The Villain, aka Cactus Jack, is a 1979 live-action western comedy directed by Hal Needham (of The Cannonball Run and Smokey and the Bandit) that parodies Western movies in general.
It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Handsome Stranger (yes, it's his actual name—he was named after his father), who is escorting Charming Jones (Ann-Margret) so that she can claim money left by her father, Parody Jones (Strother Martin). Avery Simpson (Jack Elam), the corrupt town boss forced to hand the money over, wants it back and so hires/conscripts an inept outlaw named Cactus Jack Slade (Kirk Douglas) and Slade's super-genius horse Whiskey into stealing it back. What then unfolds is literally a live-action Roadrunner cartoon.
No relation whatsoever to the wrestler Mick Foley.
This movie contains examples of:
- Actor Allusion:
- Kirk Douglas rides a horse named Whiskey.
- While tearing the pages of the Villains' Guidebook, one of the names Cactus Jack mentions is Doc Holliday, whom Douglas played in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
- Animal Reaction Shot: Whiskey gets into this territory a few time, one example being his watching Cactus Jack accidentally create a deadly Powder Trail.
- Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: Charming is not subtle about what she wants.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Or at least thanks to the above trope, gets the girl in the end.
- Behind a Stick: Cactus Jack and Whiskey hide behind a cactus at one point.
- Being Good Sucks: See directly above.
- Bulletproof Fashion Plate: Handsome Stranger never gets dirty. Ever.
- Calling Your Attacks: Cactus Jack does this in a saloon.
- Chaste Hero: Handsome Stranger. Because of this, he does NOT get the girl in the end.
- Chekhov's Gun: A literal example. Handsome has a seven-shot six shooter, which is established early on with a bit of dialog. At one point later, Cactus Jack empties the bullets from the gun onto a table while counting them. Then, assuming the gun is now unloaded, accidentally shoots himself.
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: Cactus Jack, after Whiskey saves him from being blown up. In fairness, Whiskey accomplishes this by kicking Jack out of range with his back feet.
- Cool Horse: Whiskey. The horse keeps reminding Slade of this all the time.
- Creator In-Joke: Needham includes a couple of Smokey and the Bandit references.
- Dawn Attack: Indians never attack at night, because they're too busy pounding on THOSE DAMNED DRUMS!
- Evil Is Hammy: Kirk Douglas probably had a lot of fun just being as over-the-top as possible.
- Evil Wears Black: Cactus Jack.
- Groin Attack: The evil Cactus Jack invites Nervous Elk to join him in ravishing Charming. Nervous Elk declines, saying that white women always 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.
- Handcar Pursuit
- Harmless Villain: Cactus Jack is a horrible brigand. He isn't especially dangerous - he just isn't very good at it.Chief Nervous Elk: Why does the banker want him watched? He needs to be looked after!
- His Name Really Is "Barkeep": Handsome Stranger.
- Hilarity Ensues: The movie runs on this.
- Homage: Cactus Jack being dragged under the wagon was an homgage to Yakima Canutt's iconic stunt in Stagecoach where he went under the stagecoach wheels and horses. This was a year before Raiders of the Lost Ark paid tribute to it, and effectively replaced it in the popular consciousness.
- Injun Country: 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.
- Insistent Terminology: "Cactus Jack Slade!"
- Made of Iron: Cactus Jack survives cartoonish levels of violence and failure at different points in the movie. The guy's Kirk Douglas playing Wile E. Coyote! 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.
- Meaningful Name:
- Handsome Stranger was named after his father, whom he never met.
- 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: "Charming... just charming."
- Oh, Crap!: Cactus Jack displays a pretty epic version of this as he is hit by the train and plastered across its front like a bug on a windshield.
- Painted Tunnel, Real Train: One of Cactus Jack's ill-fated attempts to capture Handsome and Charming.
- Powder Trail: Another of Cactus Jack's attempted schemes leads to this.
- Shout-Out: Since as indicated, the flick's basically a Road Runner cartoon in live action, Jack bounces around like Daffy Duck to the Merrie Melodies theme when Charming Jones kisses him at the end. Also the character names Avery Simpson and Charming Jones.
- Snarky Non-Human Sidekick: Whiskey is a cool and loyal horse, but he's also a dick.
- Sticky Situation: 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 railroad crossing.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Cactus Jack at the end, oh so much.
- Train Job: 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.
- 2xFore: Cactus Jack is on the receiving end of one of these after randomly punching people in a saloon.
- Villain Protagonist: Says so right there in the title!
