Lee Van Cleef

Lee Van Cleef

Born: January 9, 1925
Died: December 16, 1989
in Somerville, New Jersey, USA
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". Description above from the Wikipedia article Lee Van Cleef, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movies for Lee Van Cleef...

Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann
Title: Peter Baumgartner, Filmkameramann
Character: (archive footage)
Released: January 1, 2014
Type: Movie
Peter Baumgartner talks about his life and work as a DoP for Erwin C. Dietrich and Jess Franco.
bee
Octagon : le combat des maîtres
Title: Octagon : le combat des maîtres
Released: January 1, 2003
Type: Movie
bee
Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor
Title: Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor
Character: Col. Douglas Mortimer (archive footage)
Released: May 21, 2000
Type: Movie
Klaus Kinski is one of the few German actors who has achieved international fame. He made headlines. And disappeared behind them. Kinski lived his parts 24/7. This film tells the story of a man who no longer could understand the difference or distinguish between fantasy and reality.
bee
Thieves of Fortune
Title: Thieves of Fortune
Character: Sergio Danielo Christophero
Released: May 31, 1990
Type: Movie
A beautiful woman must perform feats of bravery in order to inherit a $28 million fortune and win the man she loves.
bee
The Best of the Martial Arts Films
Title: The Best of the Martial Arts Films
Character: Himself
Released: January 1, 1990
Type: Movie
The most explosive barehanded combat sequences ever filmed. An electrifying video of martial arts mastery and mayhem. This program takes a behind-the-scenes look at the weapons, the mystical eastern philosophy, and the incredible skills that have made martial arts films one of the most popular genres in the world today.
bee
Speed Zone
Title: Speed Zone
Character: Grandfather
Released: April 21, 1989
Type: Movie
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. Jackie Chan's car is not in this one, but many new cars make up for that. Who will win? Who will crash? Who will not even finish? Sit down and buckle up for the ride of your life.
bee
The Commander
Title: The Commander
Character: Col. Mazzarini
Released: April 28, 1988
Type: Movie
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. Anyway, Van Cleef has Collins go on some random mission to locate a disc with all sorts of valuable crazy intelligence data on it. It just happens that Donald Pleasence, a random government official, hires another mercenary-for-hire Manfred Lehman to tag along and make sure the data ends up in the right hands. Van Cleef isn't taking any chances, and since he is crooked and murders Collins's other bosses quickly, he places Romano Puppo in the group as well to make sure the operation runs smoothly. Collins may not be too expressive but at least he seems to figure out quickly who's out to get him, so the mission continues with lots of double-crosses, twists and turns, and of course lots of explosions!
bee
Armed Response
Title: Armed Response
Character: Burt Roth
Released: October 1, 1986
Type: Movie
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 hires two private investigators to exchange ransom money to recover the statuette, but the trade goes down bad and Clay Roth is killed. This angers Roth's brothers and father, all combat veterans, and they go after the people responsible
bee
Jungle Raiders
Title: Jungle Raiders
Character: Warren
Released: August 1, 1985
Type: Movie
An expedition enters an unexplored jungle to search for a legendary ruby.
bee
The Master Ninja 5
Title: The Master Ninja 5
Character: John Peter McAllister
Released: January 1, 1985
Type: Movie
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 missing daughter in the U.S.
bee
Code Name: Wild Geese
Title: Code Name: Wild Geese
Character: Archie 'China' Travers
Released: October 5, 1984
Type: Movie
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.
bee
Killing Machine
Title: Killing Machine
Character: Julot
Released: May 10, 1984
Type: Movie
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.
bee
Master Ninja
Title: Master Ninja
Character: John Peter McAllister
Released: March 8, 1984
Type: Movie
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 stop him. The first two episodes of "The Master" edited into a feature length film used as a promo for the television series.
bee
Title: The Master
Character: John Peter McAllister
Released: January 20, 1984
Type: TV
An aging ninja master and his young pupil travel in a custom van helping people in need along the way.
bee
Master Ninja II
Title: Master Ninja II
Character: John Peter McAllister
Released: January 20, 1984
Type: Movie
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. In reality, it's two episodes of failed TV show 'The Master' repackaged as a movie. Also featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
bee
Escape from New York
Title: Escape from New York
Character: Police Commissioner Bob Hauk
Released: May 23, 1981
Type: Movie
In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken has 24 hours to bring him back.
bee
The Octagon
Title: The Octagon
Character: McCarn
Released: August 14, 1980
Type: Movie
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. When Scott finds out that his ruthless arch-nemesis, McCarn , is involved with the stealthy and dangerous criminals, he is eager to settle old scores. Soon Scott is facing off against McCarn and the entire ninja horde in an effort to take them all down.
bee
The Hard Way
Title: The Hard Way
Character: McNeal
Released: February 19, 1980
Type: Movie
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 retire to Dublin and maybe salvage his dying marriage, Connor wants to leave the lonely world of the marksman behind him and melt into the background. Unfortunately, his handler O'Neal is reluctant to let him go, and, after much coertion, manages to talk him into accepting one final job.
bee
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
Title: When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion
Character: Self
Released: June 5, 1979
Type: Movie
Some of TV and film's popular western actors reunite in this tribute special hosted by Glenn Ford.
bee
The Squeeze
Title: The Squeeze
Character: Chris Gretchko / Ray Sloan
Released: October 25, 1978
Type: Movie
A retired safe cracker is recruited by a young conman to return to the "business" for a million dollar heist.
bee
The Perfect Killer
Title: The Perfect Killer
Character: Harry Chapman
Released: November 30, 1977
Type: Movie
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. What he doesn't know is that once he is on the outside, the group responsible for the prison break has Harry in their debt and they use him as a hit-man. Naturally, he grows tired of the job and splits because he is hellbent on getting revenge on the former partners. So the mob puts young hit-man Luc on Harry's trail.
bee
Nowhere to Hide
Title: Nowhere to Hide
Character: Ike Scanlon
Released: June 5, 1977
Type: Movie
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 contract on his life.
