Biography
Clarence LeRoy "Lee" Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) 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 sk...
Known For
Complete Filmography

The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
2024
as Self (archive footage)
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.
Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann
2014
as (archive footage)
Peter Baumgartner talks about his life and work as a DoP for Erwin C. Dietrich and Jess Franco.

Octagon : le combat des maîtres
2003
Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor
2000
as Col. Douglas Mortimer (archive footage)
Klaus Kinski is one of the few German actors who has achieved international fame. He made headlines. And disappeared behind them. Kinski lived his par...

Thieves of Fortune
1990
as Sergio Danielo Christophero
A beautiful woman must perform feats of bravery in order to inherit a $28 million fortune and win the man she loves.

The Best of the Martial Arts Films
1990
as Self (archive footage)
The most explosive barehanded combat sequences ever filmed. An electrifying video of martial arts mastery and mayhem. This program takes a behind-the-...

Speed Zone
1989
as Grandfather
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 distre...

The Commander
1988
as Col. Mazzarini
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...

Armed Response
1986
as Burt Roth
One of Tanaka's underlings has stolen a rare statuette that he had planned to use as a peace offering between the local Yakusa and Chinese Tong. He hi...

Jungle Raiders
1985
as Warren
An expedition enters an unexplored jungle to search for a legendary ruby.

The Master Ninja 5
1985
as John Peter McAllister
Lee Van Cleef stars as John Peter McAllister, who as a reverend master of the Ninja warrior society, deserts the order the order to search for his mis...

Master Ninja
1985
as John Peter McAllister
Aging skilled master ninja, John Peter McAllister, and his young apprentice search for John's long lost daughter, all the while his old enemies try to...

Code Name: Wild Geese
1984
as Archie 'China' Travers
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 manufa...

Killing Machine
1984
as Julot
After a gang of thugs brands a hard working truck driver a traitor and murders his bride, He retaliates by being even more violent than his attackers...

Master Ninja II
1984
as John Peter McAllister
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. I...

Escape from New York
1981
as Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US pre...

The Octagon
1980
as McCarn
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 ninj...

The Hard Way
1980
as McNeal
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. Seeking to...
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
1979
as Self
Some of TV and film's popular western actors reunite in this tribute special hosted by Glenn Ford.

The Squeeze
1978
as Chris Gretchko / Ray Sloan
A retired safe cracker is recruited by a young conman to return to the "business" for a million dollar heist.

The Perfect Killer
1977
as Harry Chapman
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 participa...

Nowhere to Hide
1977
as Ike Scanlon
A special unit of the U.S. Marshal's Service is assigned to protect a syndicate hitman who is to testify against his former bosses, who have put out a...

Kid Vengeance
1976
as McClain
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 oth...

God's Gun
1976
as Father John / Lewis
Priest turned vigilante Father John hunts down a gang of criminals, led by Sam Clayton, who killed a man in a local bar. On the gang's return to the t...

Take a Hard Ride
1975
as Kiefer
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, M...

The Stranger and the Gunfighter
1974
as Dakota
During a hold-up in the Wild West, Dakota kills a rich old Chinese man, Wang. Later, he is captured, sentenced, and is about to be hanged - and he nev...

Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
1973
as Frankie
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 busine...

The Grand Duel
1972
as Sheriff Clayton
A grizzled ex-sheriff helps a man framed for murder to confront the powerful trio of brothers who want him dead.

The Magnificent Seven Ride!
1972
as Marshal Chris Adams
Marshal Chris Adams turns down a friend's request to help stop the depredations of a gang of Mexican bandits. When his wife is killed by bank robbers ...

Bad Man's River
1971
as Roy King
Robber Roy King loses his wife, Alicia, to revolutionary Montero. Despite their rivalry they collaborate in an attempt to rob the Mexican government o...

Captain Apache
1971
as Capt. Apache
The title character is a US army Captain of Native American descent who is asked to investigate the murder of an Indian agent. His only clue is "April...

Return of Sabata
1971
as Sabata / Major
Master gunslinger Sabata arrives in Hobsonville, a town completely owned by McIntock, a robber baron who is taxing the inhabitants for the cost of fut...

