Lee Van Cleef Movies

Paladin (Richard Boone) is hired as escort for Edna Harden (Jeanne Cooper), who is bound for a reunion with her husband, a bank robber recently released from prison. Arriving in a ghost town with Paladin, Edna doesn't find her husband right away, but this doesn't seem to matter in light of the fact that the man has hidden $80,000 in gold somewhere on the premises. Now Paladin must defend Edna and himself against the predatory fortune-hunters who have also descended upon the deserted town. The menace in this episode is in the formidable hands of spaghetti-western icon Lee Van Cleef)and future Star Trek stalwart DeForest Kelley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Audie Murphy plays a gunslinger put in charge of a posse. His quarry is a four-man bandit gang that has robbed the local bank, killed several citizens and abducted leading lady Zohra Lampert. Though Lampert is obviously a New York-based actress, it is John Saxon who plays the tenderfoot Manhattanite posse member, unaccustomed to the Wild West. It's nip and tuck for a while, but Audie Murphy successfully completes his mission and rescues the hostage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally filmed for Twilight Zone's second season, writer-director Montgomery Pittman's "The Grave" was not telecast until Season Three -- to be exact, October 27, 1961. Lee Marvin stars as western gunslinger Conny Miller, who upon arriving in a flea-bitten town for a showdown with outlaw Pinto Sykes, is told that Sykes is already dead. Convinced that Miller is a coward who never really wanted to catch up with him, the dying Sykes had challenged Miller to visit his grave, warning that he would reach up from the ground and drag Miller in with him. Goaded by the townspeople, the terrified Miller ventures into the graveyard in the dead of night. Western-movie regulars Strother Martin and Lee Van Cleef appear in key supporting roles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Capone lieutenant Frank Nitti (Bruce Gordon) attempts to bribe Chicago mayor Anton Cermak (Robert Middleton) for a piece of the 1933 World's Fair. When Cermak tells him to get lost, Nitti growls "You're dead"--and he means it. As Federal agent Elliot Ness and his Untouchables provide Cermak with round-the-clock protection, Nitti brings in a couple of out-of-town boys to assassinate the Mayor...while a deranged lone gunman named Giuesppe Zangara (Joe Mantell) plans a killing of his own. Parts One and Two of "The Unhired Assassin" were later combined and released theatrically as the feature film Guns of Zangara. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is one of several solid B-grade Westerns produced at the height of the genre's popularity in the '50s by the partnership of director Budd Boetticher, star Randolph Scott, and writer Burt Kennedy. Scott stars as Ben Brigade, a taciturn bounty hunter who captures wanted murderer Billy John (James Best) and heads for Santa Cruz, where a reward awaits Brigade and a rope most likely awaits the killer. There's more to Brigade than meets the eye, however; his actual quarry is Frank (Lee Van Cleef), his prisoner's brother and the man who killed Brigade's wife. At a trading post where Brigade and his prisoner have stopped, Indians attack. The bounty hunter saves the life of Mrs. Lane (Karen Steele), wife of the post's deceased manager. Lane decides to accompany her rescuer to Santa Cruz, so Brigade, counting on a showdown with Frank, hires outlaws Sam and Whit (Pernell Roberts and James Coburn) for protection on the duration of the journey. During the trip, Sam and Whit discuss betraying Brigade and turning in Billy John themselves for a reward and pardon. Coburn made his screen debut with the film. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Brooding Gregory Peck arrives in a small western town to witness the hanging of the men whom he holds responsible for the murder of his wife (they've been arrested for an unrelated crime). Through the help of a duplicitous executioner, the gang escapes--taking Kathleen Gallant as hostage. The vengeful Peck hunts the fugitives down and kills them in cold blood. He is forced to ask himself if he's any better than the criminals when he discovers that the fugitives, though justly convicted of murder, had nothing to do with his wife's death. The Bravados is as grim and compelling as the earlier Henry King/Gregory Peck western The Gunfighter. And yes, that's "Curly" Joe DeRita, of Three Stooges fame, in the role of the menacing hangman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fred MacMurray is the beleagured hero of the Universal western Day of the Badman. MacMurray plays circuit judge Jim Scott, who rides into town to pass sentence on convicted killer Jake Hayes (Lee Van Cleef). Unfortunately, it doesn't look as though Hayes will stay in jail long enough for the trial: the town's sheriff (John Ericson) is an ineffectual weakling, willing to bend to the wishes of the killer's powerful father Charlie Hayes (Robert Middleton). The elder Hayes demands that his son merely be "banished" from town, and to that end he terrorizes the townsfolk into honoring his wishes. But Hayes hasn't reckoned with Judge Scott, who is not so easily bullied and cowed. The judge passes a sentence of death--and he's well equipped to mete out that punishment himself! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this western, a good man becomes an outlaw after his stagecoach mail business falls to the faster railroad mail. To save his livelihood, the fellow literally attempts to derail his competitor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A tall horseman (Jock Mahoney) rides into the small town of Arborville, deserted except for redheaded Jody (Luana Patten), who's uncomfortable about it. Outside town, the rider finds all the townspeople working on an oil rig on a small ranch. They're led by Cal Moore (Charles McGraw), and include brothers Aaron (Claude Akins) and Adam Grant (Lee Van Cleef). The stranger asks a few questions, rousing the ire of the hot-tempered brothers, who toss him into a pool of oil. Glossy black but unconcerned, the stranger ambles out and rides back to town. Jody helps him clean up, so he tells her he has come to meet an old Indian who lived on the property where the oil well now is; he's clearly surprised when she refers to the old man, now missing, as Joe Dakota. Meanwhile, the townspeople gather, and we learn that Cal is a newcomer to town, an oil expert who decided to cast his lot with Arborville. We also learn that something happened to the old Indian, and that the townspeople were involved. The townspeople later are horrified when the stranger announces that he owns the land where the oil well is, and that his name is Joe Dakota.

