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The Villain (1979)

Director: Hal Needham

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Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Having flopped in the States as The Villain, this abysmally unfunny comedy Western would need a lot more changed than just its title to even begin to fulfil its implicit promise as a live-action Roadrunner cartoon. Douglas mugs his way through a tedious routine of graceless, mistimed slapstick as his incompetent outlaw repeatedly fails to waylay the miscast Schwarzenegger and Ann-Margret, while director Needham - apparently lost without Burt Reynolds - resorts to hackneyed camera trickery, and only stops the rot with a truly offensive resolution.

Author: PT

Time Out Film Guide


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