Barquero
1970
as Travis
Jake Remy leads a gang of outlaw cutthroats making their escape toward Mexico from a successful robbery. Barring their way is a river--crossable only ...

El Condor
1970
as Jaroo
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...

Sabata
1969
as Sabata
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. But the...

Commandos
1968
as MSgt. Sullivan
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 Ita...

Beyond the Law
1968
as Billy Joe Cudlip
A thief takes the job as a town sheriff in order to rob a silver shipment before his ex-partner can grab it.

Day of Anger
1967
as Frank Talby
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 thro...

Death Rides a Horse
1967
as Ryan
Bill Meceita, a boy whose family was murdered in front of him by a gang, sets out 15 years later to exact revenge. On his journey, he finds himself co...

The Big Gundown
1967
as Jonathan Corbett
Unofficial lawman John Corbett hunts down Cuchillo Sanchez, a Mexican peasant accused of raping and killing a 12-year-old girl.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1966
as Sentenza / Angel Eyes
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 Amer...

For a Few Dollars More
1965
as Col. Douglas Mortimer
Two bounty hunters both pursue the brutal and sadistic bandit, El Indio, who has a large bounty on his head.

How the West Was Won
1962
as River Pirate (uncredited)
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 ...

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962
as Reese
Questions arise when Senator Stoddard attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon in a small Western town. Flashing back, we learn Doniphon ...

Posse from Hell
1961
as Leo
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...

The Slowest Gun in the West
1960
as Sam Bass
The town of Primrose, Arizona is beset by outlaws, so the towns people hire Fletcher Bissell III (A.K.A. The Silver Dollar Kid) as their new sheriff. ...

Ride Lonesome
1959
as Frank
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 out...

Guns, Girls and Gangsters
1959
as Mike Bennett
Chuck Wheeler gets out of the Pen and sets up an elaborate heist of Vegas casino money travelling by armored truck. He enlists the help of shady club ...

Machete
1958
as Miguel
This 1959 film-noir take on "Othello," filmed in Puerto Rico, stars Mari Blanchard as flirtatious Jean, who marries an older man, plantation owner Don...

The Bravados
1958
as Alfonso Parral
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. When the convicts ...

The Young Lions
1958
as 1st Sgt. Rickett
The lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.

Day of the Badman
1958
as Jake Hayes
Judge Jim Scott must contend with the vicious relatives of a murderer he's about to sentence...and his unfaithful fiancee.

The Tin Star
1957
as Ed McGaffey
An experienced bounty hunter helps a young sheriff learn the meaning of his badge.

Raiders of Old California
1957
as Damon Pardee
A villainous cavalry officer is trying to force the owner of a hacienda to give him his land when a courageous settler comes to the rescue.

Joe Dakota
1957
as Adam Grant
A stranger rides into town and says he is looking for a local Indian. Told he left town, the truth everyone has been hiding comes out including the st...

Gun Battle at Monterey
1957
as Kirby
An outlaw saved by a Mexican girl hunts the holdup partner who shot him in the back.

The Quiet Gun
1957
as Doug Sadler
A mild mannered sheriff must fight both a hired gun and local anti-Indian bigotry in a small frontier town.

Last Stagecoach West
1957
as Steve Margolies
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. ...

The Lonely Man
1957
as Faro
Aging gunslinger Jacob Wade hopes to settle down with his estranged son, but his old enemies have other plans for him. Gunslinger Jacob Wade finds his...

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
1957
as Ed Bailey
Lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corr...

China Gate
1957
as Maj. Cham
Near the end of the French phase of the Vietnam War, a group of mercenaries are recruited to travel through enemy territory to the Chinese border.

The Badge of Marshal Brennan
1957
as Shad Donaphin
Jim Davis is a man on the run. He comes across the body of a dead man wearing the badge of a marshal. He buries the body and takes the badge and rides...

Accused of Murder
1956
as Police Sgt. Emmett Lackey
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 l...

Pardners
1956
as Gus
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 Sli...

It Conquered the World
1956
as Dr. Tom Anderson
An alien from Venus tries to take over the world with the help of a disillusioned human scientist, as his wife, his best friend and the friend's wife ...

