Welcome to theBad.net Lee Van Cleef Blog! Here you will find information, photos, videos, and some of my opinions of the badman himself.

Many thanks to the wonderful fans of theBad.net for their contributions and continued enthusiasm!

Saturday, December 2, 2023

Every Frame of LVC in - How the West Was Won (1962)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in How The West Was Won

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense! 




Saturday, November 25, 2023

German Article - "Lee Van Cleef Avenges a Murder"

 From around the time of Barquero. Click to enlarge!


Saturday, November 18, 2023

Every Frame of LVC in - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!



Saturday, November 4, 2023

Every Frame of LVC in - Ride Lonesome (1959)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in Ride Lonesome

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, October 28, 2023

The Stranger and The Gunfighter Coming to Blu-Ray! (Germany)

 


From Explosive Media on January 25, 2024 comes a new 2K-HD master of The Stranger and The Gunfighter.  This was previously released in a lackluster release in Spain in 2015 (review here).  This new version includes Italian, German, English audio, as well as for extras a trailer and gallery.

Currently it is not known if this release is region locked.

Preorder will be available at Amazon.de


Saturday, October 21, 2023

Every Frame of LVC in - The Young Lions (1958)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in The Young Lions

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, October 14, 2023

New Soundtrack Release - Magnificent Seven Ride!

As part of a complete soundtrack release of all 4 Magnificent Seven films, the score the the 4th entry, The Magnificent Seven Ride!, starring LVC as finally been made available.


Press Release from Quartet:

Celebrating the centenary of Maestro Elmer Bernstein, Quartet Records and MGM are proud to present a mammoth, deluxe 4-CD collection with the original iconic MAGNIFICENT SEVEN saga that comprises four films produced between 1960 and 1972, all of them scored by the great Elmer Bernstein.

Bernstein’s music is a genre-defining masterpiece. Inspired, in part, by the work of Aaron Copland, the composer created a distinctive blend of Americana and what he called Tex-Mex elements without resorting—as so many of his predecessors did—to quoting actual folksongs. The score is replete with memorable themes and rife with tension when such is called for. Following the development of Bernstein’s music through all four films makes for a fascinating journey!

The score of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN was not officially released until 1998 by Ryko. For this new release, on Disc 1, we accessed three 1/4″ full-track monaural rolls of “print” takes vaulted by MGM to expand upon the earlier edition. Several bonus tracks are included at the end of Disc 4 due to insufficient room on the first disc.

For RETURN OF THE SEVEN, only the celebrated re-recording done by Bernstein in London has survived; the scoring masters and music stems remain lost. For Disc 2 of this set, we newly transferred the 1/4″ stereo album master and have maintained the spacing the composer placed between each track. We have also included the CD premiere of the rare album recorded by the composer for a promotional Philip Morris & Co. campaign on United Artists Records: THE MUSIC FROM MARLBORO COUNTRY, sourced from the 1/4″ stereo album master.

GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN is perhaps the most varied and musically satisfying of the sequels. We have used on Disc 3 the same extended stereo program produced by Lukas Kendall for the Film Score Monthly label and included in a long-out-of-print western box set.

For the final entry in the series, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN RIDE!, Bernstein’s orchestrators, Leo Shuken and Jack Hayes, adapted the composer’s thematic material to fit sequences in the movie. A single day was spent recording at the Universal Scoring Stage in Los Angeles with Bernstein conducting. While scoring masters remain elusive, we have accessed the monaural music stem to include the 45 minutes of music heard in the film on Disc 4.

Meticulously produced, restored and mastered by Chris Malone, the package designed by Nacho B. Govantes comes with cover art created by Jim Titus and a 36-page booklet with an in-depth essay by authoritative music writer Frank K. DeWald.

Elmer Bernstein never wavered from his commitment to write music that enhanced every film he scored with beauty, excitement, passion and dignity. Quartet Records is proud to celebrate his centenary with this 4-CD compendium of all the surviving music Bernstein recorded for the four original MAGNIFICENT SEVEN films. Enjoy the ride!


