Spaghetti Western Director ~ Manuel Esteba
Manuel Esteba Gallego was a Spanish film director,
screenwriter, and producer renowned for his contributions to low-budget genre
cinema during the 1960s through 1980s.
Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain on April 17, 1941,
Esteba began his career in the early 1960s, initially working as a writer and
assistant director before transitioning to full directing roles. Over his
three-decade career, he helmed 14 feature films, frequently handling multiple
creative positions such as writer, producer, and editor, which was common in
Spain's independent film scene. His oeuvre primarily encompassed exploitation
genres, including horror, sex comedies, and parodies, reflecting the vibrant
yet commercially driven Spanish film industry during and after the Franco era.
Among his most recognized works is the 1983
science-fiction parody “El E.T.E. y el Oto”, a humorous take on Steven
Spielberg's blockbuster “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’, which Esteba wrote,
directed, and produced on a shoestring budget. Other notable films include the
erotic thriller “Trampa sexual” (1978), the horror entry “Bloody Sex” (1981),
and the Western spoof “Agáchate, que disparan” (1969), many of which featured
recurring collaborations with actors and crew in Barcelona's tight-knit
production circles. Esteba also ventured into television, contributing to the
1992 series ‘Un jardinero en tu casa’ as writer and director, marking a shift
toward lighter comedic fare later in his career.
Esteba's films, often produced under his own company
Manuel Esteba P.C., exemplified the resourceful, genre-blending style of
Spanish B-movies, prioritizing quick production and entertainment value over
high production values. He passed away in his hometown of Barcelona at age 68
on February 24, 2010, leaving a legacy of cult favorites that continue to
attract interest among fans of international exploitation cinema.
Manuel Esteba directed three Spaghetti westerns: “Veinte
pasos para le Muerte” (Twenty Paces to Death) with Manuel Esteba and José Ulloa
in 1969, “Una cuerda al amanecer” (A Cry of Death) and “Una cuerda al amanecer”
(The Federal Man) both in 1971,
ESTEBA, Manuel (aka M. Esteba
Gallego, Ted Mulligan) (Manuel Esteba Gallego) [4/17/1941, Barcelona, Catalonia,
Spain – 2/4/2010, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain] – producer, director, assistant
director, writer, film editor, founded Manuel Esteba P.C. Productions.
Twenty Paces to
Death – 1969 (co) [as Ted Mulligan]
A Cry of Death –
1971
The Federal Man –
1971
Spaghetti Western
Screenwriter ~ Tito Carpi
Tito Carpi was an
Italian screenwriter known for his prolific contributions to Italian genre
cinema, particularly in action, post-apocalyptic, adventure, and exploitation
films during the 1970s and 1980s. Born on July 10, 1931, in Como, Lombardy
Italy, he began his career in the late 1960s with Spaghetti westerns and war
films before becoming a key figure in the Italian B-movie scene, often
collaborating with directors such as Enzo G. Castellari and Antonio Margheriti.
He frequently wrote under pseudonyms including Titus Carpenter and Robert Gold,
and his scripts helped define the era's low-budget action and sci-fi hybrids,
including sea monster thrillers, dystopian adventures, and fantasy epics.
Carpi's notable
credits include “Tentacles” (1977), “Warriors of the Wasteland” (also known as “The
New Barbarians”, 1983), “Escape from the Bronx” (1983), “Tuareg: The Desert
Warrior” (1984), “Light Blast” (1985), and “Sinbad of the Seven Seas” (1989).
His work spanned multiple subgenres, from early westerns and commando stories
to the post-apocalyptic wave of the early 1980s and later fantasy projects,
reflecting the commercial trends of Italian popular cinema at the time.
Tito died on May 21,
1997, at the age of 65.
