Spaghetti Western Director ~ Richard Blasco
Ricardo Blasco Laguna was born in Valencia, Spain on
April 30, 1921. Ricardo was a Spanish film director, screenwriter, assistant
director, poet, essayist, and television director active primarily in the
mid-20th century Spanish cinema.
Blasco's early professional life was rooted in the
post-Civil War Spanish film scene, where he worked with prominent studios like
Cifesa, starting as a script reader and progressing to writing and assisting on
dubbing projects. His directorial output reflected the era's trends,
incorporating musical comedies, dramas, and action-oriented stories that
occasionally crossed into European genre cinema, such as his sole venture into
the spaghetti western subgenre with Gunfight at Red Sands, which he also scripted.
Notable collaborations included frequent work with actors like Agustín González
and composers such as Juan Quintero, contributing to films that highlighted
Andalusian themes in works like Sighs of Triana (1955). By the late 1960s, his
directing career tapered off, though his contributions to Spanish cinema during
the Franco era remain a footnote in the transition toward more international
influences.
He began his career in the film industry during the 1940s
and 1950s, contributing as a screenwriter and assistant director to various
productions before making his directorial debut. Blasco is best known for his
work in adventure and western genres, including directing the spaghetti western
“Gunfight at Red Sands” (1963), starring Richard Harrison, as well as
Zorro-themed films such as “The Three Swords of Zorro” (1963) and “Behind the
Mask of Zorro” (1965). Over his career, he directed around seven feature films,
often blending Spanish cultural elements with international co-productions, and
collaborated on screenplays for titles like “Amor bajo cero” (1960) and “Autopsy
of a Criminal” (1963). Later, he worked as a television director for Televisión
Española and as a historian, editing the Gran Enciclopedia de la Región
Valenciana in 1973. He passed away in Madrid at the age of 72.
As mentioned above as Richard Blasco he directed three
Spaghetti westerns: “Duello nel Texas” (Gunfight at Red Sands) and “Le tre spade di Zorro”
(Three Swords of Zorro) both in 1963 and “El Zorro cabalga otra vez” (Behind
the Mask of Zorro) in 1965.
BLASCO, Richard (aka Ricardo Blasco,
Richard Blasco) (Ricardo Blasco
Laguna) [4/30/1921, Valencia,
Valencia, Spain – 2/8/1994, Madrid, Madrid, Spain] – director, assistant
director, poet, writer, composer, actor.
Gunfight at Red
Sands - 1963
The Three Swords of
Zorro – 1963
Behind the Mask of
Zorro – 1965
Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Alfonso Balcazar
Alfonso Balcázar Granda was born in Barcelona, Spain on
March 2, 1926. The son of a furrier of Valladolid origin who had made his
fortune in Barcelona, in 1950 he decided to leave the prosperous family
business to dedicate himself to film production with his brother Jaime. The new
activity was inaugurated with the financing of “Catherine of England” (1951), a
film that was almost unfinished due to the bankruptcy of the original
production company and which was followed by some titles of modest budget and
clearly commercial vocation, such as the football comedy “Eleven Pairs of
Boots” (1954). In the middle of the decade, co-productions with European
countries and Mexico began, although it should be noted that from the
administrative point of view they were not entirely "transparent"
operations, in the sense that, for example, the credits did not refer to
Mexican producers or French or Italian companies were created that, in the end,
they were simple branches of Balcázar in Paris (Jam Films) or Rome (Enalpa). Alfonso
progressively delegated the productive tasks to his brother to devote himself
to directing, making his debut in 1959 with “La encrucijada”, a drama about the
Civil War that offered a relatively impartial vision of the conflict and
without excessive concessions to the propaganda of the victors. As Alfonso was
aware that he lacked adequate professional training, from the first moment he
surrounded himself with a team of efficient collaborators, especially
scriptwriters such as Miguel Cussó or José Antonio de la Loma and assistants
such as Paco Pérez-Dolz or the Italian Romolo Guerrieri
In the 1960s he dedicated his career to the western genre
that was dominating the European cinemas. He and his brother were two of the
biggest names in Spanish western film productions.
