Lee Marvinwas one of the biggest movie stars of the 1950s and 1960s who was known for his talent for playing hardline gangsters, outrageous outlaws, and sinister villains. As a legend of crime, film noir, and Westerns, Marvin’s brooding physique and tough persona made himthe perfect bad guy across a variety of film and TV roles. An Academy Award winner, Marvin was equally comfortable in comedy and drama; Marvin’s career was defined through playing antagonistic enemies and vindictive foes.
While not all ofMarvin’s greatest roleswere portraying villains, and he had some astounding turns as typical heroes or brooding antiheroes, it was in dark, complex roles that he truly excelled. Having starred in someall-time great film noirsand legendary Western releases, older audience members will remember Marvin as one of Hollywood’s most enduring stars. With a memorable demeanor and serious talent, Marvin’s villainous side made him an acting icon.
10Blinky
Gun Fury (1953)
An early indication of Lee Marvin’s talent for portraying villainous outlaws in Western movies was his supporting role inGun Fury. This saw a gang of bandits kidnapping a man’s fiancée from a stagecoach was an action-packed chase movie that had plenty of guns-blazing Wild West antics. Starring Rock Hudson as Ben Warren, this was a minor release in the grand scheme of Marvin’s later successes, although his undeniable star power was on display even just from this brief appearance.
Marvin played the bandit Blinky, an outlaw gang member who actually challenges Philip Carey before Warren and his gang show up. While there was a villainous streak to his characterization, Blinky possessed more depth than this role would have actually required, although this part did not have the same chaotic energy for which Marvin would later become known. As a fun glimpse into Marvin’s early career,Gun Furywas a small insight into what was to come as he more fully embraced his villainous side in the subsequent years.
9Slob
Shack Out on 101 (1955)
The seldom spoken-about film noirShack Out on 101explored themes of nuclear secrets, foreign spies, and federal agents, which would have beenincredibly relevant in the wake of McCarthyism and the Red Scarewhen it was released back in 1955. Featuring Terry Moore as a low-level waitress with high ambitions studying for her civil service exams, she was joined by Lee Marvin as Slob, a nefarious short-order cook at a seaside greasy-spoon diner.
While Marvin is initially presented as a fun-loving, all-American bad boy, it’s slowly revealed he’s in fact a spy with a distaste for all things American. Marvin was the main reason to check outShack Out on 101, as his compelling performance delivered some serious thrills right from the beginning, and his character only became more interesting as the story continued. A strong example of a film where the villain was more compelling than the hero,Shack Out on 101was an underseen yet enjoyable film noir.
8Dan Kurth
The Stranger Wore a Gun (1953)
Another enjoyable showcase of Lee Marvin’s talent for playing Wild West villains was as Dan Kurth inThe Stranger Wore a Gun. This was one of the very first 3-D Western movies ever made and told the story of a war criminal wanted for the murder of women and children trying to change his life amid an Arizona gold robbery. With Randolph Scott in the leading role, he joined the legends of the 1950s, such as Ernest Borgnine and Marvin, in supporting roles.
Marvin played the henchman Dan Kurth, who, along with Borgnine as Bull Slager, was enlisted to help out in a gold robbery. It was thrilling to watch Marvin have fun with this mischievous role as he faced off against Randolph when loyalties were tested and personal gain got in the way of teamwork and collaboration. This was an earlier villainous role from Marvin coming out before he had cemented his legacy as a true star, but like so many of his parts from this era, it signaled the dawning of a major actor.
7Hector David
Bad Day at Black Rockfeatured early hints at the revisionist Western genre as it unpacked the complexities of the Wild West’s legacy through a crime story set in 1945. With Spencer Tracy as a one-armed stranger uncovering an evil secret that has corrupted the entire community of a small town, Lee Marvin showed off his villainous side as the untrustworthy resident Hector David. What started with intimidating practices turned increasingly hostile asMarvin’s character sought to undermine and sabotage Tracy.
Adapted from the short story “Bad Time at Honda” by Howard Breslin, Marvin’s memorable role as an intimidating thug added to the sinister power of the main villain, Reno Smith, played by Robert Ryan. With racial undertones and a level of thematic depth that went beyond what was normally expected from Westerns of the 1950s,Bad Day at Black Rockwas an intriguing look into how the genre started to examine itself with more outright revisionist stories later in the 1960s and 1970s.
6Dill
Violent Saturday (1955)
One of Lee Marvin’s most despicable villainous roles came as the sadistic benzedrine addict Dill, a major player in the planned bank robbery seen inViolent Saturday. The mean-spirited Dill was so heartless that when a young child apologized for banging into him, his immediate course of action was to step on his hand before angrily uttering “beat it” to the young boy. This callous and barbarous role was the perfect example of the kind of hardline gangster character that Marvin excelled at playing.
