Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors – Elena Barrios

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.]

Elena Barrios is/was a Spanish actress born in Madrid, Spain in 1931.  She appeared in ten films between 1949 and 1963. I can find no biographical information on her other than a birthyear and a list of her films in Diccionario del cine Español. What happened to her is unknown.

Elena Barros appeared in one Spaghetti western, “Il segno di Zorro” (The Sign of Zorro) as Señora Martinez y Rayol in 1963.

I’ve watched the film in Spanish and German and although the Martinez name is mentioned I saw no one answering that name in the film and the there are only two women actually shown in individual scenes or closeups are the two main female stars of the picture Danielle de Metz as Manuela and Gaby André as Señora Gutiérrez. The other female actresses are seen in crowd scenes.

BARRIOS, Elena [1931, Madrid, Madrid, Spain -     ] – film actress.

The Sign of Zorro – 1963 (Señora Martinez y Rayol)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Giorgio Gentili

Giorgio Gentili was born in Rome in 1928. Gentili started in the film industry as a production secretary at a young age; from 1959 he was regularly an assistant director for several directors. Between 1966 and 1972 he often collaborated with Carlo Lizzani. During this period, the films that Gentili probably directed, but which are officially attributed to the American television director Stanley Prager, were made: The curious “Two Numbers Too Big”, in which Dustin Hoffman debuted, and “Bang Bang Kid”. After the end of the 1970s, Gentili seems to have left the film business. Some sources also credit Gentili with directing the Italo Western “Sledge” (1970), for which he was only involved as an assistant.

Gentili used the alias Stanley Prager and co-directed one Spaghetti western, “Bang, Bang” (Bang Bang Kid) with Luciano Lelli.

GENTILI, Giorgio (aka Dan Ash, G. Gentili, Stanley Prager) [1928, Rome, Lazio, Italy -     ] – director, assistant director, writer, actor.

Bang Bang Kid – 1967 (co) [as Stanley Prager]

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ S. Clarke-Hook

S. Clarke Hook was born Sydney Clarke-Hook in Hornsey, Middlesex, England on July 7, 1857. He was one of most popular boys’ story paper writers of his era. He was best-known for his stories of “Jack, Sam and Pete”, a trio of rich adventurers whose comic exploits took them all over the world, and which began in Alfred Harmsworth’s The Marvel in 1901 and ran until 1922.  He also wrote countless other stories, mainly school stories, for many other Harmsworth papers. For a long time, it was thought that his first name was Samuel, until Bill Lofts, writing in The Collectors’ Digest in November 1973, revealed that it was actually Sydney. Yet, despite his popularity and longevity – his working career spanned around 35 years – nothing has been written before about his life.

Sydney Clarke Hook subsequently died at Rogate Lodge, Surrey Road, Bournemouth, on August 14, 1923, at the age of 66.

Sydney Clarke-Hook wrote the screenplay for one silent Euro-western “Jack, Sam and Pete” in 1919.

CLARKE-HOOK, S. (Sydney Clarke-Hook) [7/7/1857, Hornsey, Middlesex, England, U.K. 8/14/1923, Bournemouth, Dorset, England, U.K. - author, writer, married to Alice Elizabeth Gray [1858-1947] (1876-1923) father of Sydney Victor Clarke-Hook [1877-1883], Beatrice Madeline Clarke-Hook [1880-1882], author Herbert Clarke Clarke-Hook [1883-1957], Evelyn Irene Clarke-Hook [1886-1930], Mabel Inez Clarke-Hook [1887-1960], Sybil Dora Clarke-Hook [1893-1977].

Jack, Sam and Pete – 1919

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Frank Kesson

Frank Kesson was born on August 27, 1885, in Cleveland, Ohio and was an American cinematographer. He worked with Byron Haskin in “The Sea Beast” (1926), the Spanish western film “El hombre malo” (1930), “El cantante de Nápoles” (1935) with William Rees, “La dama atrevida” (1931), “La llamada sagrada” (1931), “Die heilige Flamme” (1931),[5] and “Millionaires” (1926).

He died on September 29, 1939, in Cleveland at the age of 54.

As mentioned above Frank Kesson was a cinematographer one two Euro-westerns “El hombre malo” and “Lopez, le bandit” both in 1930.

KESSON, Frank [8/27/1885, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. – 9/29/1939, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.] – cinematographer.

El hombre malo – 1930

New Swedish DVD release “Pancho Villa”

 

“Pancho Villa”

(1968)

 

Director: Buzz Kulik

Starring: Charles Bronson, Yul Brynner, James Mitchum

 

Country: Sweden

Label: Studio S / Retro Film

Widescreen

Aspect ratio: 16:9. 2.35:1

Language: Dolby Digital 2.0 English, German

Subtitles: German

Running time: 117 minutes

ASIN: B09XLY6NY6

Available: June 22, 2026

New French Blu-ray, DVD release “Et maintenant, on l'appelle El Magnifico”

 

Et maintenant, on l'appelle El Magnifico

(Man of the East)

(1972)

 

Director: Enzo Barboni

Starring: Terence Hill, Gregory Walcott, Harry Carey, Dominic Barto, Yanit Somer

 

Country: France

Label: Bubbel Pop Édition

Blu-ray, DVD

Language: English

Running time: 118 minutes

Available: June 22, 2026

Spaghetti Western locations Then & Now – “Johnny Yuma”

In the 1966 film “Johnny Yuma” we see Johnny (Mark Damon) waiting for Linus Jerome Carradine (Lawrence Dobkin) for their duel. This scene was filmed in Polopos, Almería, Spain.

