Monday, May 25, 2026
Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Luca Di Silverio
[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.]
Luca Di Slvero is an Italian producer. He’s produced seven films between 2002 and 2025. He has been working in the magical world of cinema since 1989. First as a projectionist, then in post-production and executive production through to distribution. Record producer, film producer, projection technician, expert in post-production and distribution thanks to his studies in Italy and the United States.
As a child he appeared in one film which was a Spaghetti western, “Occhio alla penna” (Buddy Goes West) in 1981 as a boy in the wagon.
Di SILVERIO, Luca [Italian] – producer, film actor.
Buddy Goes West – 1981 (boy on the wagon)
Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers
Spaghetti Western Director ~ Emiliano Ferrera
Emiliano Ferrera was born in Rome on December 10, 1974. He is a film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and editor. In his work, he focuses exclusively on the western and its diverse genre combinations. In the westerns that he directs, He often creates the main roles, and in the external stylization of the heroes, often refers to the characters of the American actor Clint Eastwood in Sergio's films Leone. Emiliano is not only a successor and current representative of the Italian Western in its long-standing cultural tradition, but also a creator who revives this popular genre for today's audiences.
So far Emiliano Ferrera has directed fifteen Spaghetti westerns: “Inferno Bianco” (White Hell) with Stefano Jacurti, “Polvere e piombo” (Dust and Lead) in 2009, “Shuna” in 2009 and revised in 2011, “Mesa Verde” in 2012, “Se il mondo intorno crepa” (If the World Dies) with Stefano Jacurti in 2013, “Blood from Hell) (TV) and “Golden Pass” both in 2016, “Oro e Piombo” (The Dutchman) and “Resurrection” both in 2017, “Sad Hill” with Paolo Moretti in 2020, “Redemption” in 2021, “Black Town” in 2022, “Oltre il confine” (Beyond the Border) in 2023 and is currently filming “Topeka”.
FERRERA, Emiliano [12/10/1974, Rome,
Lazio, Italy - ] – producer,
director, assistant director, writer, actor, married to ? father of Sofia
Ferrera.
White Hell – 2007 (co)
Dust and Lead - 2009
Shuna – 2009/2011
Mesa Verde – 2012
If the World Dies – 2013 (co)
Blood from Hell (TV) - 2016
Golden Pass – 2016
The Dutchman 2017
Resurrection – 2017
Sad Hill – 2020 (co)
Redemption – 2021
Black Town – 2022
Beyond the Border – 2023
Topeka – 2025
Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Guy Casaril
Guy Vincent Casaril was born on November 1, 1933. He was a French film director, screenwriter, non-fiction writer, and translator known for his work in cinema during the late 1960s and 1970s.
Casaril began his career as an assistant director before making his feature film debut with “L'Astragale” (1968), an adaptation of Albertine Sarrazin's semi-autobiographical novel about a female convict's escape and struggles, starring Marlène Jobert and Jean-Louis Trintignant. His subsequent films often explored themes of women's lives and relationships, including “Les Novices” (1970), a comedy-drama featuring Brigitte Bardot and Annie Girardot as aspiring prostitutes, and “Le Rempart des Béguines” (1972), a drama depicting complex relationships among women in a beguinag
Among his notable works is the biopic “Piaf” (1974), which chronicled the formative struggles of singer Édith Piaf and starred Brigitte Ariel as the young Piaf; the film received praise for capturing the era's atmosphere and Piaf's background. Casaril's final directorial effort, “Emilienne” (1975), was an erotic drama exploring a ménage-à-trois and artistic relationships. Beyond directing, he contributed to screenplays and translated several English-language novels into French, including John Irving's The Cider House Rules and Richard Bach's Illusions.
His films, produced primarily in France and Italy, reflected the social and sexual liberation themes prevalent in European cinema of the period
Casaril died on May 3, 1996, in Chapel Hill, Queensland, Australia at the age of 62.
Guy Casaril co-wrote one Spaghetti western, “Les pétroleuses” (The Legend of Frenchie King) with Marie-Ange Aniès, Daniel Boulanger, Jean Nemours and Clément Bywood. In 1971.
CASARIL, Guy (Guy Vincent Casaril) [11/1/1933, Miramont-de-Guyenne,
Lot-et-Garrone, France – 5/3/1996, Chapel Hill, Queensland, Australia] –
director, author, writer, actor.
