Lee Van Cleef Trailers
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout TrailerPeter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann TrailerKlaus Kinski: I'm not an actor Trailer
Clarence LeRoy "Lee" Van Cleef Jr. was an American actor best known for his roles in Spaghetti Westerns such as For A Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Hatchet-faced with piercing eyes, he had declined to have his nose altered to play a sympathetic character in his film debut, High Noon, and was relegated to a non-speaking outlaw as a result. For a decade he was typecast as a minor villain, his sinister features overshadowing his acting skills. After suffering serious injuries in a car crash, Van Cleef began to lose interest in his apparently waning career by the time Sergio Leone gave him a major role in For a Few Dollars More. The film made him a box-office draw, especially in Europe.
Military service:
After basic training and further training at the Naval Fleet Sound School, Van Cleef was assigned to a submarine chaser and then to a minesweeper, USS Incredible, on which he worked as a sonarman.
After leaving the Navy, Van Cleef read for a part in Our Town at the Little Theater Group in Clinton, New Jersey and received his first stage role. From there, he continued to meet with the group and audition for parts. The next biggest part was that of the boxer, Joe Pendleton, in the play Heaven Can Wait. During this time, he was observed by visiting talent scouts, who were impressed by Van Cleef's stage presence and delivery. One of these scouts later took him to New York City talent agent Maynard Morris of the MCA agency, who then sent him to the Alvin Theater for an audition.
Van Cleef's screen debut came in High Noon. During a performance of Mister Roberts in Los Angeles, he was noticed by film director Stanley Kramer, who offered Van Cleef a role in his upcoming film. Kramer originally wanted Van Cleef for the role of the deputy Harvey Pell, but as he wanted Van Cleef to have his "distinctive nose" fixed, Van Cleef declined the role in favor of the part of the silent gunslinger Jack Colby. He was then cast mostly in villainous roles, due to his sharp cheeks and chin, piercing eyes, and hawk-like nose, from the part of Tony Romano in Kansas City Confidential (1952), culminating 14 years later in Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Despite suffering from heart disease from the late 1970s and having a pacemaker installed in the early 1980s, Van Cleef continued to work in films until his death on December 16, 1989, at age 64. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Hollywood Hills, California, with an inscription on his grave marker referring to his many acting performances as a villain: "BEST OF THE BAD".
Most Popular Lee Van Cleef Trailers
Total trailers found: 93
21 December 1956
A police detective finds himself entangled in the web of the underworld when he falls in love with a nightclub singer accused of murdering a crooked lawyer.
23 December 1966
While the Civil War rages on between the Union and the Confederacy, three men – a quiet loner, a ruthless hitman, and a Mexican bandit – comb the American Southwest in search of a strongbox containing $200,000 in stolen gold.
18 December 1965
Two bounty hunters both pursue the brutal and sadistic bandit, El Indio, who has a large bounty on his head.
23 May 1981
In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free.
06 November 1957
An experienced bounty hunter helps a young sheriff learn the meaning of his badge.
09 June 1952
Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train.
02 November 1962
The epic tale of the development of the American West from the 1830s through the Civil War to the end of the century, as seen through the eyes of one pioneer family.
20 June 1954
"Only a fool sticks his neck out for somebody else. Don't get in the habit of it." Outlaw gunslinger Sam Garrett offers that sage wisdom to fellow fugitive Tom Cameron, who's on the run from the "Bluebellies," Texas State Police officers who wield a brutal iron fist of enforcement in the early 1870s.
21 June 1957
Aging gunslinger Jacob Wade hopes to settle down with his estranged son, but his old enemies have other plans for him.
13 April 1962
Questions arise when Senator Stoddard attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon in a small Western town.
30 May 1957
Lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.
08 March 1953
The Red Devils, a professional ice hockey team, owned by Jack Monohan, is in the midst of a long losing streak, due to bribes being accepted from gamblers by the star player.
14 April 1954
A federal agent arrives in Laramie to try to find out who is behind the efforts to stop the construction of a new railroad track.
02 April 1958
The lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.
01 January 2014
Peter Baumgartner talks about his life and work as a DoP for Erwin C. Dietrich and Jess Franco.
01 August 1972
Marshal Chris Adams turns down a friend's request to help stop the depredations of a gang of Mexican bandits.
25 April 1954
A cavalry deserter poses as a major and leads a wagon train with a hidden cargo of repeating rifles.
21 April 1989
An illegal race that takes place over the United States and nothing will stop this bunch of racers except for the occasional cop or a damsel in distress.
27 October 1957
An outlaw saved by a Mexican girl hunts the holdup partner who shot him in the back.
13 June 1953
The controlled explosion of an atomic bomb in the Arctic Circle awakens a frozen dinosaur that will wreak havoc in New York City.
31 August 1967
Bill Meceita, a boy whose family was murdered in front of him by a gang, sets out 15 years later to exact revenge.
16 July 1957
The coming of the railroad to Cedar City spells the end of the stagecoach as the government gives the mail contract to the fastest means of delivery.
01 February 1959
On the way to pick up the bounty on a wanted murderer, a bounty hunter stops at a staging post where he is forced to continue his journey with two outlaws who want the murderer for their own reasons and a recently-widowed woman, with the murderer's brother and his men in hot pursuit.
25 June 1958
Jim Douglass arrives in the small town of Rio Arriba in order to witness the hanging of the four men he believes murdered his wife.