bee
Kid Vengeance
Title: Kid Vengeance
Character: McClain
Released: December 1, 1976
Type: Movie
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 other), this spaghetti western was actually shot in the Middle East by American director Joseph Manduke. Pop star Garrett plays Tom, a teenager who teams with a black gunfighter named Isaac (Jim Brown) to avenge his family. The culprit was McClain (Van Cleef), a sadistic outlaw who carried out the brutal rape-massacre, but his role is minor, as most of the film deals with Tom's maturation and coming to terms with his feelings. Omnipresent 1970s character actors Glynnis O'Connor and John Marley co-star. If there is anything remarkable about Kid Vengeance, it is Francesco Masi's fine musical score, but the film is otherwise anemic.
bee
God's Gun
Title: God's Gun
Character: Father John / Lewis
Released: February 1, 1976
Type: Movie
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 town, they kill the priest, leaving a young parishioner Johnny behind. He now seeks revenge for the death of the holy man.
bee
Take a Hard Ride
Title: Take a Hard Ride
Character: Kiefer
Released: October 29, 1975
Type: Movie
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 Senora, Mexico. Honest Pike is joined on the trip through the wilderness by a dishonest gambler named Tyree.
bee
The Stranger and the Gunfighter
Title: The Stranger and the Gunfighter
Character: Dakota
Released: January 1, 1974
Type: Movie
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 never profitted from Wang's death, has he buried him with the photographs of his four widows, and a few worthless papers. Meanwhile, Ho comes to America in search of his uncle's fortune, and must get Dakota free, as he his the only man who can lead him to Wang's tomb. They open the tomb, retaking the pictures of Wang's widows. It happens he reads the papers and knows that Wang had one quarter of a map tattooed in each of his women's buttocks. Now, the difficult part will really start... Treasure hunt.
bee
Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
Title: Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
Character: Frankie
Released: November 23, 1973
Type: Movie
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. He promptly has himself arrested so that he'll have the perfect alibi when the bodies start piling up. But it turns out his enemies have enough juice to keep him in prison, his associates start dying and the attempts on his life start. Cue Tony Breda, a wannabe wiseguy, who has a plan to spring Frankie from jail.
bee
The Grand Duel
Title: The Grand Duel
Character: Sheriff Clayton
Released: December 29, 1972
Type: Movie
A grizzled ex-sheriff helps a man framed for murder to confront the powerful trio of brothers who want him dead.
bee
The Magnificent Seven Ride!
Title: The Magnificent Seven Ride!
Character: Marshal Chris Adams
Released: August 1, 1972
Type: Movie
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 and his friend is killed capturing the last thief, Chris feels obligated to take up his friend's cause and recruits a writer and five prisoners to destroy the desperadoes.The last in the original series of four "Magnificent Seven" movies.
bee
Bad Man's River
Title: Bad Man's River
Character: Roy King
Released: December 3, 1971
Type: Movie
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.
bee
Captain Apache
Title: Captain Apache
Character: Capt. Apache
Released: October 27, 1971
Type: Movie
An Indian discovers plans to assassinate the president when he was investigating another murder.
bee
Return of Sabata
Title: Return of Sabata
Character: Sabata / Major
Released: September 3, 1971
Type: Movie
Master gunslinger Sabata arrives in Hobsonville, a town completely owned by McIntock, a robber baron who is taxing the inhabitants for the cost of future improvements to the town. Or that's what McIntock says he'll do with the money...
bee
Barquero
Title: Barquero
Character: Travis
Released: July 29, 1970
Type: Movie
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 by means of a ferry barge. The barge operator, Travis, refuses to be bullied into providing transport for the gang and escapes across river with most of the local populace--leaving Remy and his gang behind, desperately seeking a way across. A river-wide stand-off begins between the gang and the townspeople, both groups of which have left people on the wrong side of the river.
bee
El Condor
Title: El Condor
Character: Jaroo
Released: June 19, 1970
Type: Movie
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. Written by Brian C. Madsen
bee
Sabata
Title: Sabata
Character: Sabata
Released: September 16, 1969
Type: Movie
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 they haven't reckoned on the presence of the master gunslinger, Sabata.
bee
Commandos
Title: Commandos
Character: MSgt. Sullivan
Released: November 19, 1968
Type: Movie
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. After the soldiers have knifed the Italians in their beds, they find a hooker living at the camp. Sullivan's commandos are to hold this camp and its weaponry until an American battalion arrives, all the while these Italian-Americans pretend to be Italian soldiers, often hosting the enemy. Lt. Valli is a young, "green," by-the-book officer who constantly argues with Sgt. Sullivan, who tells his superior that he has no idea what he is doing. One man on the base, probably a touch from Argento, is an entomologist who is needlessly killed. Things go terribly wrong after that.
bee
Beyond the Law
Title: Beyond the Law
Character: Billy Joe Cudlip
Released: April 10, 1968
Type: Movie
A thief takes the job as a town sheriff in order to rob a silver shipment before his ex-partner can grab it.
bee
Day of Anger
Title: Day of Anger
Character: Frank Talby
Released: December 19, 1967
Type: Movie
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.
bee
Death Rides a Horse
Title: Death Rides a Horse
Character: Ryan
Released: August 31, 1967
Type: Movie
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 continually sparring and occasionally cooperating with Ryan, a gunfighter on his own quest for vengeance, who knows more than he says about Bill's tragedy.
bee
The Big Gundown
Title: The Big Gundown
Character: Jonathan Corbett
Released: March 3, 1967
Type: Movie
Unofficial lawman John Corbett hunts down Cuchillo Sanchez, a Mexican peasant accused of raping and killing a 12-year-old girl.
bee
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Title: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Character: Sentenza / Angel Eyes
Released: December 22, 1966
Type: Movie
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.
bee
For a Few Dollars More
Title: For a Few Dollars More
Character: Col. Douglas Mortimer
Released: December 18, 1965
Type: Movie
Two bounty hunters are in pursuit of "El Indio," one of the most wanted fugitives in the western territories, and his gang.
bee
Title: Laredo
Released: September 16, 1965
Type: TV
Laredo is an American Western television series that aired on NBC from September 16, 1965, to April 7, 1967. Laredo stars Neville Brand, William Smith, Peter Brown, and Philip Carey as Texas Rangers. It is set on the Mexican border about Laredo, Texas. The program was produced by Universal Television. The pilot episode of Laredo aired on NBC's The Virginian under the title, "We've Lost a Train". It was released theatrically in 1969 under the title Backtrack. Three episodes from the first season of the series were edited into the 1968 feature film Three Guns for Texas.
