From the WAI! vault

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western actors ~ Kitty Dewall

[These daily posts will cover little known actors or people that have appeared in more recent films and TV series. Various degrees of information that I was able to find will be given and anything that you can add would be appreciated.]

Kitty Dewall was born on April 2, 1896 in Berlin, Germany. The daughter of the carpenter Julius Darqueville and his wife Bertha, née Winnat, played leading and supporting roles in productions by Gustav Trautschold, Harry Piel, Viggo Larsen, Paul Leni and other directors between 1912 and 1919. Most of them were comedies, crime films or adventure films. She appeared in eleven films between 1912 and 1919.

In 1918 she married the doctor Franz Calmsohn, but the marriage was divorced in 1919. In 1935, she resumed using her birth name.

Kitty Dewall died on August 18, 1955 in Berlin at the age of 61.

Kitty's only Euro-western appearance was in “Frank Hansens Glück” (Frank Hansen’s Fortune) in 1917

DEWALL, Kitty (Katharina Wanda Dasqueville) [4/2/1894, Berlin, Germany - 8/18/1955, Charlottenburg, Berlin, Germany] – singer, film actress.

Frank Hansen’s Fortune – 1917

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Don Chaffey

Don Chaffey was a British film and television director renowned for his contributions to fantasy cinema and family-oriented productions, including the mythological epic “Jason and the Argonauts” (1963) and the prehistoric adventure “One Million Years B.C.” (1966), as well as several live-action Disney features such as “Pete's Dragon” (1977).

Born in Hastings, England on August 5, 1917, Chaffey began his career in the film industry during World War II, joining the art department at Gainsborough Pictures in 1944 as an assistant before advancing to art director by 1946.[4] His directorial debut came in 1950 with the children's short documentary “The Mysterious Poacher”, which earned honors at the Venice Film Festival. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he directed a range of British features, including war dramas like “Danger Within” (1959) and comedies, while gaining prominence in the fantasy genre through collaborations with stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen on films such as “Jason and the Argonauts”, featuring groundbreaking special effects, and “One Million Years B.C.”, which marked Raquel Welch's breakout role.

In the 1970s, Chaffey transitioned more extensively to Disney, helming family films like “The Three Lives of Thomasina” (1963), “Ride a Wild Pony” (1971), “The Magic of Lassie” (1978), and the musical fantasy “Pete's Dragon”, which blended live-action with animation and earned two Academy Award nominations. Paralleling his film work, Chaffey directed numerous television episodes and movies from the 1960s onward, contributing to popular series such as ‘Mission: Impossible’, ‘Charlie's Angels’, ‘Fantasy Island’, ‘T.J. Hooker’, and ‘Hotel’, as well as telefilms like ‘Gift of the Magi’ (1978) and a Lassie special.

Chaffey relocated to the United States in the later stages of his career but spent his final years in New Zealand, where he died at age 73 in his sleep at his home on Kawau Island on November 13, 1990, likely from heart disease; he was survived by his wife, actress Paula Kelly, a daughter, and one grandchild. His body of work, spanning over four decades, emphasized imaginative storytelling and visual effects, cementing his legacy in both British and international cinema.

Don Chaffey directed one Spaghetti western. “Charlie-One-Eye” in 1972.

CHAFFEY, Don (aka Ronald Chaffey) (Donald George Chaffey) [8/5/1917, Hastings, East Sussex, England, U.K. – 11/13/1990, Kawau Island, New Zealand (heart disease)] – producer, director, writer, married to Edna Judd [1917-1981] (1941-1981), father of producer Nicolette Chaffey-Murray [1948-    ], married to actress Paula Kelly (Paula Alma Kelly) [1942-2020] (1985-1990).

Charlie-One-Eye – 1972 

 

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Valeria Bonamano

Valeria Bonamano is/was an Italian actress who appeared in one film “Perdonami” in 1953. She then turned her attention to writing stories and screenplays from 1965 to 1972.

I can find no biographical information about her.

Valeria co-wrote the screenplay for “Die schwarzen Adler von Santa Fe” (Black Eagle of Santa Fe) with Jack Lewis in 1965.

BONAMANO, Valeria – writer, actress.

Black Eagle of Santa Fe – 1965 (co)

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Aldo De Robertis

Aldo De Robertis was an Italian cinematographer on fifteen films from 1961-1977, a cameraman on six films from 1959 to 1969 and a worked on special effects on one film “Sodom and Gomorrah” in 1962.

I can find no biographical information on him.

Aldo was the cinematographer on one Spaghetti western, “Tutti fratelli nel west… per parte di padre” (Where the Bullets Fly) in 1972

De ROBERTIS, Aldo (aka Aldo de Robertis) [Italian] – cinematographer, cameraman, SFX.

Where the Bullets Fly - 1972

AN INDIAN IDYL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1912, France

Aka… Le Collier de Noana / ‘Noana's Necklace’ / ‘The Noana Necklace’ (Fr)

Ex… An Indian Idyl (US), Noana's Necklace

Die Junge Indianerin / ‘The Young Indian Girl’ / ‘The Young Native American Girl’ (Ger)

T: 270mt (Ger)

Dist: Société Pathé Frères [Charles Pathé]; Pc: Compagnie Générale des Établissements Pathé Frères [Charles Pathé] (Par), Pathé, (06/22/12, US), Pathé (06/18/13, Leipzig; Astoria-Lichtspielhaus, Ger),   

P: Charles Pathé & Émile Pathé, Jacques Pathé & Théophile Pathé

Visa: Berlin: Jugendverbot (No. 13.22), München: Jugendverbot (No. 8297), München: Verbot (No. 8598) and Lehrer, Hamburg (No. 3460)

Syn: A beautiful picture of Indian life, which, though not stirring in its theme, contains many interesting scenes and some fast riding. The story is woven about a love affair that springs up between the daughter of the Sioux Chief and a brave from the Crow tribe.

Comm: [Filmed in the USA [?]] Probably filmed in the USA.

Submitted by Michael Ferguson

We continue our search for Spaghetti western locations for “I Want Him Dead”.

We continue our search for Spaghetti western locations for “I Want Him Dead”. As Mallek and Jack Blood’s henchmen wait for Jack to arrive the scene returns to the fight between Clayton and Blood and the peace treaty location. The fight continues until Jack pulls a knife. The scene switches back and forth between the fight and the looks on the henchmen waiting for Blood’s arrival. Clayton forces Jack’s knife into Jack and he dies. Clayton then walks away.

 This fight scene was filmed in Rambla Alfara, Tabernas, Spain.

For a more detailed view of this site and other Spaghetti Western locations please visit my friend Yoshi Yasuda’s location site: http://y-yasuda.net/film-location.htm and Captain Douglas Film Locations http://www.western-locations-spain.com/

Special Birthdays

Dirk Bogarde (actor) would have been 105 today but died in 1999.

 

 

 

 

 

Stelio Candelli (actor) would have been 95 today but died in 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Hladik [voice actor] is 85 today.