains' Guidebook, one of the names Cactus Jack mentions is Doc Holliday, whom Douglas played in ''Film/GunfightAtTheOKCorral''.
15	* AnimalReactionShot: Whiskey gets into this territory a few time, one example being his watching Cactus Jack accidentally create a deadly PowderTrail.
16	* ArentYouGoingToRavishMe: Charming is not subtle about what she wants.
17	* TheBadGuyWins: Or at least [[spoiler: thanks to the above trope, gets the girl in the end.]]
18	* BehindAStick: Cactus Jack and Whiskey hide behind a cactus at one point.
19	* BeingGoodSucks: See directly above.
20	* BulletproofFashionPlate: Handsome Stranger never gets dirty. Ever.
21	* CallingYourAttacks: Cactus Jack does this in a saloon.
22	* ChasteHero: Handsome Stranger. [[spoiler: Because of this, he does NOT get the girl in the end.]]
23	* ChekhovsGun: A literal example. Handsome has [[spoiler: a seven-shot six shooter,]] which is established early on with a bit of dialog. At one point later, Cactus Jack [[spoiler: empties the bullets from the gun onto a table while counting them.]] Then, assuming the gun is now unloaded, [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace accidentally shoots himself.]]
24	* ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike: Cactus Jack, after Whiskey saves him from being [[PowderTrail blown up]]. In fairness, Whiskey accomplishes this by [[LiteralAssKicking kicking]] Jack out of range with his back feet.
25	* CoolHorse: Whiskey. The horse keeps reminding Slade of this all the time.
26	* CreatorInJoke: Needham includes a couple of ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit'' references.
27	* DawnAttack: Indians never attack at night, because they're too busy pounding on [[JungleDrums THOSE DAMNED DRUMS!]]
28	* EvilIsHammy: Kirk Douglas probably had a lot of fun just being as over-the-top as possible.
29	* EvilWearsBlack: Cactus Jack.
30	* GroinAttack: The evil Cactus Jack invites Nervous Elk to join him in [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil ravishing Charming]]. Nervous Elk declines, saying that white women always [[FateWorseThanDeath hold back one bullet for themselves so they can't be raped]]. Except for that one woman who used her bullet to shoot Nervous Elk's balls off.
31	* HandcarPursuit
32	* HarmlessVillain: Cactus Jack is a horrible brigand. He isn't especially dangerous - he just isn't very good at it.
33	--> '''Chief Nervous Elk:''' Why does the banker want him watched? He needs to be ''looked after''!
34	* HisNameReallyIsBarkeep: Handsome Stranger.
35	* HilarityEnsues: The movie runs on this.
36	* {{Homage}}: Cactus Jack being dragged under the wagon was an homgage to Yakima Canutt's iconic stunt in ''Film/{{Stagecoach}}'' where he went under the stagecoach wheels and horses. This was a year before ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' paid tribute to it, and [[LostInImitation effectively replaced it in the popular consciousness]].
37	* InjunCountry: Its border is marked by a literal white line drawn across the desert. When an Indian accidentally falls across it, he hastily scrambles back to the correct side.
38	* InsistentTerminology: "''Cactus'' Jack Slade!"
39	* MadeOfIron: Cactus Jack survives cartoonish levels of violence and failure at different points in the movie. The guy's Kirk Douglas playing WesternAnimation/WileECoyote! Speaking of which, Mr. Douglas qualifies as a real-life example, as he was in his sixties at the time of filming and did at least some of his own stunts.
40	* MeaningfulName:
41	** Handsome Stranger was named after his father, whom he never met.
42	** Charming sort of falls into this category as well. She was named after the first thing her father said when he found out his wife was pregnant: "[[OhCrap Charming... just charming]]."
43	* OhCrap: Cactus Jack displays a pretty epic version of this as he is [[spoiler: hit by the train and plastered across its front like a bug on a windshield.]]
44	* PaintedTunnelRealTrain: One of Cactus Jack's ill-fated attempts to capture Handsome and Charming.
45	* PowderTrail: Another of Cactus Jack's attempted schemes leads to this.
46	* ShoutOut: Since as indicated, the flick's basically a Road Runner cartoon in live action, Jack bounces around like Daffy Duck to the [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] theme when [[spoiler: Charming Jones kisses him at the end]]. Also the character names [[Creator/TexAvery Avery Simpson]] and [[Creator/ChuckJones Charming Jones]].
47	* SnarkyNonHumanSidekick: Whiskey is a cool and loyal horse, but he's also a ''dick''.
48	* StickySituation: Yet another of Cactus Jack's schemes, which of course leads to him trying to figure out what went wrong by ''standing in a puddle of rubber cement on a [[RailroadTracksOfDoom railroad crossing]].''
49	* ThrowTheDogABone: Cactus Jack at the end, oh so much.
50	* TrainJob: When we first meet Cactus Jack, he's attempting one of these by leaping down onto a moving train from an overhead ledge. He of course misses completely and face-plants on the tracks.
51	* TwoByFore: Cactus Jack is on the receiving end of one of these after randomly punching people in a saloon.
52	* VillainProtagonist: Says so right there in the title!

Context Film / TheVillain