Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Zvonimir Dobrin

[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.]

Zvonimir Dobrin was a Yugoslavian stuntman and film actor. He was one of those riders who was seen on the screen quite often. He was in the film “Desperdo Trail”, but he got a much bigger acting role in the films “The Halfbreed” and “Thunder at the Border”.

He’s since passed away but I can find no biographical information on him.

Zvornimir Dobrin appeared in four Euro-westerns: “Winnetou III” (Desperado Trail) performing stunts in 1965, “Winnetou und das Halbblut Apanatschi” (The Halfbreed) as Bryan “Starblack” (Johnny Colt) as a Curry henchman and “Winnetou und sein Freund Old Firehand” (Thunder at the Border) as a Mexican officer all in 1966.

DOBRIN, Zvonimir (aka Zvonko Dobrin) [19??, Yugoslavia - deceased] – stuntman, film actor.

Desperado Trail – 1965 [stunts]

The Halfbreed – 1966 (Bryan) [as Zvonko Dobrin]

Johnny Colt – 1966 (Curry henchman) [as Zvonko Dobrin)

Thunder at the Border – 1966 (Mexican officer) [as Zvonko Dobrin]

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Colonel Robert Freeman

Colonel Robert Freeman is a pseudonym used by the pioneering exploitation filmmaker David Frank Friedman who was born in Birmingham, Alabama on December 24, 1923. He employed the moniker—along with others like "Col. Robert Freeman"—when he directed, produced, and wrote the 1972 adult sex-comedy “The Erotic Adventures of Zorro”. The movie was an adult-oriented, comedic take on the classic Zorro legend. Friedman, a well-known figure in the B-movie and grindhouse cinema circuits, used the military title as a playful alias for his risqué or uncredited directing work.

Freeman was a film editor for the majority of time he worked in the film industry where he worked on fifteen films as an editor from 1967 to 1982. He also was a production manager and post supervisor on two films in 1970 and directed only one film.

Freeman was married to actress married to actress Carol Jane Friedman. He later started the Pussycat Theater chain and was a partner in Modern Film Distributors, owned Entertainment Ventures Inc.

Freeman died in Anniston, Alabama on February 14, 2011 at the age of 87.

As Colonel Robert Freeman he co-directed one Euro-western “Les chevauchées amoureuses de zorro” (The Erotic Adventures of Zorro) with William Allen Castleman in 1972.

FREEMAN, Colonel Robert (aka Davis Freeman, Col. Dave Friedman, Col. David F. Friedman, Dave Friedman, David Friedman, Mr. David F. Friedman, Awsome Greed, Bradford Hallsworth, Tony Martinez, David Mason, Davis Mason, Herman Traeger, Herman Träger, Seymour Zeletarell, Seymour Zolotareff) (David Frank Friedman) [12/24/1923, Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.A. – 2/14/2011, Anniston, Alabama, U.S.A. (heart failure)] – producer, production manager, director, writer, cinematographer, actor, married to actress Carol Jane Friedman [1925-2001] (19??-2001), started the Pussycat Theater chain, a partner in Modern Film Distributors, owned Entertainment Ventures Inc.

The Erotic Adventures of Zorro – 1972 (co)      

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Pedro Chamorro

Pedro Chamorro is/was a Spanish writer who worked on four films between 1955 and 1959. He is best known for his work on classic Spanish adventure and comedy films, most notably collaborating on the screenplays for “The Coyote” (1955), “The Coyote's Justice” (1956), and the comedy “¡Aquí hay petróleo!” (1956).

I can find no biographical information about him.

Pedro Chamorro co-wrote screenplays for two Euro-westerns:“El Coyote” (El Coyote) with Jesus Franco, Antonio Abad Ojuel, Joaquin Romero Marchent and, Jose Mallorqui and “La justicia del Coyote” (The Judgment of the Coyote) with Jesus Franco Manera both in 1954.

CHAMORRO, Pedro (aka J. Chamor) [Spanish] – writer.

