Spaghetti Western
Director ~ Sergio Martino
Sergio Martino is an
Italian film director and producer born in Rome on July 19, 1938 and renowned
for his prolific output in the giallo genre and other exploitation cinema
during the 1970s and 1980s, blending suspense, horror, and erotic elements in
over 60 feature films.
The grandson of
pioneering silent film director Gennaro Righelli and brother to producer
Luciano Martino, Sergio entered the industry in his early twenties, initially
assisting on his brother's productions at companies like Devon Film and later
Dania Cinematografica.3 He began as a screenwriter and assistant director
before helming his debut features in the late 1960s, including Mondo-style
documentaries, and quickly transitioned to narrative filmmaking across diverse
genres such as spaghetti Westerns, sex comedies, crime thrillers, cannibal
horror, and post-apocalyptic sci-fi.
His career exemplifies the fast-paced Italian
filone system, where he balanced commercial demands with stylistic innovation,
often collaborating with actors like Edwige Fenech, George Hilton, and Claudio
Cassinelli.
Martino's most
influential works are his giallo films from 1971 to 1973, which explore themes
of psychological fragility, voyeurism, and murder mysteries, influencing later
slasher subgenres. Key titles include “The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh” (1971),
a tale of infidelity and anonymous threats starring Edwige Fenech; “The Case of
the Scorpion's Tail” (1971), a globe-trotting thriller with exotic locales; “All
the Colors of the Dark” (1972), delving into Satanic cults and trauma; “Your
Vice Is a Locked Room” and “Only I Have the Key” (1972), a Poe-inspired
locked-room puzzle; and Torso (1973), a proto-slasher set in Perugia with
graphic violence.
Beyond giallo, he directed sci-fi adventures
like 2019: “After the Fall of New York” (1983) and “Hands of Steel” (1986), the
latter featuring cybernetic enhancements and arm-wrestling action, as well as
horror entries such as “The Mountain of the Cannibal God” (1978) and “The Great
Alligator” (1979).
In recognition of his contributions to genre
cinema, Martino received the Silver Urania Award in 2017 and continues to be
celebrated at film festivals.
Sergio Martino
directed two Spaghetti westerns: “Arizona Vuelve” (Arizona Returns) in 1970 and
“Mannaja” (A Man Called Blade) in 1977.
MARTINO, Sergio (aka Julian Barry,
Martin Dolman, John Hamilton, Serge Martin, Christian Plummer, George Raminto)
[7/19/1938, Rome, Lazio, Italy - ] –
producer, production manager, director, assistant director, writer, cinematographer,
cameraman, actor, grandson of producer, director, writer, film editor, actor
Gennaro Righelli (Gennari Salvatore
Righelli) [1886-1949] actress Maria
Jacobini Righelli [1892-1944], brother of
brother producer, production manager, director, assistant director,
writer, actor Luciano Martino [1933-2013], cousin of director, writer, film editor
Michele Massimo Tarantini [1942-2026],
married to ? father of director Federica Martino.
Arizona Returns –
1970 [as John Hamilton]
A Man Called Blade -
1977
Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Ettore Fizzarotti
Ettore Maria Fizzarotti was an Italian film director and
screenwriter born in Naples on January 3, 1916, the son of director Armando
Fizzarotti. He began his career as an assistant director before becoming known
for his contributions to the musicarello genre, blending musical performances
with lighthearted comedy in popular Italian films of the 1960s and early 1970s.
His films frequently featured prominent pop singers of the era, particularly
Gianni Morandi, and achieved notable commercial success during the heyday of
youth-oriented musical comedies in Italy.
Over a career that spanned approximately a decade of
active directing (1964–1973), Fizzarotti helmed about 15 films, with standout
titles including “In ginocchio da te” (1964), “Non son degno di te” (1965), “Se
non avessi più te” (1965), and “Nessuno mi può giudicare” (1966), all of which
highlighted romantic and comedic storylines set against musical backdrops. He
also ventured into other genres, directing comedies and adventure stories such
as “Il suo nome è Donna Rosa” (1969), “Vendo cara la pelle” (1968), and “Venga
a fare il soldato da noi” (1971), showcasing his versatility within the
commercial Italian cinema landscape of the time.
Ettore Fizzarotti co-wrote on Spaghetti western, “Vendo
cara la pelle” (I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly) with Giovanni Simonelli in 1967.
FIZZAROTTI, Ettore (aka Mike
Fitzgerald, Ettore Fizzarotti, Ettore M. Fizzarotti) (Ettore Maria Fizzarotti)
[1/3/1916, Naples, Campania, Italy – 9/10/1985, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – director,
assistant director, writer, son of director Armando Fizzarotti [1892-1966].
I’ll Sell My Skin
Dearly – 1967 (co)
Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Romano Scavolini
Romano Scavolini was born on June 18, 1940 in Fiume,
Italy. He is an Italian film director, screenwriter, producer, and
cinematographer renowned for his work in horror, cult, and independent cinema,
particularly the commercially successful 1981 slasher film “Nightmare”, which
grossed over $10 million domestically and became a worldwide cult classic.
Self-taught and recognized as an "enfant
terrible" of Italian cinema, Scavolini has directed twelve feature
films—six of which he self-produced—along with over fifty shorts and
documentaries, blending poetic drama with explorations of violence, politics,
and human psychology.
Scavolini left for Germany at age 18, where he created
his debut film “The Ravaged One” (1958), which he wrote, directed, starred in,
and produced, earning acclaim from Rome's Center of Cinematography.
His early career included award-winning works like the
political essay “The Quiet Fever” (1964), which addressed human violence and
secured international prizes, and the controversial “Blind Fly” (1966), a stark
analysis of aimless aggression that toured major festivals and solidified his
cult status. From 1964 to 1966, he freelanced for Italy's RAI Television,
directing ten shorts and specials, before producing documentaries on
anthropology and medicine in the late 1960s.
In the 1970s, Scavolini founded his production company
Lido Cinematografica and directed films such as the psychodrama “Spirits of
Death” (1972), the Mafia-inspired “Your Honor” (1973), and the children's
adaptation “Heart” (1973), drawn from Edmondo De Amicis's novel Cuore.
After covering the Vietnam War as a freelance photographer and traveling
extensively in the Americas as a journalist, he relocated to the United States
in 1976, where he lectured on film techniques at New York and Columbia
Universities. There, he helmed American productions including “The Savage Hunt”
(1980), the gore-filled Nightmare, featuring effects by Tom Savini and praised
for its terror akin to “Friday the 13th” and “Texas Chain Saw
Massacre”, and the Vietnam War drama “Dog Tags” (1990), shot in Panavision with
a premiere at the Singapore International Film Festival
Romano Scavolini was a cinematographer on one Spaghetti
western, “Posate le pistole reverend” (Pistol Packin’ Preacher) in 1971.
SCAVOLINI, Romano [6/18/1940, Fiume, Italy - ] –
producer, director, writer, cinematographer, cameraman, brother of director,
assistant director, writer Sauro Scavolini [1934-2022], married to ? father of
actress, writer Amavy Scavolini [1986-
], founded his Lido Cinematografica Productions [1971]
Pistol Packin’
Preacher – 1971