Here’s the same location as seen in 2026.

European Westerns ~ COLLANA FRECCIA (Capitan Miki - Il Grande Blek)

 

Captain Miki - The Grand Blek

This comic book series was a reprinting of stories featuring Captain Miki (CM) and The Grand Blek (GB), by both the EsseGesse studio and other authors, without regard for chronological order. Issues #29 and #31 feature "Principe Albert," a previously unpublished Grande Blek story. Covers by Franco Bignotti (nos. #1–#6, #8, and #10–#23), Emilio Uberti (nos. #7 and #9), and Dino Busett (#24–#45). A six-month gap occurred between the publication of issue #33 and issue #34. Issue #45 bears the name "MIKI" on the spine but contains a "BLEK" story.

The comic was published in 1968 with issue #1 being released in March and ending with issue #45 in July 1977. It was published by CED under Editors in Chiefs Franco Baglioni and Lodovico Bevilacqua in Milan, Italy. Each issue contained 192-224 black & white pages with color covers.

 

Titles

01 (00.03.68) - “Il Tartaro misterioso” (CM) (The Mysterious Tartar)

02 (00.06.68) - “I patrioti del «Titan»” (The Patriots of the ‘Titan’)

03 (00.09.68) - “I Rangers neri (CM) (The Black Rangers)

04 (00.12.68) - “Il capitano Roger” (GB) (Captain Roger)

05 (00.03.69) - “Il fuorilegge della Sierra nera” (CM) (The Outlaw of the Black Sierra)

06 (00.06.69) - “S.O.S. Giubbe rosse” (GB) (S.O.S. Redcoats)

07 (00.09.69) - “La valle senza sole” (CM) (The Sunless Valley)

08 (00.12.69) - “Terrore nella foresta” (Terror in the Forest)

09 (00.03.70) - “Frontiera rossa” (CM) (Red Frontier)

10 (00.05.70) - “I ribelli della foresta” (GB) (The Rebels of the Forest)

11 (00.07.70) - “El Moro” il bandito” (CM) (El Moro the Bandit)

12 (00.09.70) - “I dominatori del deserto” (GB) (The Masters of the Desert)

13 (00.11.70) - “Il terrore della Sierra” (CM) (The Terror of the Sierra)

14 (00.01.71) - “Tutti contro Blek!” (GB) (Everyone Against Blek!)

15 (00.03.71) - “Il grande Sakem” (GB) (The Great Sakem)

16 (00.05.71) - “Il figlio della notte” (CM) (The Son of the Night)

17 (00.07.71) - “Zukor il solitario” (GB) (Zukor the Lonely)

18 (00.09.71) - “Sul sentiero di guerra” (CM) (On the Warpath)

19 (00.11.71) - “Alla riscossa!” (GB) (To the Rescue!)

20 (00.01.72) - “I banditi della Sierra” (CM) (The bandits of the Sierra)

21 (00.03.72) - “I ribelli di Brokton-City” (GB) (The Rebels of Brokton City)

22 (00.05.72) - “I predoni delle montagne” (CM) (The Mountain Raiders)

23 (00.07.72) - “Destinazione “mistero”” (GB) (Destination ‘Mystery)

24 (00.09.72) - “Snake City città proibita” (CM) (Snake City: Forbidden City)

25 (00.11.72) - “La freccia rossa” (GB) (The Red Arrow)

26 (00.01.73) - “La legge della colt” (CM) (The Law of the Colt)

27 (00.03.73) - “Il totem di pietra” (GB) (The Stone Totem)

28 (00.05.73) - “I cavalieri della giustizia” (CM) (The Knights of Justice)

29 (00.07.73) - “L’invincibile” (GB) (The Invincible One)

30 (00.09.73) - “Terra senza legge” (CM) (Lawless Land)

31 (00.11.73) - “Lotta di giganti” (GB) (A Struggle of Giants)

32 (00.01.74) - “Per la legge e per l’onore” (CM) (For the Law and for Honor)

33 (00.03.74) - “Nel nome della libertà” (GB) (In the Name of Freedom)

34 (00.09.74) - “Colpo di stato” (CM) (Coup d'état)

35 (00.12.74) - “Terra senza legge” (GB) (Lawless Land)

36 (00.03.75) - “Lotta senza quartiere” (CM) (A Fight Without Quarters)

37 (00.07.75) - “Lotta di giganti” (GB) (A Struggle of Giants)

38 (00.10.75) - “Frontiera rossa” (CM) (Red Frontier)

39 (00.01.76) - “Il tesoro indiano” (GB) (The Indian Treasure)

40 (00.04.76) - “Al galoppo nel passato” (CM) (Galloping into the Past)

41 (00.07.76) - “I fratelli della pace” (GB) (The Brothers of Peace)

42 (00.10.76) - “Bagliori all’Ovest” (Glimmers in the West)

43 (00.01.77) - “L’oro nascosto” (GB) (The Hidden Gold)

44 (00.04.77) - “Verso il Nord” (CM) (Towards the North)

45 (00.07.77) - “I figli del drago nero” (GB) (The Sons of the Black Dragon)

Special Birthdays

Roger Cudney (actor) would have been 90 but died in 2021.

Kris Kristofferson (actor) would have been 90 today but died in 2024.

Ion Pascu (actor) is 85 today.

 

Lykke Nielsen (actor) would have been 80 today but died in 2006.

Lucio Montanaro (actor) is 75 today.

 

Carlotta Bolognini (actress) is 65 today.