Spaghetti
Western Director ~ Geoffrey H. Malins
Geoffrey
Herbert Malins was a British director, writer and cinematographer during the
silent film era. He was a cinematographer on two films in 1916, a writer on forty-one
films from 1918-1930 and mainly a director of fifty-four films between 1921 and
1930. The son of a hairdresser. Starting his career as a photographer, he
secured a position in 1910 with the Croydon-based Clarendon Film Company. Prior
to the outbreak of the First World War, Malins joined the British arm of
Gaumont. In the autumn of the 1914, the company sent him to Belgium to record
footage of the Belgian army in action.
1915
saw the release of a number of song films shot by Malins. These were silent
films based on well-known tunes such as” Abide with Me” and “On the Banks of
Allan Water”, designed to be shown with live singers providing a musical
accompaniment. Late the same year Malins received a War Office appointment to
act as an official cameraman. He was given an honorary rank and sent to the
front with an assistant.
The
pinnacle of the footage shot by Malins and his assistant John McDowell in 1916
is represented in the feature “The Battle of the Somme”. The huge success of
the film led to the release of “The Battle of the Ancre” and the “Advance of
the Tanks”, but Malins' work at the front was hampered by increasing ill
health. He was invalided out of the army in June 1918.
In
June 1918, Malins was awarded an OBE. The citation commended his work as
official photographer "in circumstances of great difficulty and
danger."
In
January 1919, Malins founded the Garrick Film Company. The company produced at
least three films, directed by Malins: “Patricia Brent, Spinster” (depicting a
German air attack on London and promoted as 'the air raid film'), “The Greater
Love” and “The Golden Web”. “The Golden Web” had a plot based around the
discovery of a gold mine, but the film failed, and the company went into
liquidation in August the following year. Malins made at least half a dozen
features and several more shorts with London-born actress Gladys Mary Peterkin
Mitchell (1892–1986; "Ena Beaumont"), a partner at Garrick to whom he
was briefly married.
Malins
married his first wife Caroline in 1909. The couple had two children, but by
1917, their marriage had broken down and they were divorced in 1920. In April
1923, Malins married Gladys Mary Peterkin Mitchell (actress Ena Beaumont). The
couple divorced in 1925. Thereafter, the latter became the wife of Malins'
former flight partner, Norman Macmillan. In June 1933, Malins married his third
wife Phyllis Ward, and they had one daughter.
Malins
died from bowel cancer in Cape Town, South Africa on 11 January 1940 at the age
of 54.
Geoffrey
H. Malins directed one silent European western, “Settled in Full” in 1920
MALINS,
Geoffrey H. (aka
Geoffrey H. Mallins) (Arthur Herbert
Malins) [11/18/1886, Castle,
Hastings, Sussex, England, U.K. – 2/11/1940, Cape Town, Cape Province, Union of
South Africa (bowel cancer)] – producer, director, writer, cinematographer,
film editor, actor, married to Caroline Elizabeth Saywell [1880-1947]
(1909-1923) father of Monica Malins [1910-19??], Patricia Malins [1914-19??],
married to actress Ena Beaumont (Gladys
Mary Peterkin Mitchell) [1892–1986]
(1923-1925), married to Phyllis Ward (1933-1940) father of June Malins
[1938- ].
Settled in Full – 1920
Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Giancarlo Ferrando
Giancarlo Ferrando was an Italian cinematographer, film
director and writer renowned for his extensive work in low-budget horror,
action, and adventure genres. Born in Rome on November 4, 1939, he contributed
as director of photography to over 120 films and television series throughout
his career, often collaborating on international co-productions. Ferrando's
notable credits include the cult horror film “Troll 2” (1990), the creature
feature “Devil Fish” (1984), and the post-apocalyptic “Warrior of the Lost
World” (1983), which highlighted his skill in creating atmospheric visuals on
limited resources. He also directed several features, such as “The Girl from
Cortina” (1994), blending elements of comedy and thriller.
Ferrando passed away in Rome on August 13, 2020, from
cancer at the age of 80, leaving a legacy in Italian genre cinema.
Giancarlo Ferrando co-wrote one Spaghetti western, “Lo
straniero di silenzio” (The Silent Stranger) with Vincenzo Cerami, Lloyd
Battista and Tony Anthony in 1968.
FERRANDO,
Giancarlo (aka Carlo Ferrando, Jean
Ferrant, John C. Fredericks, Charlie McFarrow, John McFerrand, Maurizio Vanni)
[11/4/1939, Rome, Lazio, Italy - 8/13/2020, Rome, Lazio,
Italy (cancer)] – producer, production
manager, director, writer, cinematographer, cameraman.
The Silent Stranger – 1968 (co)
Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Felipe Sacdalan
Felipe Sacdalan was a Filipino cinematographer and
cameraman. He worked on fourteen films as a cameraman from 1944 to 1997 and as
a cinematographer on forty-nine films from 1953 to 1979.
For thirty-four years, from 1946 to 1979, “Ka Ipe”, his
nickname in the industry, pushed the storytelling function of the camera.
Because he didn’t believe in flashy, attention-calling cinematography, Ka Ipe
worked on images that contributed to the overall film design. Compared to those
of other cameramen, his work was subtle, never intrusive, and hence, even more
powerful because it is wholly integrated with the story.
After retiring from the film industry in 1979 he ran a
camera rental company until his death on September 1, 2005 at the age of 89.
Felipe Sacdalan was a cinematographer on one Spaghetti
western, “I fratelli di Arizona” (The Arizona Kid) in 1971.
SACDALAN,
Felipe (aka Ka Ipe, Felipe J.
Sacdalan, Ipe Sacdalan, Philip Sacdalan) [4/30/1916, Calumpit, Bulacan,
Philippines – 9/1/2005, Philippines] – cinematographer, cameraman, SFX.
The Arizona Kid – 1971