20 January 1984
Lee Van Cleef and Timoty Van Patten are back in this "sequel" to their last "movie" about a ninja and his apprentice battling evil wherever they go.
19 December 1967
A scruffy garbage boy becomes the pupil of famed gunfighter Talby, and the stage for confrontation is set when the gunman overruns the boy's town through violence and corruption.
01 February 1955
When his ward seeks protection with rival cattleman John Stewart, embittered, jealous rancher Wick Campbell hires ten outlaws to help him seize power in the territory.
14 October 1971
Robber Roy King loses his wife, Alicia, to revolutionary Montero. Despite their rivalry they collaborate in an attempt to rob the Mexican government of one million dollars.
01 August 1956
Rich momma's boy Wade Kingsley Jr. an Eastern dude, tries to follow in his murdered father's footsteps by returning to the West to partner up with Slim Moseley Jr.
03 September 1971
A quick draw, master gunslinger traveling with a circus rides into a small town and helps the citizens free themselves from a crooked politician.
11 November 1952
An ex-convict sets out to uncover who framed him for an armored car robbery.
03 March 1967
Unofficial lawman John Corbett hunts down Cuchillo Sanchez, a Mexican peasant accused of raping and killing a 12-year-old girl.
16 September 1969
Several pillars of society have robbed an Army safe containing $100,000 so they can buy the land upon which the coming railroad will be built.
01 July 1954
Shalimar, an Egyptian princess, striving to rid her country of its Bedouin conquerors, forms an alliance with Prince Haidi, son of the Caliph of Bagdad.
23 July 1952
The Denbow family denies access across their land to homesteaders. To evade a murder charge, Glenn Denbow marries Jane, the only witness who's in love with him.
10 April 1968
A thief takes the job as a town sheriff in order to rob a silver shipment before his ex-partner can grab it.
01 December 1976
Tom, a teenager, teams with a black gunfighter named Isaac to avenge his family.
02 February 1956
Mongol chief Temujin battles against Tartar armies and for the love of the Tartar princess Bortai. Temujin becomes the emperor Genghis Khan.
13 February 1955
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.
17 October 1955
A gunfighter, stranded in the desert, comes across the aftermath of a stage robbery, in which all the passengers were killed.
29 December 1972
A grizzled ex-sheriff helps a man framed for murder to confront the powerful trio of brothers who want him dead.
19 November 1968
Sgt. Sullivan puts together a group of Italian-Americans into disguise as Italian soldiers in order to infiltrate a North African camp held by the Italians.
14 August 1980
Scott James, a veteran martial arts expert, is recruited as the protector of the wealthy and beautiful Justine after she becomes the target of a ninja clan.
28 April 1988
Lewis Collins is back to leading mercenaries on the move in Southeast Asia. This time the cast is unusually good including Lee Van Cleef, Brett Halsey (Cop Game), Romano Puppo (Robowar), Mike Monty (Raiders of Atlantis), Bobby Rhodes (The Great Alligator), etc.
01 March 1961
Banner Cole is a tough sheriff's deputy who forms a small posse to go after 4 death cell escapees who killed the sheriff , along with 3 other men, and kidnapped a woman with rape in mind.
30 November 1977
Betrayed by his girl and best friend, thief Harry Chapman takes the fall for a racetrack robbery. While in prison, he is offered a chance to participate in an escape plan.
19 February 1980
John Connor is a soon-to-retire hitman that agrees to take on one last job. After years plying his deadly trade, he has finally had enough.
29 October 1975
After his cattle rancher boss dies, right-hand man Pike is given the job of returning $86,000 to some families who live across the border in Sonora, Mexico.
01 August 1955
To make an honest woman of his pregnant sister, Rosalie, callous New York mobster Phil Regal intimidates witnesses and bribes a store clerk to get Rosalie’s condemned boyfriend, Nicky Bradna, out of prison.
28 June 2024
The story of one of the great environmental disasters to befall the United States, and the terrible movie that helped bring the catastrophe to light.
29 July 1970
Jake Remy leads a gang of outlaw cutthroats making their escape toward Mexico from a successful robbery.
27 October 1971
The title character is a US army Captain of Native American descent who is asked to investigate the murder of an Indian agent.
23 November 1973
There's trouble in Frankie Diomede's criminal empire in Genoa. A French gangster has moved into his territory, so he flies home to take care of business.
19 June 1970
Luke, an escaped convict, and Jaroo, a loner gold prospector, team up with a band of Apache Indians in 19th century Mexico to capture a large, heavily armed fortress for the millions -- or billions -- of dollars in gold that are rumored to be stored within.
01 January 1990
The most explosive barehanded combat sequences ever filmed. An electrifying video of martial arts mastery and mayhem.
01 September 1954
Brett Wade, gambler, gunslinger, and classical pianist, is wounded in a gunfight with the Ferris clan; the doctor finds signs of tuberculosis.
05 June 1979
Some of TV and film's popular western actors reunite in this tribute special hosted by Glenn Ford.
25 October 1978
A retired safe cracker is recruited by a young conman to return to the "business" for a million dollar heist.
28 December 1952
After being released from prison, ex-gunfighter John Wesley Hardin hopes to have his autobiography published in order to rehabilitate his tarnished reputation.
05 October 1984
Commander Robin Wesley, leader of a group of mercenaries, go to the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia to overthrow the dictator, who is a major manufacturer and dealer of the world's opium.
