Spaghetti Western Director ~ Sidney Lean
Giovanni Fago is an Italian film director and
screenwriter, best known for his contributions to the Spaghetti Western genre
and other action-oriented Italian cinema of the 1960s and 1970s.
Born in Rome on April 25, 1933, Fago entered the film
industry in 1959 as a second assistant director on Vittorio De Sica's acclaimed
drama Two Women, marking the start of his behind-the-scenes work. He progressed
to assistant director roles on notable projects, including Riccardo Freda's
horror film “The Horrible Dr. Hichcock” (1962) and Lucio Fulci's Western “Massacre
Time” (1966), gaining experience in diverse genres before transitioning to
directing.
Fago made his directorial debut with the Spaghetti
Western “Vengeance Is Mine” (also known as $100,000 for a Killing, 1967),
followed by “To Hell and Back” (also known as Full House for the Devil, 1968)
and “Viva Cangaceiro” (also known as The Magnificent Bandits, 1969), for which
he also provided the story. Among his most recognized works are the crime
thriller “Kidnap” (1974, also titled Fatevi vivi, la polizia non interverrà).
He frequently collaborated as a screenwriter, contributing stories and
screenplays to films like “Stateline Motel” (1973) and the miniseries ‘Life Is
Beautiful’ (1979).
In addition to feature films, Fago directed television
productions, including the series ‘T.I.R.’ (1987), ‘Black Sequence’ (1989), and
the historical miniseries ‘Don Luigi Sturzo’ (1981). Later in his career, he
wrote the screenplay for “Mai con le donne” (1985) and contributed to the drama
“Sulla spiaggia e di là dal molo” (2000). Throughout his body of work, Fago
exemplified the versatile storytelling of Italian genre cinema, blending
elements of Westerns, thrillers, and social dramas.
Giovanni Fago as Sidney Lean directed two Spaghetti
westerns: “Uno di più all'inferno” (Full House for the Devil” and “Per 100.000
dollari ti ammazzo” (Vengeance is Mine) both in 1968.
LEAN, Sidney (John Farquhar,
Sidney Lean) (Giovanni Fago) [4/25/1933, Rome, Lazio, Italy
- ] - director, assistant director,
writer.
Full House for the
Devil – 1968
Vengeance is Mine –
1968
Spaghetti Western
Screenwriter ~ Gilles Maurice Dumoulin
Gilles Maurice
Dumoulin was a French writer of science fiction and detective novels. Known by
a number of pseudonyms including G. Morris, he was also a prolific translator
from English to French (translating Bill S. Ballinger, Leslie Charteris, Peter
Rabe and Mickey Spillane, among others). He also translated the novel The
Boyfriend by R. Raj Rao. He has also participated in the dialogues or scripts
of several film productions.
Launched very early
on the job market following the death of his father, at the age of 15 he worked
as a biller and executive secretary for an importer of raw cotton. At the same
time, in Le Havre, his hometown, he cultivated the songs of Charles Trenet and
the Assimil methods. Then he "went to Paris" where he sang his own
songs in various establishments and founded an association of young amateur
actors called "La route monte", which performed three plays in
suburban theatres, two of which bore his signature. At the end of the war, he
spent a few months as an interpreter at the Philip Morris camp in Le Havre.
Gilles died in Paris
on June 10, 2016 at the age of 92.
Guilles Morris
Dumoulin co-wrote the screenplay for one Spaghetti western, “Per pochi dollari
ancora” (Fort Yuma Gold) with Massimiliano Capriccioli, Sandro Continenza, Remigo
Del Grosso, Augusto Finocchi, Ettore Giannini and Leonardo Martin.
DUMOULIN, Gilles Maurice (aka G. Morris, Géo
Moris, Géo Morris, Gilles Morris, G.M. Dumoulin, G. Morris Dumoulin and Vic St
Val.) [1/16/1924, Paris, Île-de-France, France, France – 6/10/2016, Paris,
Île-de-France, France] – singer, author, writer, songwriter, founded the actors’
guildtroupe
“La route monte”.
Fort Yuma Gold –
1966 (co)
Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Ernest Plhak
Ernest Plhak is an Austrian cinematographer known for his
contributions to German silent films during the late 1910s and early 1920s.
Born on December 7, 1888, in Vienna, Austria, he worked primarily in the
burgeoning German film industry, serving as director of photography on a range
of productions that captured the visual aesthetics of the era. His credits
include notable works such as the mystery serial “Das Geheimnis der sechs
Spielkarten” (1921), the James Fenimore Cooper adaptation “Lederstrumpf”
(1920), the operetta-based “Die Rose von Stambul” (1919), “Schwarzwaldmädel”
(1920), and “Marie Antoinette - Das Leben einer Königin” (1922).
Plhak's career highlights his role in early European
cinema, where he collaborated on diverse genres from adventure and drama to
musical adaptations, reflecting the dynamic silent film landscape in Germany
and Austria following World War I. Limited additional biographical details are
available from contemporary records, underscoring his contributions primarily
through his extensive filmography.
Plhak died in Berlin-Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany on July
10, 1942 at the age of 53.
Ernest Plhak was a cinematographer on two silent film
westerns: “Lederstrumpf, 1. Teil: Der Wildtoter und Chingachgook” (The
Deerslayer) and “Lederstrumpf 2 Teil: Der letzte der Mohikaner” (The Last of
the Mohicans) both in 1920
PLHAK, Ernest (aka Ernst Plhak)
[12/7/1888, Pötzleinsdorf,, Austria-Hungary – 7/10/1942, Berlin-Kreuzberg,
Berlin, Germany] – cinematographer, cameraman, married to production manager
Lotte Thude [1916-1942].
The Deerslayer -
1920
The Last of the
Mohicans - 1920