Violent Saturdayfeatured so much over-the-top cruelty that Marvin’s character was so despicable it came full circle, and he actually became funny. With plenty of twists and turns, it was thrilling to watch asMarvin puffed on his inhaler throughout the movie, adding a unique distinction to his otherwise intimidating presence.Violent Saturdaywas a wild film noir featuring several no-good hoodlums, although Marvin was the most compelling of the bunch.
5Bill Masters
Seven Men from Now (1956)
Although he was only a supporting character,Lee Marvin’s portrayal of Bill Masters was among the most engaging aspects ofSeven Men from Now. Produced by John Wayne’s Batjac Productions,Seven Men from Nowstarred Randolph Scott as a former sheriff who vowed to track down and kill the seven men he deemed responsible for the death of his wife. Along the way, he encounters his former nemeses, Bill Masters and Clete (Don Barry), whose ambiguous nature makes his antagonist role all the more compelling.
Masters was not among the seven men that Ben Stride hoped to track down, although his desire to abscond with the $20,000 in gold they stole meant he was central to this story. With an admirably ambitious performance, it’s clear that Marvin wanted to prove himself with his role inSeven Men from Nowas he brought power and gravitas to his portrayal. While it would be almost a decade before Marvin at last earned an Academy Award, his performance here signaled he had the talent to stand up against the best performers of his generation.
4Tim Strawn
Cat Ballou (1965)
Lee Marvin excelled at playing heroes and villains across his long and varied career, although the only example of him doing both in one movie wasCat Ballou. This comedy Western saw Marvin win an Academy Award for his dual role as Kid Shelleen and Tim Strawn. Shelleen was the legendary gunfighter Cat (Jane Fonda) hired to help protect her father from the notorious gunslinger Shrawn.
With the impressive ability to capture the two opposing sides of Wild West characters, Marvin’s movie stardom was never more impressive than inCat Ballou. With an enjoyable sense of humor that made reference to many classic Western releases,Cat Balloubalanced a tongue-in-cheek sensibility with some truly engaging storytelling.Marvin deservedly gained Hollywood’s biggest accolade when he earned a Best Actor Oscar forCat Ballouand solidified his place as a Western movie legend.
3Charlie Strom
The Killers (1964)
One of Lee Marvin’s most iconic villains was the professional hitman Charlie Stromin an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s 1927 short story “The Killers.” WhileThe Killershad already been made into an acclaimed film noir in 1947, Marvin’s sinister portrayal added new layers of characterization of the contract killer. While Strom normally got the job done without asking too many questions,The Killersexplored his confusion and desire to get to the bottom of things after he was paid an unusually high fee for his latest victim, and the mark didn’t even try to flee.
While Marvin was usually relegated to a secondary or antagonistic role when playing villains,The Killersactually had villains as the protagonists, as Strom, along with his accomplice Lee (Clu Gulager), found themselves embroiled in a complex mystery. With other cast members, including Ronald Reagan in his final role before entering politics,The Killerswas a film noir classic of the 1960s and one of Marvin’s most iconic roles.
2Vince Stone
The Big Heat (1953)
Lee Marvin gave one of his most intense and memorable performances in the film noir classicThe Big Heat. While the focus of this heart-racing story was on Glenn Ford as Dave Bannion, a homicide detective taking on the crime syndicate that controls his city, the true power of the film was its litany of sinister and menacing villains. Among these, Marvin’s characterization of Vince Stone was the most unnerving, as his horrific treatment of women made him stand out as a particularly nasty brute.
The Big Heatwas an earlier example of Marvin’s astounding ability to capture villains with the extreme levels of abject horror criminals should conjure. From burning a woman with a cigar butt to nearly breaking the arm of a crying blonde played by Carolyn Jones, Marvin was given the freedom to go all out with a heinous performance.The Big Heathas gone down in history as one of the best film noirs ever made, and Marvin’s supporting role was a major part of its esteemed legacy.
1Liberty Valance
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
While many remember the revisionist Western classicThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valancefor bringing director John Ford together with cinema icons John Wayne and James Stewart, just as important to the film’s success was Lee Marvin. As the titular outlaw,Marvin gave his best villainous performance in the role of Liberty Valance. With themes around mythmaking and how legends of the Wild West came to be in the first place, the heroism of Wayne would have been nothing if it was not juxtaposed with the violent excesses of Liberty.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valancewas a thought-provoking and violent film that signaled the Western genre becoming more thoughtful in the 1960s and was an early example of a revisionist Western. With such an iconic back catalog of villainous roles already to his name, it made sense that Marvin was cast in this Ford film, as audiences were able to readily accept him as a sinister outlaw. In a career that featured him as countless bad guys,The Man Who Shot Liberty Valancewas the crown jewel inLee Marvin’sfilmography.
