1. Little Bill Daggett - Unforgiven (1992)
Don't get me wrong: Little Bill Daggett wasn't a "nice" person by any means, but he wasn't nearly as bad as Clint Eastwood's broody protagonist William Munny, especially when you consider that Munny wandered into his town, stirred up a whole bunch of shit, and proceeded to murder everyone who stood in his way (whilst ignoring every request that Daggett - who was the sheriff - made). We first meet Little Bill in the film's opening moments, when he refuses to properly punish a cowboy who cuts up a prostitute, and reasons with the victim by saying, "haven't you seen enough blood for one night?" That's fair enough, really, considering that the damage has already been done, and the boys are told to leave told and never return. Justice? Maybe not. Immoral? Not really. Later on, a gunslinger called English Bob, played by Richard Harris, comes to claim a bounty commissioned by the prostitutes who still want the boys punished for their actions. Upon arrival, Bob refuses to hand over his firearms - one of the clear rules of Daggett's town, mind - so Bill beats the hell out of him and sends him packing. It's still a justified action - why come into a town and purposely ignore the sheriff's request? William Munny acts similarly, though he's spurred on by the one truly questionable action that Daggett commits in
Unforgiven - the brutal torture and killing of his friend, Ned. As far as Daggett is concerned, though, these men have come to ruin everything, and he's pissed. Munny ultimately manages to wipe out most of Daggett's posse and puts a bullet in the sheriff's head, who dies wondering why he deserved to go in such a horrible way. He also questions Munny's decision to shoot an unarmed man. Fair enough. The point of all this, though, is that Daggett's laws were always there to keep the town safe. Daggett is glimpsed all throughout the movie building his own house - his own personal pride and joy - and has enforced rules that are supposed to ensure order. It's somewhat dictator-esque, sure, but it's not exactly Nazi Germany. Daggett attempted to tame his town and the frontier and failed. He got in a little over his head, sure, but we can kind of sympathise with his actions, given the turbulent nature of the situation.
Which villains have we missed? Let us know in the comments section below.