The Coyote – 1954 (co)

The Judgment of the Coyote – 1954 (co) [as J. Chamor]

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Silvano Ippoliti

Silvano Ippoliti was an Italian cinematographer known for his work on notable films including “The Great Silence” (1968) and “Caligula” (1979). Born on January 23, 1923 in Cagli, Marche, Italy, he developed a career spanning several decades in Italian cinema, contributing as director of photography to a range of genres from spaghetti westerns to erotic dramas and action films. His credits also include “Miranda” (1985) and “Capriccio” (1987), reflecting his involvement in both mainstream and controversial productions.

Ippoliti died sometime in 1994 in Rome, Lazio, Italy at the age of 72.

Silvano Ippoliti was a cinematographer on four Spaghetti westerns: “Deguello” and “Navajo Joe” both in 1966, “Il grande silenzio” (The Great Silence) in 1967 and “Il ritorno di zanna bianca” (Challenge to White Fang) in 1974.

IPPOLITI, Silvano (aka S. Ippoliti, Stephen Sunter) [1/24/1922, Cagli, Marche, Italy – 1994, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – cinematographer, cameraman.

Deguello - 1966 [as Stephen Sunter]

Navajo Joe – 1966

The Great Silence - 1967

Challenge to White Fang - 1974

Four Souls of Coyote

 

Kojot négy lelke – Hungarian title

土狼的四个灵魂 – Chinese title

Čtyři duše kojota – Czechoslovakian title

Les 4 âmes du coyote – French title

Kojot négy lelke – German title

Cztery dusze kojota – Polish title

Четыре души Койота – Russian title

Las cuatro almas del coyote – Spanish title

Four Souls of Coyote – English title

 

A 2023 Hungarian animated film production [Cinemon Entertainment (Budapest)]

Producer: Réka Temple

Director: Áron Gauder

Story: Áron Gauder, Géza Bereményi

Screenplay: Áron Gauder, Géza Bereményi

Animator:  Zsolt Baumgartner

Running time: 103 minutes

 

Cast:

HR manager, Buffalo, Wolf, commander, mountain lion, grandson, coyote, bison, Kojot, grandpa, Old Creator, Villám, Farkas, duck, racoon, director, Sas, Glória, eagle chancellor, Hoksila, Mataoka, Wichincala, Medve, puma, bear, captain lawyer, antelope, opossum

Native American protesters confront an oil pipeline project, down the hill from their ancestral land. The grandfather evokes the tale of Creation, reminding all of us that we need to find our place in the great circle of creatures

Voices of the Spaghetti Western - “Requiem for a Gringo”

As we know most of the Euro-westerns were co-productions from Italy, Spain, Germany and France which incorporated British and American actors to gain a worldwide audience. The films were shot silent and then dubbed into the various languages where they were sold for distribution. That means Italian, Spanish, German, French and English voice actors were hired to dub the films. Even actors from the countries where the film was to be shown were often dubbed by voice actors for various reasons such as the actors were already busy making another film, they wanted to be paid additional salaries for dubbing their voices, the actor’s voice didn’t fit the character they were playing, accidents to the actors and in some cases even death before the film could be dubbed.

I’ll list a Euro-western and the (I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German and (F) French, (E) English voices that I can find and once in a while a bio on a specific voice actor as in Europe.

Today we’ll cover “Requiem for a Gringo”

[(I) Italian, (S) Spanish, (G) German, (F) French, (E) English

Ross Logan/Django – Lang Jeffries (I) Glauco Onorato, (S) Claudio Rodríguez, (G) Gert Günther Hoffmann

Porfirio Carranza – Fernando Sancho (I) Carlo Romano, (S) Vicente Bañó, (G) Hans W. Hamacher

Nina - Marisa Paredes (I) Vittoria Febbi, (S) Josefine de Luna, (G) Dagmar Heller

Alma - Femi Benussi (I) Maria Pia Di Meo, (S) Pilar Gentil, (G) Dagmar Heller

Charley Fair - Aldo Sambrell (I) Sergio Tedesco, (S) Ángel Ter, (G) Klaus Sonnenschein

Ted Corbin – Carlo Gaddi (I) Luciano De Ambrosis, (S) Roberto Martín, (G) Christian Brückner

Hans W. Hamacher  (1920 – 2000)

Hans Wilhelm Hamacher was born on June 14, 1920, in Cologne, Germany. After completing his acting training, Hamacher made his debut as a stage actor in the Rhenish province. This was followed by theatre stations in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Bonn and Neuwied. In addition, he gave many guest performances on stages in Germany, Paris, London, Moscow, Stockholm and Prague. Hamacher acted not only as an actor, but also as a director.