bee
Title: My Mother the Car
Released: September 14, 1965
Type: TV
The story of the relationship between a man and his mother, the latter having been reincarnated as a 1928 Porter automobile.
bee
Title: Branded
Released: January 24, 1965
Type: TV
Branded is an American Western series which aired on NBC from 1965 through 1966, sponsored by Procter & Gamble in its Sunday night 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time period, and starred Chuck Connors as Jason McCord, a United States Army Cavalry captain who had been drummed out of the service following an unjust accusation of cowardice.
bee
Title: The Dakotas
Released: January 7, 1963
Type: TV
The Dakotas is an ABC/Warner Brothers western television series starring Larry Ward and featuring Jack Elam broadcast during 1963. The short-lived program is considered a spin-off of Clint Walker's Cheyenne. The Dakotas is perhaps most notable for the fact that it was cancelled one week after heavy viewer protest over an objectionable scene.
bee
How the West Was Won
Title: How the West Was Won
Character: River Pirate (uncredited)
Released: November 2, 1962
Type: Movie
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.
bee
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Title: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Character: Reese
Released: April 13, 1962
Type: Movie
A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed.
bee
Posse from Hell
Title: Posse from Hell
Character: Leo
Released: March 1, 1961
Type: Movie
Murphy goes after bad guys who shot his friend the sheriff and abducted a local girl. In a plot reminiscent of High Noon, the posse of town blowhards gradually abandons Murphy; only tenderfoot banker Saxon remains, to prove his manhood. When they find the girl, obviously abused by her captors, Murphy shows her acceptance and sympathy whereas the others disply only revulsion.
bee
Title: The Andy Griffith Show
Character: Skip
Released: October 3, 1960
Type: TV
The Andy Griffith Show is an American sitcom first televised on CBS between October 3, 1960 and April 1, 1968. Andy Griffith portrays the widowed sheriff of the fictional small community of Mayberry, North Carolina. His life is complicated by an inept, but well-meaning deputy, Barney Fife, a spinster aunt and housekeeper, Aunt Bee, and a precocious young son, Opie. Local ne'er-do-wells, bumbling pals, and temperamental girlfriends further complicate his life. Andy Griffith stated in a Today Show interview, with respect to the time period of the show: "Well, though we never said it, and though it was shot in the '60s, it had a feeling of the '30s. It was when we were doing it, of a time gone by." The series never placed lower than seventh in the Nielsen ratings and ended its final season at number one. It has been ranked by TV Guide as the 9th-best show in American television history. Though neither Griffith nor the show won awards during its eight-season run, series co-stars Knotts and Bavier accumulated a combined total of six Emmy Awards. The show, a semi-spin-off from an episode of The Danny Thomas Show titled "Danny Meets Andy Griffith", spawned its own spin-off series, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., a sequel series, Mayberry R.F.D., and a reunion telemovie, Return to Mayberry. The show's enduring popularity has generated a good deal of show-related merchandise. Reruns currently air on TV Land, and the complete series is available on DVD. All eight seasons are also now available by streaming video services such as Netflix.
bee
The Slowest Gun in the West
Title: The Slowest Gun in the West
Character: Sam Bass
Released: May 7, 1960
Type: Movie
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. Fletcher is so cowardly the townsfolk are sure that the local outlaws will be too proud to gun him down. This proves to be the case, and the outlaws hire their own cowardly gunfighter, Chicken Farnsworth, to go up against The Silver Dollar Kid. Written by Jim Beaver
bee
Title: Mr. Lucky
Released: October 24, 1959
Type: TV
Mr. Lucky is a CBS adventure/drama television series that aired from October 24, 1959, to June 18, 1960, with repeats until September 3. Blake Edwards developed the program as a retooling of his Willie Dante character from Four Star Playhouse, where the role was played by studio boss Dick Powell. In the 1960–1961 season, Howard Duff assumed the role of Willie Dante in the NBC adventure/drama series Dante. Mr. Edwards directed and co-wrote the first episode of Mr. Lucky, and the credits of the first eighteen episodes included "Entire production supervised by Blake Edwards." Jack Arnold produced the show and directed fifteen of the thirty-four episodes. Henry Mancini's smooth theme music for the show reached Number 21 in the US singles charts. He released two successful LP's based on the show, Mr. Lucky and Mr. Lucky Goes Latin.
bee
Title: The Untouchables
Character: Frank Diamond
Released: October 15, 1959
Type: TV
Special Agent Eliot Ness and his elite team of incorruptible agents battle organized crime in 1930s Chicago.
bee
Title: Hawaiian Eye
Released: October 7, 1959
Type: TV
Private Eyes Tom Lopaka and Tracy Steele are based out of Hawaiian Village Resort where they work both hotel security and are hired by others to look into various matters. They're helped by their trusty right-hand man Kazuo Kim who runs a taxi company and is always eager to help them.
bee
Title: The Alaskans
Released: October 4, 1959
Type: TV
The Alaskans is a 1959-1960 ABC/Warner Brothers western television series set during the late 1890s in the port of Skagway, Alaska. The show features Roger Moore as "Silky Harris" and Jeff York as "Reno McKee", a pair of adventurers intent on swindling travelers bound for the Yukon Territories during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush. Their plans are inevitably complicated by the presence of singer "Rocky Shaw", "an entertainer with a taste for the finer things in life". The show was the first regular work on American television for the British actor Roger Moore.
bee
Title: The Twilight Zone
Released: October 2, 1959
Type: TV
A series of unrelated stories containing drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and/or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist.
bee
Title: Law of the Plainsman
Character: Tracey
Released: October 1, 1959
Type: TV
Law of the Plainsman is a Western television series starring Michael Ansara that aired on the NBC television network from October 1, 1959, until May 5, 1960. The character of Native American U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart was introduced in two episodes of the popular ABC Western television series The Rifleman starring Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain. Law of the Plainsman is distinctive and unique in that it was one of the few television programs that featured a Native American as the lead character, a bold move for U.S.network television at that time. Ansara had earlier appeared in the series Broken Arrow, having portrayed the Apache chief, Cochise. Ansara, however, was not Native American but of Syrian descent. Ansara played Sam Buckhart, an Apache Indian who saved the life of a U.S. Cavalry officer after an Indian ambush. When the officer died, he left Sam money that was used for an education at private schools and Harvard University. After school, he returned to New Mexico where he became a Deputy Marshal working for Marshal Andy Morrison. He lived in a boarding house run by Martha Commager. The only other continuing character was 8-year old Tess Logan, an orphan who had been rescued by Buckhart. Robert Harland, later of Target: The Corruptors! starred in seven episodes as Deputy Billy Lordan. Wayne Rogers, who went on to star in another Four Star western, Stagecoach West, and later, M*A*S*H, also played deputy Lordan in several episodes.