The Legend of
Frenchie King – 1971 (co)
Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Otto Heller
Otto Heller was born on September 3, 1896, and was a Czech-born cinematographer of Jewish descent who became a prominent figure in British film, contributing to over 250 productions with his distinctive high-contrast lighting, innovative camera angles, and atmospheric effects in genres spanning noir, horror, and color dramas. Born in Prague to a Jewish family, he began his career as a cinema projectionist and military cameraman during World War I, filming events like the funeral of Emperor Franz Josef, before working across Europe in cities including Berlin and Paris. Emigrating to Britain in 1940 to evade Nazi persecution and gaining citizenship in 1945, Heller gained acclaim for films such as “They Made Me a Fugitive” (1947), noted for its gritty noir visuals; “The Queen of Spades” (1949), a Gothic horror masterpiece employing wide-angle lenses; “The Ladykillers” (1955); and “Peeping Tom” (1960), which showcased his expressive use of muted tones and bold colors. His later works, including “Alfi’ (1965), for which he received a BAFTA nomination, and “The Ipcress File” (1965), which earned him a BAFTA for Best Cinematography, highlighted his versatility with formats like Techniscope and VistaVision, often featuring low angles, Dutch tilts, and a "grubby" realism that elevated character-driven narratives. Heller's technical prowess and adaptability from black-and-white to Technicolor helped shape mid-20th-century British cinema, though he received limited formal recognition during his lifetime beyond BAFTA honors.
Heller did not retire formally and continued professional cinematography into his final year, completing work on “Bloomfield” (1969) shortly before his death. He passed away in London on June 19, 1970 at the age of 73.
Otto Heller was a cinematographer on two Euro-westerns: “The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw” in 1958 and “The Singer Not the Song” in 1961.
HELLER, Otto (aka O. Heller)
[3/8/1896, Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary – 2/19/1970, London, England, U.K.]
– cinematographer, cameraman, actor.
The Sheriff of
Fractured Jaw - 1958
The Singer Not the
Song - 1961
New Swedish DVD release of “Ess I Topp”
“Ess I Topp”
(Boot Hill)
(1968)
Director: Giuseppe Colizzi
Starring: Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Eli Wallach
Country: Sweden
Label: Retrofilm / Studio S
Language: Swedish
Running time: 118 minutes
RF5076
Available: May 25, 2026
Spaghetti Western locations Then and Now – “For a Few Dollars More”
In this scene from “For a Few Dollars” (1964) we see two of Indio’s henchmen chasing Monco in the town of Agua Caliente. The Spanish village used for this scene was Los Albaricoques in Almería.
Here’s the same location as seen in 2025.
European Western Comics ~ Collana Excelsior
Corral Kid
This is a comic book series reprinting Western comics drawn
from titles originally published by Editrice Fumetti, Edizioni Ariete Albi
Ariete Grandi Avventure, in 1955, Astra and Collana Jolly, in 1959,
by De Leo. Beginning in March, the series switched to a pocket-sized format and
was released under the title Super Girls: Vignette in minigonna (#1–#8;
March–October 1967). It was first published in 1966 with issue #1 being
released in February and it ended with issue #11 in Febraury 1967. The
published was DNP in Milan, Italy under the direction of Carla Castelli. Each
issue contained 112 black and white pages with color covers.
Titles
01 (00.02.66) - “Texas” (Texas)
02 (00.03.66) - “La notte maledetta” (The Cursed Night)
03 (00.04.66) - "Pistoleros" (Pistoleros)
04 (00.05.66) - "I maledetti" (The Cursed)
05 (00.06.66) - "L'ultima rapina" (The Last
Robbery)
06 (00.07.66) - “La legge della pistola” (The Law of the
Gun)
07 (00.08.66) - “Uccideteli tutti” (Kill Them All)
08 (00.10.66) - "Il cavaliere della prateria" (The
Prairie Knight)
09 (00.11.66) - “La vendetta del meticcio” (The Half-Breed’s
Revegne)
10 (00.12.66) - “Corral Kid - Avventure del West” (Corral Kid’s – Adventures in the West)
11 (00.02.67) - “Corral Kid” (Corral Kid)
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