In 1955, he made his feature film debut with a small role in the DEFA production “Ernst Thälmann – Führer seiner Klasse”. While working as an actor at the Berliner Ensemble, he starred in several other DEFA films, such as Martin Hellberg's Thomas Müntzer biography, “Slatan Dudow's Der Hauptmann von Köln” and Peter Palitzsch's “Mutter Courage” adaptation.

From the early 1960s, Hamacher worked on West Berlin stages and in West German film productions. He often embodied representatives of law and order, for example in the feature film “Es muss nicht immer Kaviar sein” (1961) as Inspector Denis and in an episode of the television series of the same name from 1977 as the instructor Bieselang. He also appeared in Franz Peter Wirth's stage adaptation “Der Regenmacher” (alongside Lilo Pulver), Rolf Olsen's crime film “Der Arzt von St. Pauli”, the Bryan Edgar Wallace crime novels The Secret of the Black Suitcases and The Phantom of Soho and as Constable Smith in Wolfgang Staudte's adaptation of The Threepenny Opera.

In addition, Hamacher worked extensively as a dubbing actor between 1951 and 1995 and lent his memorable, rough voice to internationally known acting colleagues such as John Wayne (The Mighty Ones, The Harbour Pub of Tahiti), Lionel Barrymore (including in the films of the Dr. Kildare series), Dan Blocker (If My Bedroom Could Speak), Ernest Borgnine (The Pursuers), Van Heflin (San Fernando), Jack Klugman (Around the World in 80 Days), Karl Malden (That Was the Wild West), Lionel Stander (Promise Her Everything), Rupert Davies as Inspector Maigret in the BBC television series of the same name and Ray Collins as Lt. Tragg in the television series Perry Mason.

Hans W. Hamacher died on July 23, 2000, in Berlin, Germany.

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Dragutin Dobricanin

[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.]

Dragutin Dobricanin was a Serbian actor, writer, screenwriter born in Prokuplje, Serbia, Yugoslavia on July 9, 1922. He made his first acting appearance on stage, as a member of the Cultural Society "Ivo Lola Ribar", in the one-act play Bojarka, based on the novel by N. Ostrovsky How Steel Was Tempered (directed by R. L. Đukić). He was a member of the Drama Group of Radio Belgrade and the Children's Theatre "Boško Buha" (1946–1950), the Comedy Theatre (1950–1954), the Belgrade Comedy (1954–1959), the Contemporary Theatre (1959–1964), and occasionally he was a guest on the stage of Atelje 212. In the early 1950s, he began his career as a playwright. He quickly gained recognition in theater, radio and television. A crucial role was played by the radio show ‘Merry Evening’ (launched in 1949), in which he collaborated with numerous humorists and successfully performed as a writer and interpreter of sketches, especially the role of Uncle Proka. A personality of curious and renaissance spirit, he selflessly gave himself to the theater. As a character comedian, he was characterized by flexibility, ingenuity, restraint, great power of transformation and the ability to achieve a comic effect on stage with minimal means. He also played for children, and wrote theatrical fairy tales