bee
Title: The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Character: Peak
Released: September 21, 1959
Type: TV
The DuPont Show with June Allyson is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959 to April 3, 1961 with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961. The series was hosted by actress June Allyson.
bee
Title: Riverboat
Character: Luke Cragg
Released: September 13, 1959
Type: TV
Riverboat is a 44-episode western television series starring Darren McGavin and Burt Reynolds broadcast on the NBC television network from September 13, 1959 until January 2, 1961. It was produced by Revue Studios.
bee
Title: The Deputy
Character: Cherokee Kid
Released: September 12, 1959
Type: TV
The Deputy is an American western series that aired on NBC from September 1959, to July 1961. The series stars Henry Fonda as Chief Marshal Simon Fry of the Arizona Territory and Allen Case as Deputy Clay McCord, a storekeeper who tried to avoid using a gun.
bee
Title: Bonanza
Character: Appling
Released: September 12, 1959
Type: TV
The High-Sierra adventures of Ben Cartwright and his sons as they run and defend their ranch while helping the surrounding community.
bee
Ride Lonesome
Title: Ride Lonesome
Character: Frank
Released: February 1, 1959
Type: Movie
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.
bee
Title: Black Saddle
Character: Frank Sandoe
Released: January 10, 1959
Type: TV
Black Saddle is an American Western television series starring Peter Breck that aired 44 episodes on ABC from January 10, 1959 to May 6, 1960. The half-hour program was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television, and the original pilot was an episode of CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater, with Chris Alcaide portraying the principal character, Clay Culhane. For syndicated reruns, Black Saddle was combined with three other Western series from the same company, Law of the Plainsman starring Michael Ansara, Johnny Ringo starring Don Durant and Mark Goddard, and the critically acclaimed creation of Sam Peckinpah, The Westerner with Brian Keith, under the umbrella title, The Westerners, with new hosting sequences by Keenan Wynn.
bee
Title: Rawhide
Character: Fred Grant
Released: January 9, 1959
Type: TV
The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama.
bee
Title: Rawhide
Character: Deck Sommers
Released: January 9, 1959
Type: TV
The tale of trail boss Gil Favor and his trusty foreman Rowdy Yates as they drives cattle across the old west. Along the way they meet up with adventure and drama.
bee
Guns, Girls and Gangsters
Title: Guns, Girls and Gangsters
Character: Mike Bennett
Released: January 1, 1959
Type: Movie
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 owner Joe Darren and his ex-cellmate's wife, Vi. Vi's husband Mike is a trigger happy and jealous hothead and will not grant her a divorce. Mike escapes from prison right before the armored truck job goes into motion and promises trouble as he tries to locate his associates and his wandering wife.
bee
Machete
Title: Machete
Character: Miguel
Released: December 1, 1958
Type: Movie
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 Luis, for financial security and finds herself falling for his virile foster son, Carlos. Fearing that Jean will inherit Luis's money, his greedy cousin, Miguel, poisons the bridegroom against his new wife, informing him about her passion for another.
bee
Title: 77 Sunset Strip
Released: October 10, 1958
Type: TV
Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this Warner Brothers drama. They work out of an office located at 77 Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California, right next door to a snazzy restaurant where Kookie works as a valet. The finger-snapping, slang-talking Kookie occasionally helps Stu and Jeff with their cases, and eventually becomes a full-fledged member of the detective agency. Rex Randolph and J.R. Hale also join the firm, and Suzanne is their leggy secretary.
bee
Title: 77 Sunset Strip
Character: Majeski
Released: October 10, 1958
Type: TV
Stu Bailey and Jeff Spencer are the wisecracking, womanizing private-detective heroes of this Warner Brothers drama. They work out of an office located at 77 Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, California, right next door to a snazzy restaurant where Kookie works as a valet. The finger-snapping, slang-talking Kookie occasionally helps Stu and Jeff with their cases, and eventually becomes a full-fledged member of the detective agency. Rex Randolph and J.R. Hale also join the firm, and Suzanne is their leggy secretary.
bee
Title: Lawman
Released: October 5, 1958
Type: TV
Lawman is an American western television series originally telecast on ABC from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during 1879 and the 1880s. Warner Bros. already had several western series on the air at the time, having launched Cheyenne with Clint Walker as early as 1955. The studio continued the trend in 1957 with the additions of Maverick with James Garner and Jack Kelly, Colt .45 with Wayde Preston, and Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins. One year later, Warner Bros. added Lawman and Bronco with Ty Hardin. Prior to the beginning of production, Russell and Brown and producer Jules Schermer made a pact to maintain the quality of the series so that it would not be seen as "just another western." At the start of season two, Russell and Brown were joined by Peggie Castle as Lily Merrill, the owner of the Birdcage Saloon, and a love interest for Dan.
bee
Title: Lawman
Character: Deputy Clyde Wilson
Released: October 5, 1958
Type: TV
Lawman is an American western television series originally telecast on ABC from 1958 to 1962 starring John Russell as Marshal Dan Troop and featuring Peter Brown as Deputy Marshal Johnny McKay. The series was set in Laramie, Wyoming during 1879 and the 1880s. Warner Bros. already had several western series on the air at the time, having launched Cheyenne with Clint Walker as early as 1955. The studio continued the trend in 1957 with the additions of Maverick with James Garner and Jack Kelly, Colt .45 with Wayde Preston, and Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins. One year later, Warner Bros. added Lawman and Bronco with Ty Hardin. Prior to the beginning of production, Russell and Brown and producer Jules Schermer made a pact to maintain the quality of the series so that it would not be seen as "just another western." At the start of season two, Russell and Brown were joined by Peggie Castle as Lily Merrill, the owner of the Birdcage Saloon, and a love interest for Dan.
bee
Title: Yancy Derringer
Character: Ike Milton
Released: October 2, 1958
Type: TV
Yancy Derringer is an American Western series
bee
Title: The Rifleman
Released: September 30, 1958
Type: TV
The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black-and-white, half-hour episodes. "The Rifleman" aired on ABC from September 30, 1958 to April 8, 1963 as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first prime time series to have a widowed parent raise a child.