Tribute to a Bad Man
1956
as Fat Jones
Jeremy Rodock is a tough horse rancher who strings up rustlers soon as look at them. Fresh out of Pennsylvania, Steve Miller finds it hard to get used...

The Conqueror
1956
as Chepei
Mongol chief Temujin battles against Tartar armies and for the love of the Tartar princess Bortai. Temujin becomes the emperor Genghis Khan.

The Vanishing American
1955
as Jay Lord
A woman arrives in New Mexico to claim property she's inherited and receives an education in the greedy exploitation of the local Navajo.

A Man Alone
1955
as Clanton
A gunfighter, stranded in the desert, comes across the aftermath of a stage robbery, in which all the passengers were killed. He takes one of the hors...

The Naked Street
1955
as Harry Goldish (uncredited)
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 Ros...

The Road to Denver
1955
as Pecos Larry
The Mayhew brothers flee from one Texas town to another as older brother Bill repeatedly attempts to keep younger brother Sam out of jail. Bill finall...

I Cover the Underworld
1955
as Flash Logan
Gunner O'Hara is about to be released from prison after serving a five-year sentence, and receives a visit from his twin brother John, a divinity stud...

The Big Combo
1955
as Fante
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfr...

Ten Wanted Men
1955
as Al Drucker
When his ward seeks protection with rival cattleman John Stewart, embittered, jealous rancher Wick Campbell hires ten outlaws to help him seize power ...

Treasure of Ruby Hills
1955
as Frank Emmett
Ranchers battle one another over water rights. Western.

Dawn at Socorro
1954
as Earl Ferris
Brett Wade, gambler, gunslinger, and classical pianist, is wounded in a gunfight with the Ferris clan; the doctor finds signs of tuberculosis. En rout...

Princess of the Nile
1954
as Hakar (uncredited)
Shalimar, an Egyptian princess, striving to rid her country of its Bedouin conquerors, forms an alliance with Prince Haidi, son of the Caliph of Bagda...

The Desperado
1954
as Paul Clayton/Buck Clayton
"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 fug...

The Yellow Tomahawk
1954
as Fire Knife
When the army insists on building a fort on Indian land, in defiance of a treaty, the warnings of a scout go unheeded.

Arrow In The Dust
1954
as Tillotson Henchman
Director Lesley Selander's 1954 western stars Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Keith Larsen, Tom Tully, Lee Van Cleef and Jimmy Wakely.

Rails Into Laramie
1954
as Ace Winton
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.

Gypsy Colt
1954
as Hank
In this trans-species remake of Lassie, Come Home, a faithful horse undertakes a perilous journey to return to the family it loves.

The Nebraskan
1953
as Pvt. Reno Benton
War looms on the horizon when an Army officer's American Indian aide is accused of murdering a tribal elder.

Tumbleweed
1953
as Marv
Jim Harvey is hired to guard a small wagon train as it makes its way west. The train is attacked by Indians and Harvey, hoping to persuade Aguila, the...

Jack Slade
1953
as Bolt Mackay
A young boy witnesses his father murdered by bandits and grows into adulthood vowing revenge.

Vice Squad
1953
as Pete Monty
A Los Angeles police captain (Edward G. Robinson) ties the case of a slain policeman to a bank robbery, all in a day.

Arena
1953
as Smitty
Left by his wife, a vain rodeo star picks up a floozy and rides a bad Brahman bull.

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
1953
as Corp. Stone
The controlled explosion of an atomic bomb in the Arctic Circle awakens a frozen dinosaur that will wreak havoc in New York City.

White Lightning
1953
as Brutus Allen
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 gamb...

The Bandits of Corsica
1953
as Nerva
Siamese twins separated at birth retain a psychic link; each feels the other's pain and happiness.

The Lawless Breed
1952
as Dirk Hanley
After being released from prison, ex-gunfighter John Wesley Hardin hopes to have his autobiography published in order to rehabilitate his tarnished re...

Kansas City Confidential
1952
as Tony Romano
An ex-convict sets out to uncover who framed him for an armored car robbery.

Untamed Frontier
1952
as Dave Chittun
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...

High Noon
1952
as Jack Colby
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....