(Everything, Everything But Craft, The Quacking Fairy Tale, The Golden Apple and the Nine Peacocks, The Tale of a Calendar, etc.). He is the author of the plays “The Man from Mars”, “The Creation of the World”, “The Cheerful and Sad Ginjol”, and “The Repaid Society”. His greatest success and fame was brought by the legendary comedy “Shared Apartment”, one of the first works of our contemporary dramaturgy, which was performed in European countries and translated into over thirty languages. It was directed by Marko Fotez on the stage of the Humor Theatre in Belgrade, it was performed on the stages of Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden, France, Belgium, etc. A film was made based on the Belgrade play (directed by M. Vajda, 1960). He played in R. L. Đukić's films “The Lake” (1951), “To the Place, Citizen Submissive” (1964), “The Man with Four Legs” (1983), “The Golden Slingshot” (1967); M. Vajde, “The Shared Apartment” (1960); Soje Jovanović's “Eagles Fly Early” (1966); F. Hadžić's “Protest” (1967), “Idu dani” (1970); O. Gluščević's “The Naked Man” (1968) and others. He has also enriched a number of diverse characters in popular, popular TV series:’ Ćutolog’, ‘Gile’, ‘Braca Raca’ (R. L. Đukić, N. Novak, ‘Face to Face’, ‘People and Parrots’, ‘Sačulatac’), Sredoje (R. L. Đukić, Black Snow), ‘Gnjavator’, Vasa S. Tajčić (N. Novak, ‘Duty Street’, ‘Theater in the House’), Moca (Lj. Kozomara, Levaci) and others. In 1967, TV Belgrade made a series based on his script, directed by Soja Jovanović. In the theater he is remembered for his roles: “Man with a Leg”, “Svetislav”, “Arsa” (B. Nušić, “Around the World, Protection, Power”), Predrag, Špira (A. Popović, “The Development Path of Bora Šnajder”, Ljubinko and Desanka), “Grandfather of God” (D. Dobričanin, “Shared Apartment”) and many others. He is the author of the book of humorous writings Memoirs of Joko Kokot (Bg – Nk 1988).

Dobricanin died in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia on November 28, 1988, at the age of 66.

Dragutin Dobricanin appeared in one Euro-western, “Zlatna pracka” (The Golden Sling) as Blacky in 1967.

DOBRICANIN, Dragutin (aka D. Dobricanin, Dragoljub Dobricanin, Dragutin Guta Dobricanin, Dragutin Dobricanin-Guta) [7/9/1922, Prokuplje, Serbia, Yugoslavia – 11/28/1988, Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia] – writer, film, TV actor.

The Golden Sling – 1967 (Blacky)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Jess Franco

Jesús Franco was a Spanish film director, screenwriter, composer, and actor known for his extraordinarily prolific output of cult horror, erotic, and exploitation films characterized by psychedelic gothic style, explicit sexuality, and surreal elements. Born Jesús Franco Manera in Madrid, Spain on May 12, 1930, he directed nearly 200 feature films across more than five decades, often under the pseudonym Jess Franco and numerous other aliases, while frequently working on extremely low budgets and facing censorship challenges in Francoist Spain.

Franco began his career in the 1950s as a composer, assistant director, and film school student in Madrid and Paris before directing his debut feature “Tenemos 18 años” in 1959. His breakthrough came with the horror film “The Awful Dr. Orloff” (1962), followed by international recognition through works such as “Succubus” (1968), praised by Fritz Lang as a beautiful piece of cinema. During the 1960s and 1970s he created numerous genre entries including “Count Dracula” (1970), “Vampyros Lesbos” (1971), and “Female Vampire” (1973), often featuring long-term collaborator and muse Lina Romay as well as actors like Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski, while also serving as second-unit director for Orson Welles on “Chimes at Midnight” (1965). His films frequently existed in multiple versions tailored for different markets and audiences, blending influences from classic gothic horror, pulp fiction, and the Marquis de Sade into a distinctive, voyeuristic vision that earned him a dedicated cult following despite ongoing controversy and marginal industry status.

Franco maintained a tireless pace into the 21st century, transitioning to video production and even hardcore pornography while continuing to explore his obsessions with low-budget independence, ultimately premiering his final film “Al Pereira vs the Alligator Ladies” shortly before his death in Málaga on April 2, 2013, at the age of 82. His legacy rests on an uncompromising commitment to personal creative freedom within the fringes of commercial genre cinema, making him one of the most restless and prolific auteurs in European exploitation film history

Jess Franco directed three Euro-westerns: “Convoi de femmes” (Convoy of Women) with Pierre Chevalier, “Les chatouilleuses” (The crazy Nuns) in 1974 and  “ La marque de Zorro” (The Mark of Zorr) with Marius Lesoeur and Alain Payet

FRANCO, Jesús (Jesús Franco Manera) [5/12/1930, Madrid, Madrid, Spain - 4/2/2013, Malaga, Andalusia, Spain (stroke)] – producer, director, writer, actor, brother of music critic Enrique Franco (Enrique Franco Manera) [1920-2009] married to writer, actress Nicole Guettard [19??-1996] (1962-1980), married to actress Lina Romay [1954-2012] (2008-2012).