Track list below for The Magnificent Seven Ride!

DISC 4. (1972)

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN RIDE!

1. Logo And Prologue / Main Title (2:31)
2. A Mother’s Accusation / Friends (2:35)
3. Shelly Strikes / Chris Rides Out (1:03)
4. Finding Arilla (4:45)
5. To Mexico (1:15)
6. Leaving Jim (0:56)
7. Tracking Shelly (2:49)
8. Arrival In Magdalena (1:34)
9. MacKay’s Fate / Recruiting (1:54)
10. The Lucky Seven (1:08)
11. Preparing The Hacienda Attack (4:03)
12. Ready For Magdalena (0:39)
13. Working With The Women (1:49)
14. Noah Reflects (2:00)
15. De Toro Attacks (6:55)
16. The Final Confrontation (3:04)
17. Finale (2:19)
18. De Toro’s Woman (Guitar Source 1) (1:40)
19. Hard At Work (Guitar Source 2) (1:29)
20. If A Tree Falls… (Guitar Source 3) (1:27)
           Source Cues and Additional Music From The Magnificent Seven
21. Fiesta (1:20)
22. Meanwhile Back At The… (0:39)
23. Drum Improvisation (0:11)
24. Celebration (1:25)
25. Petra’s Declaration (1:51)
26. Argument (Edited Version) (1:14)
27. Training (Edited Version) (1:27)
28. Small Suspense (0:16)
29. The Journey (Alternate Ending) (4:41)

Total Disc Time: 58:01


Order Here!


Saturday, October 7, 2023

Every Frame of LVC in - The Tin Star (1957)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in The Tin Star

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, September 30, 2023

Take a Hard Ride Articles

Vintage articles from during production-

Click to enlarge!








Saturday, September 23, 2023

Every Frame of LVC in - Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, September 16, 2023

Barcelona Express Article

Appears to be from around the time of The Perfect Killer.  Click to enlarge!



Saturday, September 9, 2023

Every Frame of LVC in - Pardners (1956)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in Pardners

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, September 2, 2023

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Every Frame of LVC in - Tribute to a Bad Man (1956)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in Tribute to a Bad Man

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, August 19, 2023

eBay Watch - Commandos Concept Art


From time to time I will post interesting items that I see on eBay that would be of interest to a LVC fan. These are not endorsements of the sellers, just merely my observations of interesting or rare items.


This week there is an "original art international movie poster from 1968 featuring the iconic Lee Van Cleef in what would later be called Commandos. The org artwork by Will Williams captures the intensity of the film with bold colors and striking imagery."

I do not believe this was from the 1960's as it depicts LVC with one of his mid-70's hairpieces.  It may have been VHS artwork from the 1980's or 1990's where it may have been renamed "Wolf Pack", although I have never seen it before

Item has a "Buy it Now" of $5000.00









Saturday, August 12, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - The Vanishing American (1955)

 Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in The Vanishing American

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, August 5, 2023

Lee Van Cleef Sings! 1973 Demo Record - "If All I Ever Do"

Presented for possibly the first time on the internet, is one of 4 songs LVC recorded in 1973 as part of his LVC records endeavor.  Very few of these records were pressed, and are very hard to come by.

At the start of each month, I will "premiere" one of these songs here.  Enjoy!

This month:

LVC-004 "If All I Ever Do"




Saturday, July 29, 2023

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - A Man Alone (1955)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in A Man Alone

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, July 15, 2023

Spanish Article - "Great Gunman of Cinema Shoots a Movie in Barcelona"

From around the time of Killing Machine / Goma-2.  Click to enlarge!



AI translation below-


 

Saturday, July 8, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - The Naked Street (1955)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in The Naked Street

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, July 1, 2023

Lee Van Cleef Sings! 1973 Demo Record - "Call The Law"

Presented for possibly the first time on the internet, is one of 4 songs LVC recorded in 1973 as part of his LVC records endeavor.  Very few of these records were pressed, and are very hard to come by.

At the start of each month, I will "premiere" one of these songs here.  Enjoy!

