Spaghetti Western Director ~ Mihai Iacob
Mihai Iacob was a Romanian director, assistant director
and writer. Born in Orastie on May 11, 1933. He graduated from the Institute of
Theatre and Cinematography in 1955, making several premieres in Romanian
cinema: the first Eminescu-Bala film or the first biographical film, “Darclee”,
which was part of the official selection of the Cannes Festival, 1961 edition.
Between 1961 and 1972, Mihai Iacob was a professor of
director at IATC. In 1971, on a documentary trip to the United States, he
applied for political asylum. Since then, he worked in a braided factory,
distributed pizza, was a seller in a grocery store, waiter, real estate
transaction agent, printer, screenwriter and ultimately, producer associate of
the film before dying in Los Angeles, California on June 29, 2009, at the age of
76.
Mihai Iacob co-directed one Euro-western, “Moartea lui
Joe Indianul” (Death of Injun Joe) with Wolfgang Liebeneiner
IACOB, Mihai
[5/11/1933, Orastie, Romania – 6/29/2009, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.] –
director, assistant director, writer.
Death
of Injun Joe – 1967 (co)
Spaghetti
Western Screenwriter ~ Antonio del Amo
Antonio
del Amo Algara was a Spanish film director, screenwriter, film critic, film
historian, and producer whose career spanned from the Spanish Civil War era
through the late Franco period, marked by his involvement in Republican
documentaries, post-war repression, and later commercial successes in popular
genres like musicals and melodramas.
Born
in the rural town of Valdelaguna near Madrid on September 9, 1911, to a humble
farming family, del Amo developed a passion for cinema in his adolescence and
abandoned his studies around age 20 to contribute as a critic and essayist to
specialized publications and the Madrid Cine Club Nuestro Cinema. A member of
the Communist Party, he co-authored and directed several documentaries during
the Spanish Civil War, including “Mundo único” (1937), “Industrias de Guerra”
(1937), “Soldados campesinos” (1938), “Paso del Ebro” (1938), and “Alerta”
(1938), produced for the film section of the Republican Army's Líster Brigade
alongside Fernando G. Mantilla.
Following
the Nationalist victory in 1939, del Amo faced severe repression as a leftist
intellectual; he was imprisoned and sentenced to death, but his life was spared
through the intervention of fellow director Rafael Gil. This connection
facilitated his reintegration into the film industry under the Franco regime,
beginning as a screenwriter for Emisora Films and serving as an assistant
director to Gil, Antonio Román, and Ignacio F. Iquino. He made his directorial
debut in the post-war period with “Cuatro mujeres” (1947), followed by films
such as “El huésped de las tinieblas” (1948) and “Noventa minutos” (1949),
which explored social and dramatic themes amid the regime's censorship.
Del
Amo's career peaked in the 1950s and 1960s with a prolific output of over 20
feature films, often blending rural melodramas, musicals, and light comedies
tailored to popular audiences. He achieved significant commercial success with “El
pequeño ruiseñor” (1956), his first collaboration with child singer-actor
Joselito, which became a box-office hit in Spain, France, parts of the Arab
world, and Latin America, launching a series of similar child-star vehicles
like “Saeta del ruiseñor” (1957), “El ruiseñor de las cumbres” (1958), and “El
pequeño coronel” (1960). Other notable works include “Pescador de coplas”
(1954), a folk musical, and “El hijo de Jesse James” (1965), a spaghetti
western co-production.
In
addition to directing, del Amo continued writing screenplays for his own
projects and others, such as “Cerco de forajidos” (1965), and ventured into
production with films like “Operación Caribe” (1965).
Later
in life, he taught film-related courses and contributed to the medium until his
death in a car accident in Madrid 0n June 19, 1991, at the age of 79. His body
of work reflects the challenges and adaptations of Spanish cinema under
dictatorship, balancing artistic ambitions with commercial imperatives.
Antonio
del Amo co-wrote one screenplay for a Spaghetti western, “El hijo de Jesse
James” (Son of Jesse James) with Pino Passalacqua and Marcello Fondato in 1964.
del AMO, Antonio (aka A. del Amo) (Antonio del Amo Algara) [9/9/1911,
Valdelaguna, Madrid, Spain – 6/191991, Madrid, Madrid, Spain (car accident)] –
producer, production manager, director, assistant director, writer,
cinematographer, film editor
The Son of Jesse
James – 1964 (co)
Spaghetti Western
Cinematography ~ Miguel Fernández Mila
Miguel Fernández
Mila was a Spanish cameraman, actor and cinematographer. His date and place of
birth in Spain is unrecorded but most likely in the early 1920s. He was a
cameraman on ten films and television shows between 1943 and 1963. He also is
credited as an actor/dancer in three films in 1936, 1939 and 1959. The bulk of
his career was as a cinematographer on seventy-nine films between 1951 and
1994.
Once again, we seen
a noted film industry participant with no biographical information or
recognition other than a filmography. He doesn’t appear in the Diccionario
del Cine Español. All we do know is he died sometime in 2011, apparently
forgotten.
Miguel Fernández
Mila was a cinematographer on eleven Spaghetti westerns: “Murieta!” and “La
tumba del pistolero” (Tomb of a Pistolero) both in 1964, “Ocaso de un pistolero”
(Hands of a Gunfighter) with Fausto Zuccoli, “Uncas, el fin de una raza” (Fall
of the Mohicans) with Carlo Carlini and “I quattro inesorbili” (The Relentless
Four) all in 1965, “Djurado” in 1966, “El hombre que mató a Billy el Niño” (A
Few Bullets More) in 1967, “Manos torpes” (When Satan Grips the Colt) in 1969,
“Arizona Vuelve” (Arizona Colt Returns), “Uomo avvisato mezzo ammazzato…parola
di Spirito Santo” (Blazing Guns) in 1971, “La pazienza ha un limite… noi no!”
(Patience
Has a Limit, We Don’t) in 1974.
MILA, Miguel Fernández (Miguel Fernández,
Michael Mila, Miguel F. Mila, Miguel Fernandez Mila, Miguel Fez. Mila, Miguel
Mila, Miguel F. Milá, Mike Milet) [19?? – 2011, Spain] – cinematographer,
cameraman, actor.
Murieta! - 1964
Tomb of the
Pistolero – 1964
Hands of a
Gunfighter – 1965 (co) [as Miguel Mila]
Fall of the Mohicans
– 1965 (co) [as Mike Mila]
The Relentless Four
– 1965 [as Miguel F. Mila]
Djurado – 1966
A Few Bullets More –
1967 [as Miguel F. Mila] (co)
When Satan Grips the
Colt – 1969 [as Mike Milet]
Arizona Colt Returns
- 1970
Blazing Guns – 1971
Patience Has a
Limit, We Don’t – 1974