Convoy of Women – 1974 (co)

The Crazy Nuns - 1974 [as Clifford Brown]

The Mark of Zorro – 1974 (co)

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Robert Ruiz Cespedes

Robert Ruiz Cespedes is a Spanish novelist, screenwriter, film director and first assistant director. Born in Santander, Cantabria, Spain in June of 1987, he graduated in Film Directing from the KINEMA film school in Bilbao and with a master's degree in Scriptwriting for Film and TV from the TAI school in Madrid. He has written and directed 20 short films, two experimental films and one high budget film. His first commercial film was “Stoyan.” Starring Tristán Ulloa, Marta Milans, Max Ulloa, Carlos Mestanza, Susana Hornos, Nicolás Coronado, Mariano Venancio, Alfonso Torregrosa and Natalia Rodríguez. With Official Selection at the 5th Pitchbox 2018 and Special Mention at the Sitges Pitchbox 2017, produced by Gold Tower Producciones, American Road Films, Hache Producciones and “Stoyan A.I.E.” “Stoyan” has accumulated 116 international awards, 50 official selections and 7 mentions. With theatrical release in early 2023 and world premiere at the 44th Moscow International Film Festival. His short film “Broken Basket”, starring Belén Rueda, was selected in more than 40 festivals within the Oscar Shortlist, such as the Short Film Corner (Cannes), Honorable Mention of the Jury for Belén Rueda at the Queens World Film Festival (New York), Chelsea Film Festival (New York), Zinebi (Bilbao) and Carmel International Film Festival (California), among others. The film “Stoyan” is based on this award-winning short film. He has written three fantasy novels. The last one Marma, Rabbit Boy (2020), published by Editorial Amarante. The first entitled Los Himenez suenan como quieren (2017) and the second Mero Firmamento (2018), both by Ediciones Camelot. His fourth and fifth novels,are  in the process of seeking editing, are being represented by MJR Literary Agency (Madrid). He has written more than 20 feature film, series and fiction miniseries scripts in development stage. Cespedes worked as first assistant director, assistant director/producer, script and art director in feature films, short films and fiction series. His last jobs have been as First Assistant Director in the film “8 Anos”, by JD Alcázar (2020) and as Assistant Director in the series ‘El Cid’, by Zebra Producciones for Amazon Prime Video (2020).

Robert Ruiz Cespedes wrote screenplays for two Euro-westerns: “Toma ParteR” in 2007 and “Negativa” in 2008.

CESPEDES. Robert Ruiz (Roberto Ruiz Céspedes) [6/?/1987, Santander, Cantabria, Spain -     ] – producer, director, assistant director, novelist, writer.

Toma ParteR – 2007

Negativa – 2008

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Josef Illig

Josef Illig was a German cinematographer who contributed to over 44 film projects, primarily in the German cinema of the mid-20th century.

Born in Munich, Germany on May 5, 1908, he began his career as an assistant camera operator in the 1930s, Illig worked on early films such as “Der Gefangene des Königs” (1935) and “The Fight with the Dragon” (1935), handling roles in camera departments.

By the late 1940s, he advanced to full cinematographer (Director of Photography) positions, collaborating on notable post-war productions including “König für eine Nacht” (1950), “Der Herrgottschnitzer von Ammergau” (1952), and “Noc nevesty” (1967).

His work often featured in genres like drama, comedy, and adventure, with credits spanning German studios and occasional international co-productions until the late 1960s

Josef Illig died on 20 May 1970 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany, at the age of 62.

Josef Illig was a co-cinematographer on one Euro-western, “Wasser für Canitoga” (Water for Canitoga) with Franz Koch in 1939.

ILLIG, Josef [5/5/1908, Munich, Bavaria, Germany – 5/20/1970, Munich, Bavaria, Germany] cinematographer, cameraman.

Water for Canitoga – 1939 (co)

Spaghetti Western locations Then & Now – “The Longest Hunt”

Here in this screen capture from the 1968 film “Spara, Gringo, spara" (aka The Longest Hunt and Stark, el pistolero we see a camp scene.

This was filmed at a location called Cortijo Blanco in Pechina, Almería, Spain.

Here’s the same location as seen in 2023.