Lee van Cleef

  • Guns Girls and Gangsters (1959)

    Guns Girls and Gangsters (1959)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, December 2020) There is something a bit too easy in the way Guns Girls and Gangsters is put together – too obvious, like its title. Coming at the tail end of the original film noir movement, it’s perhaps a bit too self-aware about the elements it has to include (like, er, Guns, Girls and Gangsters) but not witty or sophisticated enough to be able to make much out of it. The story has to do with a Vegas armed car robbery pulled off by ex-convicts, complicated by a sexy seductress cheating on one of the criminals with another. Produced away from the major studios, the film feels a bit threadbare when it comes to production values – but it did have the good sense of putting its dollars where the stars were: Lee Van Cleef is an excellent choice as a vengeful husband, while Mamie Van Doren dominates the film as a sultry blonde femme fatale. The narration underscores things a bit too much, exemplifying the theme of excessive self-awareness combined with the lack of skill to pull it off. While thoroughly mediocre (easily in the lower-middle-tier of first-generation film noir thrillers), Guns Girls and Gangsters still has enough to entertain, but it’s going to be as a semi-unintentional comedy more than a hardcore noir.

  • Kansas City Confidential (1952)

    Kansas City Confidential (1952)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On TV, August 2020) Considering how often film noir and heist movies have been remade, remixed and ripped off, it’s a weird feeling to find a classic Hollywood crime film that almost feels original. I settled down to watch Kansas City Confidential convinced that I was in for another 1950s noir heist film, but it turns out that the film is far more concerned with the tortured aftermath of its opening robbery than the crime itself. Better yet—this is almost a film in which the criminals must chase down the police to solve the crime. The mastermind’s brilliant idea to hire criminals for his crimes and frame an average man for it spectacularly backfires when said everyman becomes obsessed with uncovering the real culprits. Crisply shot and featuring actors with the tough faces and rough voices required for the material, Kansas City Confidential is a well directed by Phil Karlson. It plays with notions of injustice and hope even as its less-than-honourable characters jockey for a pile of cash. Lee van Cleef is notable in a small role, but the best performance here goes to John Payne as an ex-con trying to bring justice. The production values aren’t all that high, but as far as film noirs go, Kansas City Confidential is fun to watch and, surprisingly, still a bit original seven decades later.

  • Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo [The Good the Bad and the Ugly] (1966)

    Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo [The Good the Bad and the Ugly] (1966)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On DVD, January 2018) The culmination of the Man-with-no-name trilogy is spectacular, grandiose and … a bit too much. While the original film clocked in at 90 minutes, The Good the Bad and the Ugly takes thirty minutes before even introducing its three main characters. Painting with a far more ambitious brush, this instalment tackles war drama and a much grander scale, but somewhat confusingly goes back in time for a prequel. But who cares when Clint Eastwood is still iconic as the nameless “Good” protagonist, while Lee van Cleef still steals the show as the outright “Bad” protagonist, with Eli Wallach’s “Ugly” wildcard bouncing between the two. It’s the apotheosis of the Spaghetti Western genre, especially when Errico Morrcone’s iconic wah-wah-waaa theme kicks in. At the same time, it does feel like a lot. It’s fun to watch, but a certain ennui sets in when it becomes obvious that the film will not hurry from one set piece to another. Writer/director Sergio Leone’s style is a Leone-ish as it gets here, with careful editing and close-ups doing much of the work in creating suspense. An expansive cap to a remarkable trilogy, The Good the Bad and the Ugly doesn’t leave viewers hungering for more.

  • Per qualche dollaro in più [For a Few Dollars More] (1965)

    Per qualche dollaro in più [For a Few Dollars More] (1965)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On DVD, December 2017) The best thing about For a Few Dollars More in following up A Fistful of Dollars is adding Lee van Cleef as a foil to Clint Eastwood’s Man with no Name. Eastwood is terrific, of course, but van Cleef is just as effective in his own way, adding tension and even more spectacular machismo to this sequel (the sequence in which they duel over a hat is quite good). The budget also seems more generous, allowing for a more fully realized version of a Western shot in Spain by an Italian crew. Sergio Leone’s direction remains just as effective, but seem more polished than in the previous film. It helps that the script is somewhat more complex than the previous film, allowing for more than a simple stranger-comes-to-town paradigm. The climax works well, and the watch motif adds another layer to the film. Add to that Ennio Morricone’s score and you’ve got a strong follow-up to the original western, and a stepping stone to The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.