bee
Title: Bronco
Released: September 23, 1958
Type: TV
Bronco is a Western series on ABC from 1958 through 1962. It was shown by the BBC in the United Kingdom. The program starred Ty Hardin as Bronco Layne, a former Confederate officer who wandered the Old West, meeting such well-known individuals as Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Theodore Roosevelt, Belle Starr, Cole Younger, and John Wesley Hardin.
bee
Title: Wanted: Dead or Alive
Character: Jumbo Kane
Released: September 6, 1958
Type: TV
Wanted: Dead or Alive is an American Western television series starring Steve McQueen as the bounty hunter Josh Randall. It aired on CBS for three seasons from 1958–61. The black-and-white program was a spin-off of a March 1958 episode of Trackdown, a 1957–59 western series starring Robert Culp. Both series were produced by Four Star Television in association with CBS Television. The series launched McQueen into becoming the first television star to cross over into comparable status on the big screen.
bee
The Bravados
Title: The Bravados
Character: Alfonso Parral
Released: June 25, 1958
Type: Movie
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 escape, Jim tracks them into Mexico, determined to see that justice is done. But the farther Jim goes in his quest for vengeance, the more merciless he becomes, losing himself in an unrelenting spiral of hatred and violence.
bee
The Young Lions
Title: The Young Lions
Character: 1st Sgt. Rickett
Released: April 2, 1958
Type: Movie
The Young Lions follows the lives of three soldiers: one German and two Americans, paralleling their experiences in World War II until they meet up at the end for a confrontation
bee
Day of the Badman
Title: Day of the Badman
Character: Jake Hayes
Released: January 29, 1958
Type: Movie
Judge Jim Scott must contend with the vicious relatives of a murderer he's about to sentence...and his unfaithful fiancee.
bee
Raiders of Old California
Title: Raiders of Old California
Character: Damon Pardee
Released: November 1, 1957
Type: Movie
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.
bee
Gun Battle at Monterey
Title: Gun Battle at Monterey
Character: Kirby
Released: October 27, 1957
Type: Movie
An outlaw saved by a Mexican girl hunts the holdup partner who shot him in the back.
bee
Joe Dakota
Title: Joe Dakota
Character: Adam Grant
Released: October 27, 1957
Type: Movie
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 stranger's true identity.
bee
The Tin Star
Title: The Tin Star
Character: Ed McGaffey
Released: October 23, 1957
Type: Movie
An experienced bounty hunter helps a young sheriff learn the meaning of his badge.
bee
Title: Tombstone Territory
Character: Sam Carver
Released: October 16, 1957
Type: TV
Tombstone Territory is an American Western series starring Pat Conway and Richard Eastham. The series' first two seasons aired on ABC from 1957 to 1959. The third and final season aired in syndication from 1959 until 1960.
bee
Title: Zorro
Released: October 10, 1957
Type: TV
Diego de la Vega, the son of a wealthy landowner, returns from his studies in Spain and discovers that Los Angeles is under the command of Capitan Monastario, a cruel man who relishes in the misuse of his power for personal gain. Knowing that he cannot hope to single-handedly defeat Monastario and his troops, Diego resorts to subterfuge. He adopts the secret identity of Zorro, a sinister figure dressed in black, and rides to fight Monastario's injustice.
bee
Title: Casey Jones
Character: Mort Clio
Released: October 8, 1957
Type: TV
Television version of the classic train story of Casey Jones, the engineer of the steam-engine powered "Cannonball Express".
bee
Title: Trackdown
Character: Ben Fraser
Released: October 4, 1957
Type: TV
Trackdown is an American Western television series starring Robert Culp that aired on CBS between 1957 and 1959. More than seventy episodes of this series were produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television and filmed at the Desilu-Culver Studio. The series was itself a spin-off of Powell's anthology series, Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater.
bee
Title: Maverick
Released: September 22, 1957
Type: TV
Maverick is an American Western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, an adroitly articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother Bart, and from that point on, Garner and Kelly alternated leads from week to week, sometimes teaming up for the occasional two-brother episode. The Mavericks were poker players from Texas who traveled all over the American Old West and on Mississippi riverboats, constantly getting into and out of life-threatening trouble of one sort or another, usually involving money, women, or both. They would typically find themselves weighing a financial windfall against a moral dilemma. More often than not, their consciences trumped their wallets since both Mavericks were intensely ethical. When Garner left the series after the third season due to a legal dispute, Roger Moore was added to the cast as their cousin Beau Maverick. Robert Colbert appeared later in the fourth season as a third Maverick brother, Brent Maverick. No more than two of the series leads ever appeared together in the same episode, and usually only one.
bee
Title: Perry Mason
Character: Edward Doyle
Released: September 21, 1957
Type: TV
The cases of master criminal defense attorney Perry Mason and his staff who handled the most difficult of cases in the aid of the innocent.
bee
Title: Wagon Train
Character: Rufe Beal
Released: September 18, 1957
Type: TV
The series initially starred veteran movie supporting actor Ward Bond as the wagon master, later replaced upon his death by John McIntire, and Robert Horton as the scout, subsequently replaced by lookalike Robert Fuller a year after Horton had decided to leave the series. The series was inspired by the 1950 film Wagon Master directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond, and harkens back to the early widescreen wagon train epic The Big Trail starring John Wayne and featuring Bond in his first major screen appearance playing a supporting role. Horton's buckskin outfit as the scout in the first season of the television series resembles Wayne's, who also played the wagon train's scout in the earlier film.
bee
Title: Have Gun, Will Travel
Released: September 14, 1957
Type: TV
Have Gun – Will Travel is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was rated number three or number four in the Nielsen ratings every year of its first four seasons. It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted November 23, 1958. The television show is presently shown on the Encore-Western channel. Have Gun – Will Travel was created by Sam Rolfe and Herb Meadow and produced by Frank Pierson, Don Ingalls, Robert Sparks, and Julian Claman. There were 225 episodes of the TV series, 24 written by Gene Roddenberry. Other contributors included Bruce Geller, Harry Julian Fink, Don Brinkley and Irving Wallace. Andrew McLaglen directed 101 episodes and 19 were directed by series star Richard Boone.
