Switchblade Sam

"Oh, ain't that a pretty sight. I'll bet they don't even lock their doors."

- Switchblade Sam

Switchblade Sam is the town robber and the main antagonist of the 1993 John Hughes family film, Dennis the Menace, based on the American comic strip of the same name. Unlike the other characters, Switchblade Sam was never referred to by his name, neither when spoken to nor when spoken about.

He was portrayed by famous actor Christopher Lloyd.

He is a traveling vagrant and robber who is not against violence - in fact he is aptly named as he carries around a switchblade knife (hence the name) with him and has no problems with threatening children in order to get what he wants. Despite the comedic nature of the film, Switchblade Sam was actually a rather dark and intimidating villain, at least until Dennis found ways to outsmart the criminal - after which he lost his threat as he became the focus of numerous slapstick mishaps in a manner similar to Harry and Marv from Home Alone.

Trivia

 * He was portrayed by Christopher Lloyd, who also played other villains, such as Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Merlock from DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp, Rasputin from Anastasia, The Hacker from Cyberchase, and Stan Cruge from Santa Buddies.