This month:

LVC-003 "Call The Law" 




Saturday, June 24, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - Ten Wanted Men (1955)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in Ten Wanted Men (1955)

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!


Saturday, June 17, 2023

eBay Watch: 4x4 Autographed Polaroid


From time to time I will post interesting items that I see on eBay that would be of interest to a LVC fan. These are not endorsements of the sellers, just merely my observations of interesting or rare items.


This week there is a signed 4x4 polaroid of LVC signing autographs (which I assume happened at the same time as the photo was signed).  Cool unique piece.  A bit overpriced.

Item has a "Buy it Now" of $325.00







Saturday, June 10, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - Princess of the Nile (1954)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in Princess of the Nile

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, June 3, 2023

Lee Van Cleef Sings! 1973 Demo Record - "Who's Gonna Share Your Dream"

Presented for possibly the first time on the internet, is one of 4 songs LVC recorded in 1973 as part of his LVC records endeavor.  Very few of these records were pressed, and are very hard to come by.

At the start of each month, I will "premiere" one of these songs here.  Enjoy!

This week:

LVC-002 "Who's Gonna Share Your Dream"




Saturday, May 27, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - Arrow in the Dust (1954)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in Arrow in the Dust

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!


Saturday, May 20, 2023

RIP Jim Brown

Jim Brown, famed NFL football player, and 3 time LVC co-star (El Condor, Take a Hard Ride, Kid Vengeance), passed away on May 19, 2023 at the age of 87.

Jim Brown, the transcendent athlete-actor-activist who ran roughshod over the NFL and its record books in the 1950s and 1960s and won multiple MVP awards before retiring abruptly at the age of 30 to focus on the civil rights movement and a career in Hollywood, has died, his former team, the Cleveland Browns, said Friday. He was 87.

The Browns tweeted, “Jim Brown Forever.

“Legend. Leader. Activist. Visionary.

“It’s impossible to describe the profound love and gratitude we feel for having the opportunity to be a small piece of Jim’s incredible life and legacy. We mourn his passing, but celebrate the indelible light he brought to the world.

“Our hearts are with Jim’s family, loved ones, and all those he impacted along the way.”

After he retired from football in 1966 despite being at the height of his career, Brown caught the acting bug, starring in the 1967 World War II movie, “The Dirty Dozen.” He went on to appear in more than 50 films.

Brown also made his mark as a civil rights activist, working with inner-city gang members and prison inmates.

Brown led the NFL in rushing a record eight times in his nine seasons and rushed for a record 12,312 yards.

He went to nine Pro Bowls and was an NFL champion in 1964.

“One of the greatest players in NFL history, a true pioneer and activist. Jim Brown’s legacy will live on forever,” the NFL tweeted.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/19/sport/jim-brown-nfl-legend-actor-activist-dead-spt-intl/index.html




Saturday, May 13, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - Jack Slade (1953)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in Jack Slade

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, May 6, 2023

Lee Van Cleef Sings! 1973 Demo Record - "The Bad Man's Back"

Presented for possibly the first time on the internet, is one of 4 songs LVC recorded in 1973 as part of his LVC Records endeavor.  Very few of these records were pressed, and are very hard to come by.

At the start of each month, I will "premiere" one of these songs here.  Enjoy!

This week:

LVC-001 "The Bad Man's Back"


Saturday, April 29, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - Vice Squad (1953)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in Vice Squad

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, April 22, 2023

Death Rides A Horse - Blu-ray Commentary Excerpt

Check out an excerpt from Mike Malloy's commentary on PLAION Pictures Blu-ray of Death Rides A Horse.

Available now!

https://diabolikdvd.com/product/death-rides-a-horse-koch-germany-blu-ray-region-b/




Saturday, April 15, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - Arena (1953)

 Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in Arena

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, April 8, 2023

Saturday, April 1, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts (roles that have under 5 minutes of screen time), that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, March 25, 2023

German 1968 Article - "Being Evil is my Job!"

 Original article clipping below.  Click to enlarge!



