Veteran actor Michael Caine has proven he is still the baddest bad boy in cinema by topping a countdown of the most memorable movie villains. His portrayal of vicious London hitman Jack Carter, in the 1971 classic Get Carter, beat off competition from a host of the silver screen's nastiest knaves to take the top spot.
Burt Lancaster's rogue reporter JJ Hunsecker, from Sweet Smell Of Success, came in second with John Malkovich's sleazy Viscount, in Dangerous Liaisons, in third. The character Gordon Gekko from Wall Street was also highly ranked, along with Captain William Bligh from Mutiny On The Bounty.
But no-one could quite match the inimitable Mr Caine for sheer wickedness, according to Total Film magazine. In the movie his character causes a trail of mayhem as he tries to avenge his brother's death. The flick was unusually violent for the time, and caused quite a bit of controversy when it was released.
"We made the film very violent because I had this bee in my bonnet that British films treated gangsters as if they were stupid or funny," said Sir Michael, who met quite a few real life criminals while growing up in London's Elephant & Castle. "Never did I meet any who was stupid or remotely funny."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
