Loathsome Cinematic Murderers, Part One, Maybe

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Peter Lorre, M.  1931, UFA Studios.  d) Fritz Lang.  My vote for best portrayal of a child murderer die aller zietung.


Leslie Banks as General Zaroff in The Most Dangerous Game.  A pathetic adaption of one of the greatest action stories every written, this was filmed at night on the King Kong set, which explains the inexplicable appearance of Fay Wray in the movie.  There is no woman in the story, and what kills this off is Joel McCrae as Sanger Rainsford, if that is his name in this wretched movie.  But Leslie hits it out of the park as the bored Russian autocrat who at least gives his prey a fighting chance.  His all black clothing and high boots give him more than a touch of what a really up to the minute Cossack out killing shipwrecked strangers for fun should strive to look like.  Tres Fasciste!  


James Cagney as the mother fixated psychopath Cody Jarrett in White Heat, 1949.  d) Raoul Walsh.
Although I give him the big hand for the tap dance in Yankee Doodle Dandy, Jimmy was always best as a saucy killer.  My fave film noir. 
Well, maybe Sunset Boulevard.  Or The Killing.
Anyway...speaking of which-


Timothy Carey as the somewhat hip psycho weapons man Nick in Kubrick's The Killing.  Timothy Carey rates a whole post to himself and maybe I will get to that.


Well, while I am doing black and white, here is not so much a Villain but a Weakling:


Toshiro Mifune from Throne of Blood, d) Akira Kurosawa.  Shakespeare without the bard, thank God!


Kirk Douglas, The List of Adrian Messenger.  Kirk is a very, very busy boy in this one of my fave all time movies. d) John Huston.
 

 James Cromwell as Captain Dudley Smith, L. A. Confidential.  Steel balls, I'll give him that.


Raymond Cruz as the out of control Tuco Salamanca, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.


Laird Cregar as the repulsive murderer detective Ed Cornell, I Wake Up Screaming - 1941.
 

 And where would we be without Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo?


Kiss Of Death, 1947.


Thus ends Part One of this post.

 

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