Rough English translation-



Saturday, March 18, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - The Octagon

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts, that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in the Chuck Norris film, The Octagon.  It's actually a solid film, and I would recommend watching the entire film.

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, March 11, 2023

TEKS Turkish Comic Book Covers

Here are two LVC inspired comic book covers from 1984 and 1985 from the Turkish comic series TEKS.





Saturday, March 4, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - The Killing Machine / Goma-2

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts, that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in The Killing Machine / Goma-2.  A brief but villainous role.

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, February 25, 2023

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - Jungle Raiders

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts, that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his performance in the awful Indiana Jones ripoff Jungle Raiders from 1985.

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, February 4, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - The Commander

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts, that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his last villain performance in The Commander.  It's actually a fun performance, and I would recommend watching the entire film if you can find it.  Similar to Codename: Wildgeese, and featuring much of the same cast.

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, January 28, 2023

Tonight Show with Johnny Carson Interview

Recently posted on the official Johnny Carson YouTube page, here is the COMPLETE LVC interview with Johnny Carson from 1984 while promoting The Master.




Saturday, January 21, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - Speed Zone!

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts, that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his cameo performance in Speed Zone!, a Cannonball Run sequel without Burt Reynolds from 1989, that has been forgotten.  I remember suffering through this film waiting for him to reappear.  He doesn't.  Enjoy his 30 seconds below!

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!




Saturday, January 14, 2023

Soundtrack Review - Grand Duel 50th Anniversary Vinyl




To end 2022 a special 50th anniversary deluxe vinyl pressing of the classic Luis Bacalov score from The Grand Duel was released by Scare Flair Records.  Limited to only 500 copies, this is hopefully to be the first of many releases from the label.

About the Soundtrack

The Grand Duel is a powerful score by Academy Award Winning composer Luis Bacalov. It features harmonica playing from Franco De Gemini (Once Upon a Time in the West), vocals by Edda Dell’Orso (The Ecstasy of Gold in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly), as well as choir work from I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni (Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy).

There was no original release of the score in the 1970's.  I believe my first exposure to the score was part of a compilation CD made in the early 90's with only 2 tracks.  Eventually in 1995 Point Records in Italy released a CD with 10 tracks (which also contained the score to Si Può Fare... Amigo).  A standalone CD release of just The Grand Duel was released in Japan in 2005 with the same 10 tracks.  Finally in 2012 Quartet Records released an expanded CD with 14 tracks which also included the Bacalov score to A Man Called Noon.


Thoughts on the Soundtrack

I love the majority of this score.  The Dell'Orso and De Gemini performances are wonderful.  The score is often times haunting, with similarities to Bacalov's A Man Called Noon score.  In fact Bacalov lifted a track directly The Grand Duel and put it in A Man Called Noon (track called "Warning").

However, and this is my personal opinion here, there are several "whimsical" tracks, that do not fit this same tone as the other tracks.  I HATE these tracks.  I hate them to the point that I skip them.  While that may be my musical taste, I also don't feel they serve the film well either.  Perhaps I just don't like fiddles!


Album Review

Scare Flair Records has done a great job presenting the soundtrack onto vinyl for the first time ever.  This is the same 14 track score put out in 2012, which represents the most complete score made available.  The album is presented with 7 tracks per side.

Packaging is beautiful, and frame-worthy.  Mike Malloy provides a great write up on the back of the album

Album arrived quickly as was well packaged.

If you don't have the score, pick it up!  If you do have the score, consider revisiting it on vinyl.  Either way this is sure to be a collectible for the LVC, spaghetti western, or film score fan.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

ORDER HERE!


Saturday, January 7, 2023

Every Frame of LVC - Thieves of Fortune

Courtesy of the YouTube channel, "LVC Archives", I will be presenting footage of LVC from his smaller parts, that may be difficult to find on home video.

This week we will be looking at his final performance in Thieves of Fortune, a pretty awful film from 1989, that he dies off on early in the film.

A note on the footage below-  It only contains footage the LVC is in on camera, not complete scenes.  It may not make a lot of sense!