BY FRED BLOSSER
As
a new Arrow Films Blu-ray edition of his 1972 Italian Western “The Grand Duelâ€
reminds us, Lee Van Cleef was once a familiar screen presence. In the 1950s you could hardly watch TV or go
to the movies without seeing his hawkish face, usually peering out venomously
from under a stetson as a Western heavy. Following personal setbacks and changes in industry trends, Van Cleef’s
roles became fewer, slighter, and harder to land in the early 1960s. And then Sergio Leone came calling. Leone wanted to pair Clint Eastwood’s Man
with No Name with a second American actor in “For a Few Dollars More†as a
rival bounty hunter named Colonel Mortimer. Henry Fonda, Robert Ryan, and Lee Marvin all turned down the role. By default, Leone approached Van Cleef. It
was a providential choice for both men. “For a Few Dollars More†was a smash hit in Europe on its December 1965
release, and Italian producers quickly queued up to offer Van Cleef starring
roles in other Spaghetti Westerns while Leone brought him back for another
high-profile part as Angel Eyes, the “Bad†one in “The Good, the Bad, and the
Ugly.â€
After
the Leone films opened with stunning success in the U.S. in 1967 and the other
Spaghettis followed on the lucrative drive-in circuit a few months later, Van
Cleef was a highly bankable star and American producers made their own
overtures. For a time, Van Cleef pursued
a transatlantic career in Westerns, starring in further Italian pictures like
“Sabata†(1969) and “Return of Sabata†(1971) and international co-productions
like “Bad Man’s River†(1971) and “The Stranger and the Gunfighter†(1974),
while filming three American movies: “Barquero†(1970), “El Condor†(1971), and
“The Magnificent Seven Ride!†(1972). The American pictures were dull and talky, and even though they gave Van
Cleef star billing, shared with Jim Brown in “El Condor,†the roles were
lackluster. In “The Magnificent Seven
Ride!â€, he’s stuck with a bad toupee and looks so disinterested that you expect
him to fall off his horse from boredom any minute.
Ironically,
through big studio backing, the dismal American productions received healthy
advertising play, while “The Grand Duel†from the same period barely registered
in the U.S., although it was greatly superior. Directed by Giancarlo Santi and scripted by the prolific Ernesto
Gastaldi, it passed quickly through drive-ins and second-run theaters in 1974. Theoretically “The Grand Duel†wasn’t a bad
handle as a literal translation from the Italian title, “Il grande
duello.†The phrase suggests both the
battle of wills between the good guys and the bad guys that drives the plot.
and in a literal sense the shootout that decides the contest in the end. Still, the picture might have had more
attention here under a catchier, more clearly Western title. With the advent of VCRs a decade later, its
home-video visibility was a little more robust if comparably
underwhelming. The movie appeared on the
collectors‘ market and budget VHS shelves under several titles: “The Grand
Duel,†“The Big Showdown,†and “Storm Rider.â€
Santi
had worked as Leone’s assistant director on two films, and like most of Leone’s
other Italian successors and emulators, he had absorbed a lesson from “For a
Few Dollars More†that the American filmmakers apparently failed to
recognize. The ideal starring role for
Van Cleef was the “man in black†template embodied in Colonel Mortimer, that of
an aging, almost superhumanly proficient gunman, usually dressed in formal,
funereal attire. The character is
defined by steely authority, a mysterious history, an elusive sense of sadness,
and an air of menace. Circumstances
throw the character into partnership or rivalry with a younger, more impetuous
man who may become either his protege or his prey -- the outcome hangs in the
balance until the final reel. The
contrast with the headstrong, less seasoned younger partner underscores the
wisdom, experience, and patient cunning of the Van Cleef character.