Alfonso Balcazar wrote stories and screenplay for around 50
films between 1958 and 1983. He directed 30 and produced 21 films during that
time.
He often worked with both Giovanni Simonelli and Antonio
de la Loma while writing twelve screenplays for Spaghetti westerns: “Los
pistoleros de Arizona” ($5,000 on One Ace) with José Antonio de la Loma, Sandro
Continenza and Helmut Harun, “Oklahoma John” (The Man from Oklahoma) with
Helmut Harun, Giuseppe Maggi and Giovanni Simonelli) both in 1964, “Doc, manos
de plata” (The Man Who Came to Kill) with Giovanni Simonelli, “Centomila
dollari per Ringo” ($100,000 for Ringo) with Giovanni Simonelli and José
Antonio de la Loma, “Il ritorno di Ringo” (The Return of Ringo) with Duccio
Tessari, Fernando Di Leo, “Sette magnifiche pistole” (7 Magnificent Pistols for
Timothy) with Giovanni Simonelli and José Antonio de la Loma and “Tierra de
fuego” (Sunscorched) with ), José Antonio de la Loma, Irving Dennis, Mark
Stevens and Warren Kiefer all in 1965, “Dinamite Jim” (Dynamite Jim) with José
Antonio de la Loma and “Los cinco de la venganza” (5 Giants from Texas) with José
Antonio de la Loma both in 1966, “Clint il solitario” (Clint the Stranger) with
Jose Antonio de la Loma and Helmut Harun in 1967, “Legge della violenza – tutti
o nessuno” (The Law of Violence) with Gianni Crea, and Piero Regnoli in 1969,
Gianni Crea, and Piero Regnoli in 1969, “Hijos de pobres, pero deshonestos
padres… le llamaban Calamidad” (Now They Call Him Sacramento) with Giovanni
Simonelli and “Judas... ¡toma tus monedas!” (Watch Out Gringo! Sabata Will
Return) both in 1972.
BALCAZAR, Alfonso (aka Albagran, I.
Albagran, Al Bagran, A. Balcazar, Alfred Balcazar) (Alfonso Balcázar Granda) [3/2/1926, Barcelona, Catalonia,
Spain – 12/28/1993, Sitges, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain] – producer, director,
writer, brother of producer, director, assistant director, writer Jaime Jesús
Balcázar (Jaime Jesús Balcázar
Granda) [1934- ], married to Celestina Bertrand Bertrand
[1929-2005] (1949-1993) father of seven children, founded P.C.
Balcazar Productions, Filmax Distribution Co. and built Esplugues City
Studios.
$5,000 on One Ace – 1964 (co)
The Man from Oklahoma – 1964 (co)
The Man Who Came to Kill – 1965 (co)
$100,000 for Ringo – 1965 (co)
The Return of Ringo – 1965 (co)
7 Magnificent Pistols for Timothy –
1965 (co)
Sunscorched – 1965 (co)
Dynamite Jim – 1966 (co)
5 Giants from Texas – 1966 (co)
Clint the Stranger – 1967 (co)
Now They Call Him Sacramento – 1972
(co)
Watch Out Gringo! Sabata Will Return –
1972
Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Johan Bodin
Johan Bodin is a versatile filmmaker based in Grangärde,
Dalarna, Sweden. With over a decade of experience in the film industry, he has
established himself as a director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and VFX
artist.
He runs the production company Wizworks Studios,
producing a wide range of projects—from commercials to short and feature films.
Bodin is known for his creative versatility and has
worked on everything from VFX compositing for international productions like “The
Underwater Realm” to directing and shooting his own films such as “The Great
North” and “The Great North II: Grizzly’s Cabin”. He describes himself as an
“Alli-Molli-man” – a multi-skilled creator with a hands-on approach to
filmmaking.
Johan Bodin was cinematographer on two Euro-westerns:
“The Great North” in 2018 and the sequel “The Great North 2: Grizzly’s Cabin”
in 2019.
BODIN, Johan [Swedish] –
director, writer, cinematographer, film editor, VFX.
The Great North – 2018
The Great North 2 Grizzly’s Cabin -
2019
