Although screen legends Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kirk Douglas feel like they come from two totally separate eras, the pair faced off in a highly underrated 1970s Western comedy. With Schwarzenegger as an icon of the 1980s and beyond, and Douglas as a defining actor of classical Hollywood cinema, to see these two come together for a comedic live-action spin on classic cartoons feels more like a strange fever dream than a genuine film. Yet, this occurred in 1979, when Douglas appeared in his final Western role and Schwarzenegger was just starting to become well-known.

Schwarzenegger and Douglas came face-to-face in the criminally underseen Western comedy The Villain, a parody film that was packed with slapstick humor and goofy references to kids’ animation directed by Hal Needham. With Douglas as an Oscar-nominated performer whose work includes roles for all-time great directors like Billy Wilder and Stanley Kubrick, this kooky, lighthearted Western was a fascinating offshoot in an acclaimed and diverse career. Schwarzenegger, on the other hand, was just getting started in Hollywood and had not yet achieved the mainstream recognition he later gained from movies like Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Played “Handsome Stranger” In The Villain

The Villain Predates Conan the Barbarian And The Terminator

Schwarzenegger portrayed a man simply known as “Handsome Stranger” in The Villain. As an inexplicably Austrian Western hero, Handsome was tasked with ensuring the beautiful young woman named Charming Jones (Ann-Margret) was escorted across the West with a large sum of money she had claimed for her father. With Schwarzenegger as a naive and innocent cowboy who is indebted to Charming’s father for saving his life years before, much of the humor came from his being totally unaware of the young woman’s painfully obvious Sєxual advances.

While Handsome casually traversed across the American frontier with Charming, Kirk Douglas as the aging outlaw Cactus Jack was H๏τ on his trail and doing everything in his power to swipe the money for town boss Avery Simpson (Jack Elam.) Although Cactus Jack fancies himself a cunning crook capable of concocting clever plans, his constant scheming was so inept that Handsome rarely even realized someone was trying to track them down.

The Villain Is A Fun Spoof On Two Classic Looney Tunes Characters

It Was Envisioned As A Live-Action Cartoon

The cartoonish antics of The Villain may sound oddly familiar, and that’s because the film was an intentional homage to the Warner Bros. cartoon characters Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. As a hilarious experiment that sought to discover how well the over-the-top misadventures of these Looney Tunes would translate into live-action, Cactus Jack was seen laying traps using Acme-style contraptions and even bouncing all over the screen from excitement and elation after unexpectedly receiving a kiss from Charming.

While Douglas’s Cactus Jack appeared as a direct stand-in for the devious villain Wile E. Coyote, Schwarzenegger’s Handsome Stranger simply mimicked the good luck of the Road Runner without actually taking on the bird’s atтιтudes. While everything about The Villain was a tribute to Warner Bros. characters, it’s interesting to note that this comedy was actually distributed by Columbia Pictures.

The Villain Is Early Proof Of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Comedic Talents

Schwarzenegger’s Funny Side Was On Display From The Very Start

Although The Villain received poor reviews upon release, the film is notable for being an early example of Schwarzenegger’s often underrated comedic talents. While this former bodybuilding champion would gain worldwide recognition for his terrifying role as the T-800 in James Cameron’s The Terminator in 1984, Schwarzenegger would emerge as a major comedy star during the late ‘80s and 1990s. With hilarious roles in Junior, Kindergarten Cop, and Last Action Hero, it took some time for audiences to appreciate Schwarzenegger’s funny side.

The Villain makes it clear that Schwarzenegger had the talent to excel in comedy long before he teamed up with Jim Belushi in Red Heat or discovered he was Danny DeVito’s long-lost brother in Twins. Even the mere image of Schwarzenegger dressed head to toe in a тιԍнт-fitting cowboy suit is enough to garner a few laughs, and the star truly committed to his hilariously absurd role in this Looney Tunes spoof. While it may not have endured in the same way as other Western parodies like Blazing Saddles, looking back, The Villain was a lot of fun.