bee
Title: Have Gun, Will Travel
Character: Corbin
Released: September 14, 1957
Type: TV
Have Gun – Will Travel is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from 1957 through 1963. It was rated number three or number four in the Nielsen ratings every year of its first four seasons. It was one of the few television shows to spawn a successful radio version. The radio series debuted November 23, 1958. The television show is presently shown on the Encore-Western channel. Have Gun – Will Travel was created by Sam Rolfe and Herb Meadow and produced by Frank Pierson, Don Ingalls, Robert Sparks, and Julian Claman. There were 225 episodes of the TV series, 24 written by Gene Roddenberry. Other contributors included Bruce Geller, Harry Julian Fink, Don Brinkley and Irving Wallace. Andrew McLaglen directed 101 episodes and 19 were directed by series star Richard Boone.
bee
The Quiet Gun
Title: The Quiet Gun
Character: Doug Sadler
Released: July 18, 1957
Type: Movie
A mild mannered sheriff must fight both a hired gun and local anti-Indian bigotry in a small frontier town.
bee
Last Stagecoach West
Title: Last Stagecoach West
Character: Steve Margolies
Released: July 16, 1957
Type: Movie
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. McCord loses the stagecoach line gambling with the new buyer, but has enough hidden money to buy a ranch and some cattle. To make more money, he starts a gang to rob the railroad, express offices and steal cattle. But the railroads send out special agent Cameron to end his reign of violence.
bee
Title: Richard Diamond, Private Detective
Character: Ed Murdock
Released: July 1, 1957
Type: TV
Richard Diamond, Private Detective is an American detective drama which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960.
bee
The Lonely Man
Title: The Lonely Man
Character: Faro
Released: June 21, 1957
Type: Movie
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 long-abandoned son Riley, now a young man who hates his father but has nowhere else to go. Hoping to settle down, Jacob finds no town will have him. They end at Monolith, the ranch of Jacob's former girlfriend Ada, to whom he had no intention of returning. A mustang hunt finds Riley himself attracted to the shapely Ada...and Jacob having trouble with his eyesight. And his visions of a quiet life are doomed by the re-appearance of enemies from his past...
bee
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Title: Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Character: Ed Bailey
Released: May 30, 1957
Type: Movie
Lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
bee
China Gate
Title: China Gate
Character: Maj. Cham
Released: May 22, 1957
Type: Movie
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.
bee
The Badge of Marshal Brennan
Title: The Badge of Marshal Brennan
Character: Shad Donaphin
Released: April 14, 1957
Type: Movie
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 on. At the next town, he is mistaken for the dead man, a legendary marshal named Brennan. The town sent for Marshal Brennan because they were facing a crisis that includes among other things an epidemic. The Stranger decides to stay as a way of hiding from the men chasing him. What he does not realize is that when he takes on the Badge of Marshal Brennan, he takes on the responsibilities of Marshal Brennan.
bee
Accused of Murder
Title: Accused of Murder
Character: Police Sgt. Emmett Lackey
Released: December 21, 1956
Type: Movie
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.
bee
Title: Wire Service
Character: Al Sanders
Released: October 4, 1956
Type: TV
Wire Service is an American drama series that aired on ABC as part of its 1956-57 season lineup.
bee
Title: State Trooper
Character: Frank Parnessa
Released: September 25, 1956
Type: TV
State Trooper is an American crime drama set in the 1950s American West, starring Rod Cameron as Rod Blake, an officer of the Nevada Department of Public Safety. The series aired 104 episodes in syndication from September 25, 1956, to June 25, 1959.
bee
Pardners
Title: Pardners
Character: Gus
Released: August 1, 1956
Type: Movie
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.,the son of his father's former partner. Wade overcomes Slim's initial reluctance to accept him by using his fortune to buy a prize cow and new car to help Slim in his job as foreman on the Kingsley family ranch, currently under siege by a gang of outlaws called "masked raiders." Wade generously tries to pay off the ranch's mortgage with $15,000 of his own money, but unfortunately neither "pardner" realizes that respected banker Dan Hollis, the son of their fathers' murderer, is the leader of the gang.
bee
It Conquered the World
Title: It Conquered the World
Character: Dr. Tom Anderson
Released: July 14, 1956
Type: Movie
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 try to intervene.
bee
Tribute to a Bad Man
Title: Tribute to a Bad Man
Character: Fat Jones
Released: March 30, 1956
Type: Movie
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 to Rodock's ways, although he takes an immediate shine to his Greek girl Jocasta.
bee
The Conqueror
Title: The Conqueror
Character: Chepei
Released: March 28, 1956
Type: Movie
Mongol chief Temujin battles against Tartar armies and for the love of the Tartar princess Bortai. Temujin becomes the emperor Genghis Khan.
bee
The Vanishing American
Title: The Vanishing American
Character: Jay Lord
Released: November 17, 1955
Type: Movie
A woman arrives in New Mexico to claim property she's inherited and receives an education in the greedy exploitation of the local Navajo.
bee
A Man Alone
Title: A Man Alone
Character: Clanton
Released: October 17, 1955
Type: Movie
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 horses to ride to town to report the massacre, but finds himself accused of it. He also finds himself accused of the murder of the local banker, and winds up hiding in the basement of a house where the local sheriff, who is very sick, lives with his daughter.
bee
Title: The Adventures of Champion
Character: Frank
Released: September 23, 1955
Type: TV
The Adventures of Champion follow a wild stallion named Champion, who remarkably becomes friends with a young boy named Ricky North.The show followed the boy and the horse as they went on crazy adventures in the Southern West during the late 1800s.
bee
Title: Cheyenne
Character: Braden
Released: September 20, 1955
Type: TV
Cheyenne is an American western television series of 108 black-and-white episodes broadcast on ABC from 1955 to 1963. The show was the first hour-long western, and in fact the first hour-long dramatic series of any kind, with continuing characters, to last more than one season. It was also the first series to be made by a major Hollywood film studio which did not derive from its established film properties, and the first of a long chain of Warner Brothers original series produced by William T. Orr.
bee
Title: Cheyenne
Character: Harry Bittercreek Bartender
Released: September 20, 1955
Type: TV
Cheyenne is an American western television series of 108 black-and-white episodes broadcast on ABC from 1955 to 1963. The show was the first hour-long western, and in fact the first hour-long dramatic series of any kind, with continuing characters, to last more than one season. It was also the first series to be made by a major Hollywood film studio which did not derive from its established film properties, and the first of a long chain of Warner Brothers original series produced by William T. Orr.
