Lee Van Cleef Movies
Following a wartime tour with the Navy, New Jersey-born Lee Van Cleef supported himself as an accountant. Like fellow accountant-turned-actor Jack Elam, Van Cleef was advised by his clients that he had just the right satanic facial features to thrive as a movie villain. With such rare exceptions as The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1954), Van Cleef spent most of his early screen career on the wrong side of the law, menacing everyone from Gary Cooper (High Noon) to the Bowery Boys (Private Eyes) with his cold, shark-eyed stare. Van Cleef left Hollywood in the '60s to appear in European spaghetti Westerns, initially as a secondary actor; he was, for example, the "Bad" in Clint Eastwood's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). Within a few years, Van Cleef was starring in blood-spattered action films with such titles as Day of Anger (1967), El Condor (1970), and Mean Frank and Crazy Tony (1975). The actor was, for many years, one of the international film scene's biggest box-office draws. Returning to Hollywood in the late '70s, He starred in a very short-lived martial arts TV series The Master (1984), the pilot episodes of which were pieced together into an ersatz feature film for video rental. Van Cleef died of a heart attack in 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1990
Piecing together exciting film footage of martial arts performances, Deadliest Art demonstrates the reasons for the popularity of martial arts combat in visual entertainment. The history of the art, including basics of the Eastern philosophies that govern it, provides insight along with the demonstration of various types of martial arts fighting. Touching on the skills and frame of mind necessary to perform feats of this kind, this film showcases the beauty of defense without weapons, as well as special techniques required to incorporate the use of weapons, and the ways in which the martial arts have been showcased in the film industry. ~ Sarah Sloboda, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
In order to win the $28 million prize in a fortune hunt, a former Miss Universe must perform incredible feats of physical bravura in this actioner. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- PG
A sheriff struggles vainly to keep the annual Cannonball Run cross-country race from taking place in this comedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Candy, Peter Boyle, (more)
- 1988
In this made-for-HBO thriller, Pierce Brosnan stars as an ex-convict who seeks revenge on the racetrack partner (Tom Skerritt) who framed him. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierce Brosnan, Tom Skerritt, (more)
Fred Olen Ray always manages to attract major names to his bargain-basement actioners, and Armed Response is no exception. The scene is Chinatown, where Yakuza boss Mako yearns to get his hands on a stolen jade statue. David Goss, son of retired cop Lee van Cleef and the brother of Vietnam veterans David Carradine and Brent Huff, is hired by Mako to deliver half a million dollars to the crooks who've got the statue. Things go awry, ending in a shootout. Mortally wounded, Goss brings the statue home, at which point a vengeful Carradine picks up the storyline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Lee Van Cleef, (more)
- 1985
- R
With shoddy production values and a plot that seems to be more of an excuse for violence than anything else, this underpar drama focuses on vigilante justice. While trying to cross the border into France, a Spanish truck driver's vehicle is burned by two angry French farmers, killing the driver's wife. Unable to win his case against the men in court, the angry driver vows to avenge the death of his wife by killing the farmers and their sleazy lawyer. It may have helped to know that European farmers were irate at this time about the dumping of their produce. But then, education was not an objective here. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Margaux Hemingway
In this commando action-adventure by Antonio Margheriti, Captain Wesley (Lewis Collins) has been charged with cleaning out some drug sites in Thailand and gathers up four of his mercenaries for the task. His superior is Fletcher (Ernest Borgnine), a drug enforcement officer with shady business contacts. Wesley and his crew, including the tough Charlton (Klaus Kinski) and China (Lee Van Cleef), head out into the jungle to eradicate the drugs at their source. Battles and explosions follow. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lewis Collins, Lee Van Cleef, (more)
- 1982
In this routine action-adventure film patterned after the trend-setting Raiders of the Lost Ark, a GI is requested by the Allies in World War II to come back to the Philippines after the war has ended and find the Golden Cobra, a sacred image worshipped by the Awoks (predating George Lucas' Ewoks by one year). When he does return, the ex-GI, Bob (David Warbeck), is not alone. He has two allies in the form of June (Almanta Suska) and her uncle (Alan Collins), who are searching for June's twin sister, April, lost in the jungle many years earlier. Anyone who has seen Raiders is likely to stay one step ahead of the action. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Warbeck, Christopher Connelly, (more)
The year is 1997. Manhattan Island is now a heavily guarded maximum-security prison, where the scum of the earth have converged. When Air Force One crash-lands in Manhattan, the president (Donald Pleasence) is held hostage by its denizens. One-eyed mercenary Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is strong-armed into rescuing the chief executive. He is aided, not always willingly, by a tough gal (Adrienne Barbeau) and a manic cab driver (Ernest Borgnine). Escape from New York was followed by a sequel of sorts in 1996, Escape From L.A., again starring Kurt Russell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, (more)
- 1980
