Spaghetti Western Director ~ Jean Durand
Jean Durand was a pioneering French film director,
screenwriter, and actor of the silent era, best known for his prolific
contributions to early cinema, including over two hundred films characterized
by physical burlesque, absurd comedy, and innovative stunts. Born in Paris on
December 15, 1882, Durand began his career in the city's café-concerts and
music halls before transitioning to film in 1908, initially working briefly at
Pathé and then producing more than forty films—most now lost—at Société Lux.
In 1910, Durand joined Gaumont as a replacement for Roméo
Bosetti, quickly rising to become the studio's third-most-important director
after Louis Feuillade and Léonce Perret, where he helmed fast-paced comedies
and genre-blending works that influenced later slapstick traditions, such as
the Keystone Cops and Marx Brothers. His signature style emphasized acrobatic
burlesque, wrecked scenery, and adrenaline-fueled absurdity, often featuring a
team of performers called "Les Puittes," including actor Gaston Modot.
Notable among his output were the successful Onésime series (1912–1915), which
pioneered extreme physical comedy and stunts, as well as the Calino and Zigoto
burlesque series starting in 1910 and 1912, respectively.
Durand also directed original westerns filmed in the
Camargue region of France, collaborating with performer Joë Hamman on
spectacular adventures that parodied the genre while incorporating his humorous
flair, such as “Pendaison à Jefferson City” (1911) and “Le Railway de la mort”
(1912). Though many of his films were lost over time, representing less than a
third of his total work surviving today, recent rediscoveries and scholarly
attention, including Francis Lacassin's 2004 book À la recherche de Jean Durand,
have elevated his status as an unjustly forgotten auteur of 1910s cinema. His
career, marked by genius and recklessness, spanned the vibrant early silent era
until the impact of World War I, after which he faded from prominence.
Jean Durand directed and wrote over 200 films during the
silent era, primarily between 1908 and 1929, though records are incomplete due
to the loss of many nitrate prints and incomplete documentation from early
production companies like Pathé, Lux, and Gaumont. His works span burlesque
comedies, Western parodies, and later dramas, with fewer than a third surviving
today.
Jean Durand married actress Berthe Dagmar on December 11,
1917, in Paris. They remained married until Durand died on March 10, 1946, at
the age of 63.
Jean Durand directed twenty nine silent Euro-westerns: “Le
desperado” (The Desperado) in 1907, “L’enfant du chercheur d’or” (The Gold Prospector's
Child), “Le fer à cheval” (The Horsehoe), “Le jeune chef indien” (The Young
Indian Chief) all in 1909, “Les aventures d’un cowboy à Paris” (The Adventures
of a Cowboy in Paris), “Amitié de cow-boy” (Amitie the Cowboy), “Arizona Bill:
L'Attaque du train” (Arizona Bill: Attack on the Train), “Bornéo Bill”, “Un
drame sur une locomotive” (A Drama on a Locomotive), “L’amour du ranch” (The
Love of the Ranch), “Les chasseurs de fourrures” (The Fur Hunters), “Pendaison
à Jefferson City” (Hanging at Jefferson City), “La main coupée” (The Severed
Hand), and “Reconnaissance d’Indien (Recognized as an Indian) all in 1910, “Les
aventures d’Arizona Bill” (The Adventures of Buffalo Bill), “Les Aventures de
trois Peaux-Rouges à Paris) (he Adventures of Three Redskins in Paris), “Aux
mains des bandits” (In the Hands of Bandits), “Calino veut être cow-boy” (Calino
Wants to be a Cowboy), “Cent dollars mort ou vif” (One Hundred Dollars, Dead or
Alive), “Le cheval vertueux” (The Virtuous Horse), and “La prairie en feu” (The
Burning Prairie) all in 1911, “Coeur ardent” (Ardent Heart), “L’homme et
l’ourse” (The Man and the She-Bear), “Mariage au revolver” (Marriage With a
Revolver), “Le Chemin de fer de la mort” (The Railway of Death) all in 1912, “La
dernière minute” (The Last Minute) and “Onésime sur le sentier de la guerre” (Onésime
on the Warpath) both in 1913 and “La chasse à l’homme” (The Manhunt) in 1914
DURAND, Jean [12/15/1882, Paris,
Île-de-France, France – 3/10/1946, Paris, Île-de-France, France] – journalist,
cartoonist, producer, director, assistant director, writer, actor, married to
director, dancer, actress, director Berthe Dagmar (Albertine Blanche Augusta Marie Hamon) [1881-1934] (1917-1934).