bee
Title: Gunsmoke
Character: John Hooker
Released: September 10, 1955
Type: TV
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
bee
Title: Gunsmoke
Character: Rad
Released: September 10, 1955
Type: TV
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
bee
Title: Gunsmoke
Character: Ike Jeffords
Released: September 10, 1955
Type: TV
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West. The central character is lawman Marshal Matt Dillon, played by William Conrad on radio and James Arness on television.
bee
The Naked Street
Title: The Naked Street
Character: Harry Goldish (uncredited)
Released: August 1, 1955
Type: Movie
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. But Regal’s meddling deeds soon backfire.
bee
The Road to Denver
Title: The Road to Denver
Character: Pecos Larry
Released: June 15, 1955
Type: Movie
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 finally gives up on his younger brother and heads for Colorado. He gets a job and all is well until his brother shows up and takes a job that puts them on opposite sides of the law.
bee
I Cover the Underworld
Title: I Cover the Underworld
Character: Flash Logan
Released: May 19, 1955
Type: Movie
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 student soon to be ordained as a priest. Aware that Gunner plans to resume his criminal career, John decides to stop him.
bee
Title: Buffalo Bill Jr.
Released: March 1, 1955
Type: TV
Buffalo Bill, Jr. is an American Western television series starring Dickie Jones that aired in syndication from March 1, 1955, until September 21, 1956.
bee
The Big Combo
Title: The Big Combo
Character: Fante
Released: February 13, 1955
Type: Movie
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.
bee
Ten Wanted Men
Title: Ten Wanted Men
Character: Al Drucker
Released: February 1, 1955
Type: Movie
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.
bee
Treasure of Ruby Hills
Title: Treasure of Ruby Hills
Character: Frank Emmett
Released: January 23, 1955
Type: Movie
Ranchers battle one another over water rights. Western.
bee
Title: Studio 57
Released: September 21, 1954
Type: TV
Studio 57 is an American anthology series that was broadcast on the now-defunct DuMont Television Network from September 1954 to September 1955, and in syndication from 1955 to 1956.
bee
Dawn at Socorro
Title: Dawn at Socorro
Character: Earl Ferris
Released: September 1, 1954
Type: Movie
Brett Wade, gambler, gunslinger, and classical pianist, is wounded in a gunfight with the Ferris clan; the doctor finds signs of tuberculosis. En route to Colorado for his health, Brett stops in Socorro, New Mexico along with Ferris gunfighter Jimmy Rapp. Sheriff Couthen fears another shootout, but what Brett has in mind is saving waif-with-a-past Rannah Hayes from a life as one of Dick Braden's saloon girls.
bee
Princess of the Nile
Title: Princess of the Nile
Character: Hakar (uncredited)
Released: July 1, 1954
Type: Movie
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. She practices her intrigues both at the court and, disguised as a dancing girl, in the market place.
bee
The Desperado
Title: The Desperado
Character: Paul Clayton/Buck Clayton
Released: June 20, 1954
Type: Movie
"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. But quick-draw, hard-bitten Garrett soon decides not to take his own advice after young Cameron heads home to surrender - and instead gets framed for a revenge murder by a jealous rival for the affections of his girl.
bee
The Yellow Tomahawk
Title: The Yellow Tomahawk
Character: Fire Knife
Released: May 1, 1954
Type: Movie
When the army insists on building a fort on Indian land, in defiance of a treaty, the warnings of a scout go unheeded.
bee
Arrow In The Dust
Title: Arrow In The Dust
Character: Tillotson Henchman
Released: April 25, 1954
Type: Movie
Director Lesley Selander's 1954 western stars Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Keith Larsen, Tom Tully, Lee Van Cleef and Jimmy Wakely.
bee
Rails Into Laramie
Title: Rails Into Laramie
Character: Ace Winton
Released: April 14, 1954
Type: Movie
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.
bee
Gypsy Colt
Title: Gypsy Colt
Character: Hank
Released: April 2, 1954
Type: Movie
In this trans-species remake of Lassie, Come Home, a faithful horse undertakes a perilous journey to return to the family it loves.
bee
Title: Stories of the Century
Character: Jesse James
Released: January 23, 1954
Type: TV
Stories of the Century is a 39-episode Western television series starring Jim Davis that ran in syndication through Republic Pictures between January 23, 1954, and March 11, 1955.
bee
Title: Annie Oakley
Character: Amos Belcher
Released: January 9, 1954
Type: TV
Annie Oakley was an American Western television series that fictionalized the life of famous sharpshooter Annie Oakley. It ran from January 1954 to February 1957 in syndication, for a total of 81 black and white episodes, each 25 minutes long. ABC showed reruns on Saturday and Sunday daytime from 1959 to 1960 and from 1964 to 1965.
bee
The Nebraskan
Title: The Nebraskan
Character: Pvt. Reno Benton
Released: December 2, 1953
Type: Movie
War looms on the horizon when an Army officer's American Indian aide is accused of murdering a tribal elder.
bee
Tumbleweed
Title: Tumbleweed
Character: Marv
Released: December 1, 1953
Type: Movie
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 chief, to call off the attack due to Harvey's having saved his son's life, leaves the train to negotiate. He is captured and the rest of the train is wiped out except for two sisters. Escaping and showing up in town later, Harvey is nearly hanged as a deserter, but gets away. Eventually caught by the sheriff and his posse, they are attacked by Indians. This time the Indians are defeated and Aguila, captured and dying, reveals the identity of the white man who engineered the initial attack on the wagon train, just as the perpetrator rides up behind them.
bee
Jack Slade
Title: Jack Slade
Character: Bolt Mackay
Released: November 8, 1953
Type: Movie
A young boy witnesses his father murdered by bandits and grows into adulthood vowing revenge.
bee
Title: City Detective
Released: September 7, 1953
Type: TV
Crime drama starring Rod Cameron as 43-year-old Bart Grant, a tough 1950s New York City police lieutenant.
bee
Vice Squad
Title: Vice Squad
Character: Pete Monty
Released: July 31, 1953
Type: Movie
A Los Angeles police captain (Edward G. Robinson) ties the case of a slain policeman to a bank robbery, all in a day.