Tito Carpi wrote and
co-wrote screenplays for twenty-seven: “I magnifici brutos del West” (The
Magnificent Brutes of the West ) with Fred Wilson in 1964, “Per mille dollari
al giorno” (Renegade Gunfighter) with Silvio Amadio, Luciano Gregorett in 1965,
“Django spara per primo” (Django Shoots First) with Massimo Capriccoli, Sandro,
Continenza, Alberto DeMartino, Vincenc Flamini and Giovanni Simonelli, “Pochi
dollari per Django” (A Few Dollars for Django) with Manuel Sebares both in
1966, “Vado…l’ammazzo e torno” (Any Gun Can Play) with Giovanni Simonelli and Enzo
Castellari, “Il momento di uccidere” (The Moment to Kill) with Bruno Leder and
Francesco Scardamaglia, “7 Winchester per un massacre” (Payment in Blood) with Enzo
Castellari, “Ric & Gian alla conquista del West” (Rick & John
Conquerors of the West) with Osvaldo Civirani, and Alessandro Ferraù, “La
vendetta è il mio perdono” (Shotgun) with Francesco Degli Espinos, Roberto
Natale and Luciana Ribet and “Il figlio di Django” (Son of Django) with Alessandro
Ferraù and Osvaldo Civirani all in 1967, “Anche nel West c’era una volta Dio” (Between
God, the Devil and a Winchester) with Manuel Martínez Remís, Amedeo Sollazzo
and Marino Girolami, T’ammazzo…raccomandati a Dio” (Dead for a Dollar) with Osvaldo
Civirani and Luciano Gregoretti, “Ammazzali tutti e torna solo” (Kill Them All
and Come Back Alone) with Enzo G. Castellari, Joaquín Romero Marchent and
Francesco Scardamaglia, “Il suo nome gridava vendetta” (The Man Who Cried for
Revenge) with Mario Caiano and “La salvaje venganza del Gringo” (One by One)
with Eduardo M. Brochero, Odoardo Fiory and Marino Girolami all in 1968,
Sono
Sartana, il vostro becchino” (Sartana the Gravedigger) with Enzo dell’Aquila in
1969, “C’e Sartana... vendi la pistola e comprati la barer!” (Fistful of Lead),
“Una novola di polvere... un grido di morte... arriva Sartana” (Gunman in Town)
with Eduardo M. Brochero and Ernesto Gastaldi, “Reverendo Colt” (Reverend Colt)
with Manuel Martínez Remís and “Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino” (Sartana the
Gravedigger) with Enzo dell’Aquila all in 1970, “Uomo avvisato mezzo
ammazzato…parola di Spirito Santo” (Blazing Guns) with Federico De Urrutia and Giuliano
Carnimeo, “Testa t’ammazzo, croce... sei morto... Mi chimavano Alleluja” (Guns
for Dollars) with Giuliano Carnimeo both in 1971, “Il West ti va stretto,
amico... è arrivato Alleluja” (The Return of Hallelujah) with Ingo Hermes and
Giovanni Simonelli, “Te Deum” (Sting of the West) with Gianni Simonelli, Enzo
Girolami and José G. Maesso both in 1972, “Lo chiamavano Tresette… giocava
sempre col morto” (The Man Called Invincible), “Tutti per uno... botte per
tutti” (The Three Musketeers of the West) with Bruno Corbucci), Leonardo Martin and Peter Berling both in
1973, “Di Tressette ce n’è uno, tutti gli altri son nessuno” (The Crazy Bunch)
in 1974 and “Buck ai confini del cielo” with Sheila Goldberg and Tonino Ricci.
CARPI, Tito (aka Tom Carp,
Titus Carpenter, T. Carpi, Robert Gold, Mathias MacDonald) (Fiorenzo
Carpi de Resmini Fabrizio) [7/10/1931, Como, Lombardy, Italy –
5/21/1997, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – writer, composer, brother of writer Fabio
Carpi [1925-2018], married to ? father of Simone Carpi [1972- ]
The Magnificent
Brutes of the West – 1964 (co) [as Mathias MacDonald]
Renegade Gunfighter
– 1965 (co)
Django Shoots First
– 1966 (co)
A Few Dollars for
Django – 1966 (co)
Any Gun Can Play –
1967 (co)
The Moment to Kill –
1967 (co)
Payment in Blood –
1967 (co)
Rick & John
Conquerors of the West – 1967 (co)
Shotgun – 1967 (co)
The Son of Django –
1967 (co)
Between God, the
Devil and a Winchester – 1968 (co)
Dead for a Dollar –
1968 (co)
Kill Them All and
Come Back Alone – 1968 (co)
The Man Who Cried
for Revenge – 1968 (co)
One by One – 1968
(co)
Sartana the
Gravedigger – 1969 (co)
Fistful of Lead –
1970
Gunman in Town –
1970 (co)
Reverend Colt – 1970
(co)
Blazing Guns – 1971
(co)
Guns for Dollars –
1971 (co)
The Return of
Hallelujah – 1972 (co)
Sting of the West –
1972 (co)
The Man Called
Invincible – 1973
The Three Musketeers
of the West – 1973 (co)
The Crazy Bunch –
1974
Buck at the Edge of
Heaven – 1991 (co)
Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Çetin Gürtop
Çetin Gürtop was a Turkish cinematographer known for his
prolific career in Yeşilçam, the golden age of Turkish popular cinema, where he
served as director of photography on hundreds of films across multiple decades.
Born in Istanbul in 1936, Gürtop entered the film
industry in the 1950s as a camera assistant before establishing himself as one
of the most productive cinematographers in Turkish cinema history, contributing
to over 200 feature films in genres ranging from action and comedy to adventure
and cult science fiction. His notable works include “Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam”
(1982), known internationally as “The Man Who Saved the World”, along with
“Davarо” (1981), “Zübük” (1980), “Gırgıriye” (1981), and entries in popular
series such as Kara Murat and Süpermenler. He remained active until the early
1990s and died in Istanbul on January 4, 2009 at the age of 72.
Çetin Gürtop was a cinematographer on one Spaghetti
western, “Küçük Kovboy” (Cowboy Kid) in 1972
GURTOP, Çetin (Çetin Gürtop) [1936, Istanbul, Turkey – 1/4/2009,
Istanbul, Turkey] – cinematographer, cameraman, film editor, married to Betül
Gürtop (1964-2009), father of director Hakan Gürtop (1964).
Cowboy Kid – 1972