Patrick McGoohan does his patented "carrying the world on my shoulders" bit in The Hard Way. McGoohan is cast as Conner, a worldly, weary professional assassin. On the verge of retirement, he is cajoled by former associate McNeal (Lee Van Cleef) into doing one last job. Expecting a routine assignment, Conner is in for quite a jolt when he learns the identity of his target. Co-star Van Cleef effectively matches and sometimes surpasses McGoohan's trenchant cynicism. Filmed in 1979 for British television, The Hard Way was released theatrically the following year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Karate champ Chuck Norris returns for another chop-socky vigilante flick in The Octagon, one of a handful of undistinguished Ninja pictures released during the early '80s. Norris appropriately plays a retired karate champ hired as a bodyguard for a wealthy woman (Karen Carlson) plagued by a gang of vicious ninjas. Reluctant at first to take the job, he reconsiders when he learns the gang is headed by his longtime arch rival Tadashi Yamashita (Lee Van Cleef). The script -- as is the case in nearly every Ninja film -- has holes bigger than Okinawa, and the acting is downright atrocious, particularly that of Norris, who, thankfully, improved with time. However, the production values are fair, as is the direction, and the action sequences are often exciting and comparatively realistic. Recommended for genre fans only. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, Karen Carlson, (more)
- 1977
The made-for-TV Fatal Chase stars Lee Van Cleef as taciturn U.S. marshal Ike Scanlon. Designed as the pilot for a weekly series, the film finds Scanlon escorting a mob witness (Tony Musante) to a federal trial. Since the witness is a hit man, there are plenty of people both inside and outside the Mob who'd like to see him dead. Featured in the cast are Fatal Chase's producer/writer Edward Anhalt and director Jack Starrett. Originally telecast as Nowhere to Hide on January 5, 1977, Fatal Chase has also been released as Scanlon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- R
A nearly burned-out Mafia assassin finds himself hunted after his own girl friend and his best pal pull a double cross. The film is also known as Satanic Mechanic. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1977
- PG
One of Cannon Films' two 1976 Italian-Israeli co-productions starring Lee Van Cleef and Leif Garrett (Gianfranco Parolini's Pistola di Dio was the other), this spaghetti western was actually shot in the Middle East by American director Joseph Manduke. Pop star Garrett plays Tom, a teenager who teams with a black gunfighter named Isaac (Jim Brown) to avenge his family. The culprit was McClain (Van Cleef), a sadistic outlaw who carried out the brutal rape-massacre, but his role is minor, as most of the film deals with Tom's maturation and coming to terms with his feelings. Omnipresent 1970s character actors Glynnis O'Connor and John Marley co-star. If there is anything remarkable about Kid Vengeance, it is Francesco Masi's fine musical score, but the film is otherwise anemic. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leif Garrett, Jim Brown, (more)
In this crime drama a safe cracker comes out of retirement to pull off one last caper. The Germans behind the theft are planning to steal $1 million; unbeknownst to the safe cracker, they are also planning to kill him afterward. As soon as he finds out, he begins plotting his revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Van Cleef, Karen Black, (more)
- 1975
- R
A Vietnam War veteran (Fred Williamson) is discharged from the Army, and becomes involved with mobsters when he is unable to find a job. The gang uses him on a job when one of the thugs (Roddy McDowall) and his girlfriend (Jenny Sherman) decide to provoke a gang war. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
One of two 1976 Italian-Israeli co-productions starring Lee Van Cleef and Leif Garrett (Joseph Manduke's Kid Vengeance was the other), this spaghetti Western stars Van Cleef in a dual role as twin brothers. One of the brothers, Father John, is gunned down by the ruthless Sam Clayton (Jack Palance), allowing Sam's gang to take over Juno City. Young Johnny (Garrett) crosses into Mexico to convince the priest's twin, a retired bounty hunter named Louis, to strap on his guns one more time and save the town. Van Cleef is compelling, even in his somewhat laughable wig, and the familiar cast also includes Richard Boone and Sybil Danning, but it somehow misses the mark. Irwin Yablans, who made his name with Halloween two years later, co-produced with Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Van Cleef, Jack Palance, (more)
Jim Brown and Fred Williamson team up for this violent western, directed by Antonio Marghetti under the name of Anthony M. Dawson. Brown plays Pike, a stonefaced cowboy who meets up Tyree (Fred Williamson), a jocular and dishonest gambler. Together with a mute Indian scout Kashtok (Jim Kelly), the trio attempts to transport $86,000 across hundreds of miles of Western wasteland to deliver it to the widow of Pike's former employer. Along the way, they are pursued by bounty hunter Kiefer (Lee Van Cleef) and corrupt sheriff Kane (Barry Sullivan). Dana Andrews also appears in a cameo role as Pike's boss Morgan. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Brown, Lee Van Cleef, (more)
Spaghetti meets chop-suey in the Italian/Spanish/Hong Kong production Blood Money. Lee VanCleef plays an adventurer in search of a treasure buried somewhere in the orient. The clues are tattooed on the backs of four lovely young ladies. This translates to lots of exposed epidermis, not to mention a surplus of blood-and-gore. VanCleef emerges from the confusion with his reputation intact, but most of the supporting actors were never heard from again. Blood Money was produced by Sir Run Run Shaw, Hong Kong's leading purveyor of box-office bonanzas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Van Cleef, Lo Lieh, (more)
- 1973
- R
This 1973 Italian production (remade by Simon Nuchtern for an American release two years later) is a buddy film with a small-time thug (Tony Lo Bianco) meeting a high-profile gangster (Lee Van Cleef) while in prison. The pair team up to attempt a prison breakout. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Van Cleef, Jean Rochefort, (more)
- 1973
- PG
A combined force of Italian and American commandos are ordered to attack and take over an air base in North Africa with only two days to do it. The Italian film, dubbed into English, is also known as Sullivan's Marauders. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Van Cleef
