In the book, he wielded a croquet mallet; in the movie, it was an axe. Regardless of his weapon of choice, when Jack Torrance had "all work and no play," he was a very bad boy indeed. As the belligerent alcoholic and possibly possessed father in The Shining, Jack Nicholson was truly frightening. After bashing down the bathroom door to attack his wife (and entering with a cackling "Heeeeeere's Johnny!"), he chased his son through a frozen hedge maze. Thankfully, he got lost and died, which might be the nicest thing this dad ever did for his son.