bee
Arena
Title: Arena
Character: Smitty
Released: June 24, 1953
Type: Movie
Left by his wife, a vain rodeo star picks up a floozy and rides a bad Brahman bull.
bee
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
Title: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
Character: Corp. Stone
Released: June 13, 1953
Type: Movie
The controlled explosion of an atomic bomb in the Arctic Circle awakens a frozen dinosaur that will wreak havoc in New York City.
bee
White Lightning
Title: White Lightning
Character: Brutus Allen
Released: March 8, 1953
Type: Movie
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. When the team is joined by cocky Mike Connors, a boyhood friend of Jack's, they begin to regain their former winning ways.
bee
The Bandits of Corsica
Title: The Bandits of Corsica
Character: Nerva
Released: February 27, 1953
Type: Movie
Siamese twins separated at birth retain a psychic link; each feels the other's pain and happiness.
bee
Title: General Electric Theater
Character: Dave Rudabaugh
Released: February 1, 1953
Type: TV
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.
bee
The Lawless Breed
Title: The Lawless Breed
Character: Dirk Hanley
Released: December 28, 1952
Type: Movie
After being released from prison, ex-gunfighter John Wesley Hardin hopes to have his autobiography published in order to rehabilitate his tarnished reputation.
bee
Kansas City Confidential
Title: Kansas City Confidential
Character: Tony Romano
Released: November 11, 1952
Type: Movie
An ex-convict sets out to uncover who framed him for an armored car robbery.
bee
Title: The Ford Television Theatre
Released: October 2, 1952
Type: TV
This show started in New York City, with Broadway actors and actresses. It then moved to Hollywood, California, where Hollywood actors and actresses headed the cast.
bee
Title: The Ford Television Theatre
Character: Stanley Perrin
Released: October 2, 1952
Type: TV
This show started in New York City, with Broadway actors and actresses. It then moved to Hollywood, California, where Hollywood actors and actresses headed the cast.
bee
Title: Cavalcade of America
Character: 1st Mate Hawl Finch
Released: October 1, 1952
Type: TV
Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS, the series pioneered the use of anthology drama for company audio advertising. Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds. This was consistent with DuPont's overall conservative philosophy and legacy as an American company dating back to 1802. The company's motto, "Maker of better things for better living through chemistry," was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.
bee
Title: Cavalcade of America
Released: October 1, 1952
Type: TV
Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS, the series pioneered the use of anthology drama for company audio advertising. Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds. This was consistent with DuPont's overall conservative philosophy and legacy as an American company dating back to 1802. The company's motto, "Maker of better things for better living through chemistry," was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.
bee
Title: Four Star Playhouse
Character: Bob Wheeler aka Sonora Kid
Released: September 25, 1952
Type: TV
Four Star Playhouse is an American television anthology series that ran from 1952 to 1956, sponsored in its first bi-weekly season by The Singer Company; Bristol-Myers became an alternate sponsor when it became a weekly series in the fall of 1953. The original premise was that Charles Boyer, Ida Lupino, David Niven, and Dick Powell would take turns starring in episodes. However, several other performers took the lead from time to time, including Ronald Colman and Joan Fontaine. Blake Edwards was among the writers and directors who contributed to the series. Edwards created the recurring character of illegal gambling house operator Willie Dante for Dick Powell to play on this series. The character was later revamped and spun off in his own series starring Howard Duff, then-husband of Lupino. The pilot for Meet McGraw, starring Frank Lovejoy, aired here, as did another episode in which Lovejoy recreated his role of Chicago newspaper reporter Randy Stone, from the radio drama Nightbeat.
bee
Untamed Frontier
Title: Untamed Frontier
Character: Dave Chittun
Released: July 23, 1952
Type: Movie
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. But the woman favors the settlers...
bee
High Noon
Title: High Noon
Character: Jack Colby
Released: June 9, 1952
Type: Movie
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. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople.
bee
Title: Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Character: Sheriff
Released: October 5, 1951
Type: TV
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.
bee
Title: Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Character: Cowboy
Released: October 5, 1951
Type: TV
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.
bee
Title: Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Character: Larkin
Released: October 5, 1951
Type: TV
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.
bee
Title: Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Character: Dallas Clancy
Released: October 5, 1951
Type: TV
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.
bee
Title: Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Character: Wink
Released: October 5, 1951
Type: TV
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to Schlitz Playhouse, beginning with the fall 1957 season.
bee
Title: The Adventures of Boston Blackie
Released: September 8, 1951
Type: TV
bee
Title: The Adventures of Kit Carson
Released: August 11, 1951
Type: TV
The Adventures of Kit Carson is an American Western series that aired in syndication from August 1951 to November 1955, originally sponsored by Coca-Cola. It stars Bill Williams in the title role as frontier scout Christopher "Kit" Carson. Don Diamond co-starred as "El Toro", Carson's Mexican companion.
bee
Title: The Gene Autry Show
Character: Henchman Ray
Released: July 23, 1950
Type: TV
The Gene Autry Show is an American western/cowboy television series which aired for 91 episodes on CBS from July 23, 1950 until August 7, 1956, originally sponsored by Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum.
bee
Title: The Gene Autry Show
Character: Hod - Henchman
Released: July 23, 1950
Type: TV
The Gene Autry Show is an American western/cowboy television series which aired for 91 episodes on CBS from July 23, 1950 until August 7, 1956, originally sponsored by Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum.
bee
Title: The Lone Ranger
Character: Bull Harper
Released: September 15, 1949
Type: TV
The Lone Ranger is an American western television series that ran from 1949 to 1957, starring Clayton Moore with Jay Silverheels as Tonto. The live-action series initially featured Gerald Mohr as the episode narrator. Fred Foy served as both narrator and announcer of the radio series from 1948 to its finish and became announcer of the television version when story narration was dropped there. This was by far the highest-rated television program on the ABC network in the early 1950s and its first true "hit".
bee
Title: The Lone Ranger
Character: Jango
Released: September 15, 1949
Type: TV
The Lone Ranger is an American western television series that ran from 1949 to 1957, starring Clayton Moore with Jay Silverheels as Tonto. The live-action series initially featured Gerald Mohr as the episode narrator. Fred Foy served as both narrator and announcer of the radio series from 1948 to its finish and became announcer of the television version when story narration was dropped there. This was by far the highest-rated television program on the ABC network in the early 1950s and its first true "hit".