| NOTE: This page is only about the film version of Liam Dudley Smith, as the book version wasn't voted Pure Evil, and thus only film information on Dudley Smith can be put here. |
|
|
"Mature Content Warning!" |
| “ | Have you a valediction, boyo? | „ |
| ~ Smith after fatally wounding Jack Vincennes |
Captain Liam Dudley Smith is the main antagonist of the 1997 crime film L.A. Confidential, based on James Ellroy's 1990 crime novel of the same name.
He is the corrupt captain of the Los Angeles Police Department's Homicide Division, and secretly the most powerful figure in L.A.'s criminal underworld.
He was portrayed by James Cromwell.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
- He tortures Upshaw sadistically by threatening to reveal his homosexuality unless if he kills himself.
- He takes over Mickey Cohen's drugs, prostitution, and gambling rackets in Los Angeles after Cohen goes to prison.
- He personally orders dozens of murders.
- He allows, and even encourages, the officers under his command to take bribes, beat confessions out of suspects, and plant evidence to secure convictions.
- He tries, unsuccessfully, to corrupt Detective Edmund Exley.
- He hypocritically poses as a paragon of justice and virtue.
- He procures a large supply of heroin.
- He makes Detectives Bud White and Dick Stensland the scapegoats for a jailhouse brawl between his officers and two prisoners.
- When two corrupt detectives steal the heroin, he kills them both and six other innocent people at the Nite Owl Cafe to make it look like a robbery.
- He frames three Black men for the murders.
- He manipulates White and Exley into killing the Black men.
- He murders a male prostitute who found out the truth about the murders.
- He murders Detective Jack Vincennes when he starts asking questions.
- When he senses that Exley is on to him, he leaks pictures of Exley having sex with White's girlfriend to get White to kill Exley (unsuccessfully).
- He murders pimp Pierce Patchett, who knew too much about the conspiracy.
- He murders reporter Sid Hudgens to prevent him from blackmailing him in the future.
- He shoots White twice in the chest and once in the face, nearly killing him.
- He tries one last time to corrupt Exley by offering him a promotion in return for keeping his mouth shut.
Trivia[]
- Only the 1997 version of Captain Liam Dudley Smith qualifies, as the book version has a genuine friendship with a Japanese man named Hideo, who's body Smith even cradles after he is killed, and later says he misses him.
- Captain Dudley Smith has, despite his evil, one potential mitigating factor that could disqualify him as Pure Evil. At one point, Dudley Smith mentions to have a wife and a daughter. However, his relationships with them aren't explored, so it is unclear if he loves them, is apathetic to them, or abuses them. If it was confirmed that Smith cared for his wife, daughter, or both, however, it would strip him of his Pure Evil status.
External Links[]
[]
 Pure Evils
| ||
|
Live-Action Films See Also | ||
