5. Dick Hallorann (The Shining)
When the Torrance family assume caretaker duties of the Overlook Hotel in Colorado, the chef, Hallorann (Scatman Crothers) is surprised to learn that he shares extra-sensory perception with young Danny (Danny Lloyd). This comes in particularly useful when Danny's father, the frustrated writer Jack (Jack Nicholson), grows increasingly psychotic and begins chasing his family through the hotel with an axe. Trouble is, Hallorann isn't at the hotel. He's in Florida, where a sudden premonition that the Torrances are in danger sends him on the next flight to rescue them. He battles through a blizzard, drives a snowcat up to the hotel entrance, walks through the foyer and is given a swift chop to the gut as Jack leaps out from behind a pillar. This in turn alerts Danny, who now runs outside and into the hedge maze. Even if you've read the book, this may come as a shock. Originally, Hallorann is attacked with a mallet but survives, helping Danny and his mother (Shelley Duvall) to safety.