Spaghetti
Western Director ~ Paul Landres
Paul
Landres was an American film editor and director renowned for his contributions
to low-budget horror films and prolific television directing in the mid-20th
century.
Born
in New York City on August 21, 1912, Landres moved to Los Angeles as an infant
and attended UCLA for two years before entering the film industry. He began his
career in 1931 as an assistant editor at Universal Studios, advancing to full
editor by 1937, where he worked on B-movies such as the Sherlock Holmes entry “The
Scarlet Claw” (1944) and the drama “Pittsburgh” (1942) starring John Wayne and
Marlene Dietrich. Transitioning to directing in 1949 with the low-budget
Western “Grand Canyon”, Landres soon focused on television, helming
approximately 350 episodes across numerous series produced by syndicator
Frederick W. Ziv and Warner Bros., including ‘The Lone Ranger’, ‘Maverick’, ‘Bonanza’,
‘The Rifleman’, ‘77 Sunset Strip’, and ‘Flipper’. His feature film directing
credits in the 1950s and early 1960s encompassed around two dozen titles, with
standout horror entries like “The Return of Dracula” (1958) and “The Vampire”
(1957), praised as among the finest independent genre films of the decade, as
well as the rock 'n' roll musical “Go, Johnny, Go!” (1959) featuring Chuck
Berry, Eddie Cochran, and Ritchie Valens. A founding member of American Cinema
Editors in 1950, Landres retired in the early 1970s and died in Encino,
California on December 26, 2001, from complications of cancer at the age of 89,
Paul
Landres directed one Spaghetti western, “El hijo del pistolero” (Son of a
Gunfighter) in 1965.
LANDRES,
Paul (aka Paul Landers, Paul K.
Landres) (Paul Lester Katz Landres) [8/21/1912, New York City, New York,
U.S.A. – 12/26,2001, Encino, California, U.S.A. (cancer)] – director, writer,
film editor, brother of film editor Danny B. Landres (Daniel B. Landres)
[1918–1970], married to Virginia ‘Jean’ Beber [1917-2012] (1941-2001) father of
Richard Terry Landres [1944- ], Linda
G. Landres [1946- ], Bruce Charles
Landres [1947- ], Marcene B. Landres
[1952- ], founding member of American Cinema Editors [1950].
Son of a Gunfighter – 1965
Spaghetti
Western Screenwriter ~ Fernando Di Leo
Fernando
Di Leo was an Italian film director and screenwriter renowned for his
contributions to the poliziotteschi genre of crime films, particularly through
his "Milieu" trilogy of the early 1970s.
Born
in San Ferdinando di Puglia on January 11, 1932, to a family of lawyers, Di Leo
discovered noir fiction in his youth and abandoned legal studies to pursue
cinema, starting with scriptwriting for spaghetti westerns and directing a
short segment in 1964.
His
breakthrough came with “Caliber 9” (1972), followed by “The Italian Connection”
(1972) and “The Boss” (1973), which depicted the brutal underworld of organized
crime with ultraviolent action, moral complexity, and implicit sociopolitical
commentary drawn from Italian realities and American influences like Dashiell
Hammett.
These
works featured distinctive 1970s aesthetics, strong ensemble casts including
international actors such as Henry Silva, and scores by composers like Ennio
Morricone, elevating the exploitation genre while critiquing power structures
and corruption.
Di
Leo's films have endured as benchmarks of Euro crime cinema, inspiring later
filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino, who structured “Pulp Fiction” after the
trilogy's narrative approach.
