Hell hath no fury like a woman in skintight leather. Or at least that's what Hollywood seems to make of the classic William Congreve quotation. With the remake of "Friday the 13th" coming into theatres this week, it's as fine a time as any to look back and remember some of the more striking villainesses in movie history. Much like vengeful über-mommy Mrs. Voorhees, female baddies often get swept under the film sprockets in favor of their more iconic male counterparts. But while the boys certainly have the upper hand in quantity, the girls make up for it by having played a hand in some of the monumental - and sinfully pleasurable - motion pictures in history. Here are the four ladies who I feel have taken up arms and left the most indelible impressions in the history of fictional mischief-makers.
The Wicked Witch of the West/Elmira Gulch
In these days of devastatingly sexy femmes fatales, it's easy to forget that one of the most iconic villainesses to ever put a spell on cinema was the cackling Wicked Witch of the West, played by the fearless Margaret Hamilton in 1939's "The Wizard of Oz." The original choice for the part, Gale Sondergaard, was the witch's first victim. She was allegedly forced to remove herself from the part before filming began because she looked too ugly in the makeup. Enter Margaret Hamilton, who transformed the role into such a terrifying vision that several of her scenes had to be removed entirely because the producers thought they would overly frighten small children. In my own childhood, I don't recall ever being intimidated by the witch, but her Kansas counterpart, Elmira Gulch and her Toto-hating rage was enough to send me ducking under the covers with my own puppy and hoping for some ruby slippers of my own.
Madison Lee
While the Wicked Witch of the West introduced the illustrious black hat and dress, actress Demi Moore's Madison Lee in "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" chose to turn heads in nothing more than lingerie and a fur coat. A rogue angel gone to the dark side, Lee was gangster, shooting golden guns, long before Angelina Jolie came along in "Wanted." While some may dismiss the movie as nothing more than plotless eye candy, to that I say, "So what?" There's a time for edgy, moving cinema, and there's a time where you want to see some awesome outfits and cool ass-kickings. While Madison wasn't exactly a symbol of feminine advancement, she was certainly entertaining to watch.
Annie Wilkes
If there were any substantive reason to not become famous - other than, you know, personal humility (yeah, right) - it would be to avoid ever coming in contact with someone like Annie Wilkes. The "number one fan," as played by Kathy Bates in "Misery," didn't so much break hearts as she did shatter ankles. Although she didn't walk around her Colorado home in designer underwear ? la Madison Lee (one imagines she would have been quite cold), there was still an undeniable beauty to Annie and her devoted love for author Paul Sheldon's romantic literary hero, Misery. The devotion to our fictional heroes can be a very sentimental and personally moving experience for many a constant reader. As to my own personal motivation in this respect, I wouldn't go so far as to break out the wood block and sledge hammer, but if I saw J.K Rowling walking down the street, you can bet I'd have a thing or two to say about her heartless slaughter of Fred Weasley. Please don't institutionalize me.
Catwoman/Selina Kyle
Clad in the very black leather that immediately springs to mind when the question of the villainess is brought up, Michelle Pfeiffer's purring and deadly Catwoman is possibly the most sinfully alluring woman baddie to ever hit movie screens. It's a testament to Pfeiffer that "Batman Returns" still managed to maintain its sex appeal in the crass face of Danny DeVito's repulsive Penguin. While "Returns" as a whole doesn't quite live up to the masterful craft of the caped crusader's most recent incarnation in "The Dark Knight," the moments in which Selina Kyle's morally ambiguous feline fatale is featured compare to those featuring Heath Ledger's Oscar nominated Joker. The only major difference is that Selina Kyle was given a more significant arc into evildom, whereas the Joker emerged out of random chaos. But in the end, it's not the fall we remember. It's the broomsticks, sledgehammers and leather whips that follow.
You can reach this columnist at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
