Dave's List: Top Ten Villains of the West

    Compiling a list of the baddest Western bad guys offered three fascinating possibilities.  First, there was the historical perspective, arguing the lack of virtue of Jesse James, Billy the Kid, John Wesley Hardin and even Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  But they weren't Hollywood villains, so enough said there.  Second, and the method favored by the editor, was to debate the actors who frequently played classic bad guys like George Kennedy, L.Q. Jones, Strother Martin, Richard Boone, Jack Elam, James Gregory and on and on.  It's more fun to disagree with an editor, so the third alternative won out, in which the villains themselves were chosen---the characters who were the meanest, the orneriest, the sneakiest, back shooting, double crossing, low-down varmints.  So here are the top ten bad guys in reverse order, from the least baddest bad guy to the baddest bad guy...................