The 1970s were a time of great change at the movies, as the usual studio fare began to lose favor with the general public, and the spotlight moved to smaller and more visionary films likeEasy RiderandThe Graduate. It wasthe dawn of the “New Hollywood” era, and the films of this time weren’t afraid to reflect and explore the violence of a human society that was running rampant in places like Vietnam, college campuses, and the streets of Anytown, USA. As such, movie villains took on a greater darkness and savagery. Horror blossomed into the genre dominated by deranged, slashing maniacs that we know it as today, and evil intergalactic rulers invaded science fiction.
In short, cinematic storytelling matured, and the role of the main antagonist became more important than ever before. In a decade chock-full of incredible films, a list of the best villains could go on forever; in the list below, we’ve narrowed it down to 25 of the most memorably malevolent villains from the 1970s.
25Kurt Barlow - Salem’s Lot (1979)
Salem’s Lotis the 2-part television adaptation (also released theatrically as a truncated feature film) of Stephen King’s second novel‘Salem’s Lot. It follows novelist Ben Mears as he returns to his hometown to investigate a mysterious old house. As it turns out, the new owner of the house is a bloodthirsty vampire named Kurt Barlow, who decides to begin his vampiric conquest of the world in Mears’ small New England town.
Although Barlow doesn’t get a ton of screen time in this Tobe Hooper-directed adaptation, his menacing and grotesque appearance – complete with blue skin, piercing yellow eyes, and Nosferatu-like fangs – was more than enough to cement his legacy as a nightmare-fueling bad guy for the ages.
24Scaramanga - The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
One of themost memorable villains in the entire James Bond franchise, Francisco Scaramanga is the dapper assassin who targets Bond in 1974’sThe Man with the Golden Gun. Played to perfection by the inimitable Christopher Lee, Scaramanga might not be in one of the best Bond films, but he’s easily one of Bond’s greatest opponents.
The film plays with the idea that Bond and Scaramanga are two sides of the same coin, which makes the bad guy more interesting than your average enemy hitman, and the final duel between the two rivals set in a funhouse is legendary.
23Bruce - Jaws (1975)
Jawsis and always will bethe scariest shark movie. It’s just irrefutably perfect in every single way, including in the animatronic shark department. Nicknamed “Bruce” by the cast and crew, the massive 25-foot shark only gets a few minutes of actual screen time, and yet the incredible threat he poses looms over the movie for its entire two-hour+ runtime. When he finally emerges from the depths, Bruce’s menacing appearance more than lives up to the build-up, and the unrelenting force he uses to tear apart the Orca is truly terrifying.
Even setting his famished feats aside, Bruce’s iconic image on theJawsposter alone is enough to garner him a spot on this list.
22Sheriff Buford T. Justice - Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
Smokey and the Banditis the ultimate car chase movie about a race car driver, a runaway bride, and a convoy of blue-collar truckers who decide to stick it to the man and run an illegal beer shipment from Texas to Atlanta. Filled to the brim with powerhouse performances, this action-comedy is populated with nothing but lovable characters – even the bad guy is someone that you love to hate!
He is Sheriff Buford T. Justice, the “Smokey” of the title given the way his uniform is reminiscent of Smokey Bear’s, and he’s played by the infinitely hilarious Jackie Gleason. Justice’s bid to catch the Bandit turns into a perilous personal vendetta, and the lengths that he goes to get what he wants (plus all of his witty quips) makes him one of the best villains of the era.
Related:The Best Car Chases in Movies, Ranked
21Scorpio - Dirty Harry (1971)
Dirty Harryis a gritty police procedural thriller about a dogged detective on a mission to stop a deranged killer at any cost. The killer, loosely based on the real-life “Zodiac Killer” who dodged detection in San Francisco during his crime spree in the late 1960s and 1970s, is absolutely terrifying. Played with an uncanny mania and disturbed wit by actor Andrew Robinson, Scorpio is savage yet deceptively charming. Like Norman Bates with a sniper rifle, Scorpio constantly evades police detection and pushes Clint Eastwood’s Harry Callahan to his limits.
20Alain Charnier - The French Connection (1971)
The French Connectionis one of the all-time greatest neo-noir thrillers, and follows hard-nosed New York City detective “Popeye” Doyle’s hunt for the villainous French heroin smuggler Alain Charnier. Also referred to as “Frog One,” Charnier is a cunning mastermind and a highly memorable bad guy, brilliantly brought to life by actor Fernando Rey.In the words of Screen Rant, “Like all great villains, Charnier brings out the worst in the hero (or antihero, since Popeye makes a lot of morally gray decisions). As Popeye’s pursuit of Charnier becomes increasingly narrow-minded, he bends more and more laws to bring him to justice, building to a haunting, ambiguous ending.”
19Lex Luthor - Superman: The Movie (1978)
Superman: The Movieis the original big-budget superhero blockbuster, and still one of the greatest. A big part of what makes this Superman origin story so memorable after decades of subsequent retellings is its depiction of Superman’s biggest nemesis: Lex Luthor. Played by Gene Hackman, Luthor is a vain and arrogant villain, capable of incredible evil and motivated by his intense desire to become the richest man in the world.
His plot to sink California and turn the surrounding US states into beachfront property is so gloriously over-the-top that it cannot be denied that he’s one of the decade’s best villains.
18Damien - The Omen (1976)
One ofthe scariest films of the decade,The Omenis a “Satanic Panic” classic about a diplomat who adopts a young boy that turns out to be the Antichrist. The devilish boy, Damien, is a cosmic horror icon and a dastardly villain that both directly and indirectly kills everyone around him in a shocking fashion.
17Apollo Creed - Rocky (1976)
Rockywouldn’t be the legendary classic that it is today if not for Sylvester Stallone’s magnificent performance as the titular hero. Likewise, the film’s antagonist, Carl Weathers’ heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, is an essential element to the lightning-in-a-bottle brilliance of the firstRockymovie. Creed proves himself to be a powerful contender both in and outside the ring, and is one-half of one of the most memorable rivalries in cinematic history.
Related:Why Rocky Is the Best Sylvester Stallone Movie of All Time
16Billy - Black Christmas (1974)
A highly influential proto-slasher,Black Christmaspredates later slasher flicks that would popularize hulking horror villains such as Jason Voorhees, and as such utilizes an unseen killer who lurks in the shadows for the duration of the film. This doesn’t hurt the killer’s reputation as one of horror’s best baddies, mind you, asBlack Christmas’ enigmatic “Billy” has a haunting presence that cannot be overstated.
As he torments his victims with salacious phone calls and murders them violently one by one, Billy makes it clear that he is closer to his hapless targets than they realize. In the end, Billy is never caught, cementing his status as one of the creepiest and most cunning of all the ‘70s villains.