Later, Jody comes to see Joe at the ranch, and reveals that the old man was her friend; she often came out to visit him. Joe tells her that the old man, whom he'd known well some years before, had simply borrowed his name. Jody says that the last time she'd visited the old Indian, he'd been drunk and had attacked (but not raped) her. Egged on by Cal, the townspeople had lynched him. The next day, Joe hangs a noose on the Arborville town sign, and puts a cross on the old man's grave. He explains that he was a captain in the infantry, and the old man was the finest scout he'd ever known. Everyone gathers at the oil well, where Joe explains that it was Cal who had attacked Jody, framing the old man for the crime to get the town to lynch him. He and Cal have a fight, but the townspeople, ashamed of what they've done, side with Joe.

Universal-International turned out quite a number of well-down, medium-budget westerns in the late 1950s, often starring Audie Murphy. This time, however, the lead is former stuntman Jock Mahoney, whom the studio was trying to groom as a star; his easy-going but very masculine personality made him ideal for roles such as this. The movie, co-written by Perry Mason's "Hamilton Burger," (William Talman), seems to owe something to Bad Day at Black Rock, but the plot works well in this context, too. There are good small details, like a wine store instead of a saloon, the town's beloved water trough, and the stranger's midnight shave. Richard H. Bartlett's direction is as low-key as the movie -- scarcely a shot is fired, and few wear guns -- and as likable. Joe Dakota is "just another movie," but it's a very good example of its long-gone kind. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide

Based on a 1941 movie entitled Shepherd of the Hills, this is the story of a gunfighter who decides to return home after 17 years to make amends with his son. The son blames him for his mother's death and the reconciliation is difficult. Although there are many side action lines -- old enemies still gunning for him and new friends not sure who to root for -- the main theme is that of the interaction between father and son. The push toward one last battle is made secondary. Short on plot, this film features good performances by Jack Palance and Anthony Perkins. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Taciturn marshal-turned-bounty hunter Henry Fonda rides into a small town where greenhorn deputy Anthony Perkins is sole representative of the law. Sensing that the boy could use some seasoning, Fonda makes it his mission to teach Perkins how to protect himself against the criminal element. Though diametrically opposed in personality, the older Fonda and the younger Perkins find they are kindred spirits in their dedication to their work. Using the lessons taught him by Fonda, Perkins is able to prove his worth by taking on town hothead Neville Brand. Directed with a minimum of slack and flab by Anthony Mann, The Tin Star was later spun off into the TV series The Deputy, which starred Henry Fonda and Allen Case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marshal Brennan (Douglas Fowley) lies dying at the outset of this compact western. Fleeing from a posse, an unnamed gunslinger (Jim Davis) stumbles across Brennan's body. Lifting the marshal's badge, he poses as Brennan in a small cattle town. Before long, the impostor is taking his job seriously, standing up to crooked cattle baron Colonel Donaphan (Louis Jean-Heydt) and the Colonel's psychotic son Shad (Lee Van Cleef). His redemption is complete when the false Brennan finds romantic happiness in the form of a female restaurant owner known as Murdock (Arleen Whelan). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide