Blofeld included in the Times Online `Top 50 Best Movie Villains`

Heroes get all the hype, but deep down, we all love a good villain. I can take or leave the square-jawed boy scout, the do-gooder who gets the girl and saves the day; but the villain is a different kettle of genetically modified laser wielding fish altogether.

Villains have more fun and get most of the best lines. Movie history is littered with fiendish foes, evil overlords and malevolent masterminds we loved to hate. The summer blockbuster is the perfect breeding ground for evildoers and this year’s pageant of box office behemoths provides rich pickings, from robots out for revenge to muggle-hating wizards.

We’ve scoured exotic locations from hollowed-out volcanoes to secret space stations; dodged doomsday devices and nefarious plots, even sat down with some fava beans and nice Chianti; all to bring you the best of the worst.

Squeeking into the top half of the Times Online Raitings is James Bond's famed arch-villain, Blofeld:

23. Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Anthony Dawson) – From Russia With Love (1963)

The Bond franchise has villainy aplenty and a rogue’s gallery that could have dominated the vast majority of this list. Blofeld is the best of the bunch and carries the torch for 007’s opponents. Why? As well as heading a sinister criminal organisation, Blofeld is the pin-up-boy for evil geniuses. Scar? Check. White cat for fiendish stroking? Check. Console of buttons guaranteeing a creative demise for those who cross him. Check.

NB: Although all three actors who played The Joker in the Batman films get a mention, Blofeld's casting is limited to Anthony Dawson, whose face is never seen.

Topping the list was Star Wars' Dath Vader closely followed by Hannibal Lecter from "Silence of the Lambs" and Henry F. Potter, played by Lionel Barrymore in "It’s a Wonderful Life".

Click here to read the complete listing.

Thanks to `bondaholic_007` for the alert.

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