The Plymouth pipe used by Lee Van Cleef in "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" as "Angel Eyes"

[Infantry23]

It's so cool getting to see these pipes used by Lee Van Cleaf during these iconic roles. Thanks for sharing this with us!

 

[agnosticpipe]

It was Lees personal pipe that he brought on set and used in the film. In all his films he used ones from his personal collection.

I had no idea that they were Lees personal pipes that were used. That is so cool! Thanks again.

 

[xrundog]

The La Montagnardes are tough. I saw one movie where he was smoking one with a horn stem. Which is a feature of those pipes. But the other day I googled Lee Van Cleef pipe smoking and saw a pic of him smoking one with an acrylic stem. He may have replaced the stem. Or he may have had a Butz Choquin version in acrylic. There’s different possibilities.

 

[Joe H]

As a kid I watched these films with my dad and except for the "hunchback" match scene, I hardly remember any smoking except Clint Eastwood's cigarillos. Many thanks for sharing this fascinating bit of movie & pipe smoking inside information here. I'll certainly be rewatching one of these old movies this weekend.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

He used the same Ropp La Montagnarde in both "Death Rides a Horse" and "The Magnificent Seven Ride!"

Unlike the other film pipes I have, I have not been able to definitively match it to the screen.

Interestingly enough, it is the only one the family had. It does appear that some components have been restored/replaced, but I would imagine it happened during Lees lifetime. The wooden piece in the center is broken on it currently, I think that had happened one time before too, leading for a replacement stem. The bowl itself where it connects to that wooden piece looks like it had work done too.

I can make a post about it.

I have a great fondness for Death Rides a Horse. I saw the original theatrical release in the late ’60s—my godmother saw the film with us at the Alpine Theater in Brooklyn, New York, shortly before she took her own life. When Meceita shot Paco in the forehead, I was doubled over in my seat, laughing hysterically; I was about five years old and howling with delight—I had never seen anything like it before.

As a Ropp collector, it thrills me that you probably have the pipe that was in this film. If Lee Van Cleef used his own pipes in his films, it seems quite possible, even likely, that your Ropp La Montagnarde was the pipe in the film.

Here is a Ropp La Montagnarde from my collection that might help you determine what was replaced on your pipe. Note the bone tenon and horn stem.

 

[Brendan]

I have smoked one bowl of "Philosopher" by Tinder Box, one of his favorites, out of one of his straight stemmed meerschaums from his personal collection before though, just to see what it would have been like.

From, I'm guessing a non-smoker (or near non-smoker?), how did you find the taste of Latakia?

Unless this wasn't your first bowl of course.

 

[Brendan]

Shit. Above is an honest question to Sean if anybody thinks I was still being sarcastic to a supposed catfisher.

Took me a bit longer than the rest of you guys to realise he is not a scammer pretending to be Sean, and apologies to the rest of the forum for fucking up the other threads.

Also, I did not own Jon Voight the actors car like I previously mentioned. It was John Voight, Periodontist, from NYC - honest.

 

[khiddy]

I believe Leone embraced him with using his pipes during filming. Since he was an avid smoker, the pipe added character and also, there probably wasn't a need for smoke breaks lol.

I wish I had a job where I could not only smoke on the clock, but actually have it be an essential part of my assigned duties.

 

[Briarcutter]

I wish I had a job where I could not only smoke on the clock, but actually have it be an essential part of my assigned duties.

That's simple enough to resolve, just start making pipes for a living

 

[anotherbob]

Shit. Above is an honest question to Sean if anybody thinks I was still being sarcastic to a supposed catfisher.

Took me a bit longer than the rest of you guys to realise he is not a scammer pretending to be Sean, and apologies to the rest of the forum for fucking up the other threads.

Also, I did not own Jon Voight the actors car like I previously mentioned. It was John Voight, Periodontist, from NYC - honest.

how much easier things would be if people would just admit to their mistakes. So thanks for doing that.

 

[SeanM456]

From, I'm guessing a non-smoker (or near non-smoker?), how did you find the taste of Latakia?

Unless this wasn't your first bowl of course.

I would say I'm a non-smoker myself.

I could see how people could enjoy the experience, I did enjoy the flavor and the smell, but me being someone so fearful of the potential health risks, it wouldn't be something I'd do more then once. I'm sure many would feel a thrill to smoke out of any of Lee's pipes, since it's clear he has had such a following in this community, so I couldn't help myself.

 

[SeanM456]

I was watching "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" in 4k UHD tonight again to see if I can get a better match to wood grain or markings.

Please keep in mind it's very difficult to match the lighting, the exact angle it's being held at, etc., but I would say it's a 100% match in this with that light spot in the wood grain, as well as the marking on the metal.

 

[anotherbob]

Dang man if you were scamming you'd deserve to get away with it, just for the amount of work it would take to find a pipe with the same grain. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack and someone with the same finger prints as someone else.

 

[SeanM456]

Dang man if you were scamming you'd deserve to get away with it, just for the amount of work it would take to find a pipe with the same grain. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack and someone with the same finger prints as someone else.

Yeah, I mean, when I got the pipes from the family I had zero reason to doubt them, but it's always nice to screen match. It's really the best way to ensure authenticity, but sometimes, especially in black and white films and lower resolution films, it's impossible.

This latest match is certainly conclusive!

 

[anotherbob]

Yeah, I mean, when I got the pipes from the family I had zero reason to doubt them, but it's always nice to screen match. It's really the best way to ensure authenticity, but sometimes, especially in black and white films and lower resolution films, it's impossible.

This latest match is certainly conclusive!

It would be so much work to fake that. When all you need for a scam is to find someone gullible and you get the same return. I can't fathom how anyone doubts the authenticity of this. It's just too much work when lying on e-bay works and only needs one sucker. But I guess thinking things out is hard.
It's pretty cool to even know these pipes exist and were not thrown out or broken over the years. So thanks again.