The Villain

Release Date: 1917-07-14

Overview: In The Villain, Billy attempted something a little different. He's still imitating Chaplin, but this time he's playing the wicked, top-hatted Charlie found in some of his earliest Keystone appearances (e.g. Mabel at the Wheel), the ones where Charlie himself seemed to be imitating the studio's recently departed Ford Sterling. Throughout this short there is much spoofing of old-time melodramas, a frequent motif of Sterling's comedies.

Rating: 5.5 / 10

Cast

Billy West

as The Villain

Oliver Hardy

as Nell

Florence McLaughlin

as Florence

Bud Ross

as Nell's Sweetheart

Ethelyn Gibson

as Unknown role