Le desperado – 1907
L’enfant du
chercheur d’or - 1909
Le fer à cheval -
1909
Le jeune chef indien
– 1909
Les aventures d’un
cowboy à Paris – 1910
Amitié de cow-boy –
1910
Arizona Bill:
L'Attaque du train – 1910
Bornéo Bill – 1910
Un drame sur une
locomotive - 1910
Les chasseurs de
fourrures - 1910
Pendaison à
Jefferson City - 1910
La main coupée -
1910
Reconnaissance
d’Indien – 1910
Les aventures
d’Arizona Bill – 1911-1913 (co)
Les Aventures de
trois Peaux-Rouges à Paris - 1911
Aux mains des
bandits – 1911
Calino veut être
cow-boy – 1911
Cent dollars mort ou
vif – 1911
Le cheval vertueux –
1911
Les Deux Trappeurs –
1911
La prairie en feu –
1911
Coeur ardent – 1912
L’homme et l’ourse -
1912
Mariage au revolver
– 1912
Le Chemin de fer de
la mort – 1912
La dernière minute -
1913
Onésime sur le
sentier de la guerre - 1913
La chasse à l’homme –
1914
Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Massimiliano
Capriccioli
Massimiliano Capriccioli was basically a filmmaker. He
worked in several capacities during his film career. He was set director,
production designer, writer, art director and costume designer.
Massimiliano is listed in Italian Film: A Who’s Who
but only by name and small filmography. Other than that I can find no
biographical information on him.
Massimiliano Capriccioli co-wrote three Spahgetti
westerns: “Django spara per primo” (Django Shoots First) with Tito Carpi,
Sandro Continenza, Alberto DeMartino, Vincenco, Flamini and Giovanni Simonelli,
“Per pochi dollari ancora” (Fort Yuma Gold) with Sandro Continenza, Remigo Del
Grosso, Guilles Morris Dumoulin, Augusto Finocchi, Ettore Giannini and Leonardo
Martín and “Per il gusto di uccidere” (A Taste for Killing) with Víctor Auz,
Augusto Finocchi, Remigio Del Grosso, Sandro Continenza, Leonardo Martin all in
1966.
CAPRICCIOLI, Massimiliano (aka Massimo
Capriccioli) [Italian] – writer.
Django Shoots First
– 1966 (co) [as Massimo Capriccoli]
Fort Yuma Gold –
1966 (co)
A Taste for Killing
– 1966 (co)
Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Adam Greenburg
Born in Krakow, Poland, on April 11, 1937, Greenberg was
raised in Israel and was a passionate still photographer in his youth. Working
as a film-lab technician in Tel Aviv for three years sharpened his technical
skills — and also gave him access to copies of American Cinematographer — and
soon, he was shooting newsreels. An internship on producer David Perlov’s
celebrated documentary short In Jerusalem led to many jobs behind the camera on
Israeli documentaries and features; Greenberg quickly moved up to cinematographer
and had dozens of such credits to his name by the time he shot his first U.S.
feature, Samuel Fuller’s “The Big Red One”, a World War II drama filmed mostly
in Israel.
Though three of Greenberg’s Israeli feature credits
received Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film (“I Love You Rosa”, “The
House on Chelouche Street” and “Operation Thunderbolt”), and despite his
acclaimed work with Fuller, the cinematographer scraped for work when he moved
to Los Angeles in 1981. “I had no job and no promises and very few
connections,” “I visited very agent in town. No one encouraged me.” Persistence
led to his first low-budget feature, and then Cameron came calling with the
non-union production “The Terminator”.
Greenberg became an ASC member in 1990, after his name
was put forward by Allen Daviau, Isidore Mankofsky and Frank Raymond.
Greenburg died in Los Angeles on October 30, 2025 at the
age of 88.
Adam Greenburg was the cinematographer on one Spaghetti
western, “La valle dei Comanche” (Madron) with Marcel Grignon.
GREENBURG, Adam (Adam A. Grinberg) [4/11/1937, Kraków, Malopolskie,
Poland – 10/30/2025, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.] – cinematographer,
cameraman, married to Varda L. Greenberg father of three children.
Madron – 1970 (co)
