The Villain (1979)
Directed by Hal Needham
Genres - Comedy, Western |
Sub-Genres - Comedy Western, Parody/Spoof, Slapstick |
Release Date - Jul 26, 1979 (USA) |
Run Time - 93 min. |
Countries - United States |
MPAA Rating - PG
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Synopsis by Bill Wu
The presence of Paul Lynde, in a small role, reveals more about the quality and tone of this film than the three top names. A farce with plenty of slapstick, it offers Kirk Douglas as a road agent dealing with a naive hero (a young Arnold Schwarzenegger) who is seemingly out of western serials in the '40s and a beautiful, sexy saloon girl (Ann-Margret). The silly jokes are the point, not the plot, though Needham includes some impressive stunts. Some of the most notable draw blatantly on Warner Brothers roadrunner and Daffy Duck cartoons; notably, the film came from Columbia, not Warner. The film's attempt at satire is too heavy-handed to have bite.
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Keywords
barmaid, cowboy, hero, Indian (Native-American)-chief, kidnapping, outlaw [Western], rescue, saloon, villain