Fernando
died in Rome on December 1, 2003 at the age of 71
Fernando
Di Leo was a screenwriter on eighteen Spaghetti western: “Per un pugno di
dollari” (Fistful of Dollars) with Adriano Bolzoni, Víctor Andrés Catena, Jaime
Comas, Duccio Tessari and Tonino Valerii, “Il ritorno di Ringo” (The Return of
Ringo) with Duccio Tessari, Alfonso Balcázar and “7 pistole per i MacGregor” (7
Guns for the Mac Gregors) with Vincent Eagle, David Moreno and Duccio Tessari
both in 1965, “Le colt cantarono le morte e fu tempo di massacre” (The Brute
and the Beast), “Johnny Yuma” with Romolo Guerrieri, Sauro Scavolini and
Giovanni Simonelli, “I lunghi giorni della vendetta” (Long Days of Revenge)
with Augusto Caminito, “Un dollaro a testa” (Navajo Joe) with Pirto Regnoli,
“Sugar Colt” with Giuseppe Mangione, Franco Giraldi and Augusto Finocchi, “Sette
donne per i MacGregor” (Up the MacGregors!) with Vincent Eagle, Paolo Levi,
José María Rodríguez Méndez and Frank Garfield all in 1966, “Al di là della
legge” (Beyond the Law) with Mino Roli, Lorenzo Sabatini, Inge Hilger and
Giorgio Stegani, “Con lui cavalca la morte” (Death Rides Along) with Augusto
Caminito and Adriano Bolzoni, “Odio per odio” (Hate for Hate) with Mario
Amendola, Bruno Corbucci and Domenico Paolella, “Pecos è qui: prega e muori” (Pecos
Cleans Up) with Adriano Bolzoni and Augusto Caminito, “Un poker di pistole” (Poker
with Pistols) with Augusto Caminito, “Ognuno per sé” (The Ruthless Four) with Augusto
Caminito, “Wanted” with Remigio Del Grosso and Augusto Finocchi all in 1967, “Dio
il crea... io li ammazzo!” (God Made Them, I Kill Them) and “…e venne il tempo
uccidere” (Tequila Joe) both in 1968.
Di
LEO, Fernando (aka
Fernando DiLeo, Fernand Lion, Fernando Lion) [1/11/1932, San Ferdinando di
Puglia, Puglia, Italy – 12/1/2003, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – director, assistant
director, writer, songwriter, actor, married to actress Maria Pia Conte (Maria Pia Vaccarezza) [1944- ] (19??-19??).
A Fistful of Dollars – 1964 (co)
The Return of Ringo – 1965 (co)
7 Guns for the Mac Gregors – 1965 (co) [as Fernando
Lion]
The Brute and the Beast – 1966
Johnny Yuma – 1966 (co) [as Fred Munch]
Long Days of Revenge – 1966 (co)
Navajo Joe – 1966 (co)
Sugar Colt – 1966 (co)
Up the MacGregors! – 1966 (co) [as Fernand Lion]
Beyond the Law – 1967 (co)
Death Rides Along – 1967 (co)
Hate for Hate – 1967 (co)
Pecos Cleans Up – 1967 (co)
Poker with Pistols – 1967 (co)
The Ruthless Four – 1967 (co)
Wanted – 1967 (co)
God Made Them, I Kill Them – 1968
Tequila Joe – 1968 (co)
I ragazi di Rio Grande – 19?? (co) [film was never
made]
Spaghetti
Western Cinematographer ~ Antonin Pech
Antonín
Pech was a Czech filmmaker, cinematographer, director, screenwriter, and
producer known for his pioneering role in the early development of Czech cinema
during the silent era. Born on October 21, 1874, in Čižice, Austria-Hungary, he
trained as a photographer before becoming active in film production from around
1906 onward. He founded the Kinofa company in 1911 alongside partners,
establishing one of the first film production entities in Bohemia dedicated to
both documentary and fiction films.
Pech's
work focused primarily on short films, actualities, and early comedies through
the mid-1910s, often serving as cinematographer and director on the same
projects. Among his notable films are “Svatojánské proudy” (St. John's Rapids,
1912), a documentary shot on the Vltava River that earned the Grand Gold Medal
at the first International Film Exhibition in Vienna in 1912, becoming the
first Czech film to receive international recognition. He also directed and photographed
entries in the popular Rudi comedy series, such as “Rudi na záletech” (1911),
along with other works like “Zamilovaná tchyně” (1914). His efforts helped lay
foundational groundwork for a national Czech film industry in the years before
World War I.
Pech
died on February 20, 1928, in Prague, Czechoslovakia at the age of 53.
Antonin
Pech was a cinematographer on one silent Euro-western, “Sokové” in 1911
PECH,
Antonín [10/21/1874, Cizice, Plzen,
Austria-Hungary – 2/20/1928, Prague, Czechoslovakia] – producer, director,
writer, cinematographer, film editor, founded the Kinofa Company [1911].
Sokové – 1911
