From the WAI! vault

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Guillermo Elias

[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.]

Guillermo Elias is a little-known Spanish character actor. He has one film credit according to the IMDb and that was also his only Spaghetti western as a storekeeper in 1962’s “Bienvenido, padre Murray” (Welcome Padre Murray).

I can find no biographical information on him.

ELIAS, Guillermo [Spanish] – film actor.

Welcome Padre Murray – 1962 (storekeeper)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Nunzio Malasomma

Nunzio Malasomma was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born in Caserta, Campania, Italy on February 4, 1894, he directed 41 films between 1923 and 1968.

Malasomma entered the world of cinema in 1920 by writing the screenplay for “La casa di vetro”. Three years later, he directed his first film with Luciano Doria, “Un viaggio nell'impossibile”. After Mussolini came to power, he went into exile in Germany where he directed several silent films and wrote several scripts. He returned to Italy in the 1930s to shoot his first talking films. Then, he alternated between German and Italian productions. This veteran of the telefoni bianchi comedy directed a Spaghetti western in 1967, Quindici forche per un assassin” (15 Scaffolds for a Killer). This unique western would be his last film, which he directed at the age of 73. Nunzio Malasomma died on January 12, 1974 in Rome a month before turning 80.

MALASOMMA, Nunzio [2/4/1894, Caserta, Campania, Italy – 1/12/1974, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – director, wirter, film editor.

15 Scaffolds for a Killer – 1968

 

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Felix Fernandez

Felix Fernandez was a Spanish assistant director and writer. He worked as an assistant director on thirty-three films between 1963 and 1987. He also helped write scripts for seven films including both writer and script supervisor.

Felix Fernandez was a co-screenwriter on one Spaghetti western, “Dans la poussière du soleil” (In the Dust of the Sun) with Richard Balducci in 1971.

FERNANDEZ, Félix (aka F. Fernandez, Felix Fernandez, Félix Fernández M.) (Félix Fernández) [Spanish] – assistant director, writer.

In the Dust of the Sun – 1971 (co)

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Konstantin Ryzhov

Konstantin Ryzhov was a Russian cinematographer born in Orekhovo-Zuyevo he worked as a cinematographer on thirty-three films between 1957 and 1991 and was a cameraman on one film during this time. Yet, little is available other than the basics and I can find no biographical information on him.

Ryzhov died in St. Petersburg, Russia on October 15, 2018 at the age of 92 basically ignored by the European film industry.

Konstantin Ryzhov was a cinematographer on two Euro-westerns: “Всадник без Rоловы” (The Headless Rider) in 1972 and “Bооружён и очень опасен” (Armed and Very Dangerous) in 1977.

RYZHOV, Konstantin (aka K. Ryzhov) [4/27/1926, Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Russia – 10/15/2018, St. Petersburg, Russia] – cinematographer, cameraman.

The Headless Rider - 1972

Armed and Very Dangerous – 1977

“Rose Mary”

Review – Ninadel

Hudeček's television Rose Mary is a very strange work. It is based on the famous American operetta by Friml and Stothart from 1924. At first glance, one would like to say that it is a parody, where bad taste alternates with pathos and hysteria. The beauty of the Canadian Rocky Mountains is replaced by the Czech autumn muddy landscape. The western scenery is only symbolic; the costumes are cheap and obviously unpleasant for the actors... But the question arises why? Although the western was an explicitly festive genre for Czech film and television, the popular operetta has become at home in our country even in this scenery. It has been performed many times throughout the country since 1928 and has survived the post-war (and post-revolutionary) selection. In the 1960s, Friml even visited one of the productions at the HDK himself. But in this production, we are left with only a look at the terrible performances of Preissová/Preiss as the main lovers, the Indian Medvecká, Obermaierová/Štěpnička as a brothel and desperate, bored Kostka, Němec and Svojtka. The only ones who understood what genre he was in were Filipovský and Svobodová in the episodes with their lines "madam, I bring you a letter." Film versions were made in 1928, 1936 and 1954, of which the one with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy can be recommended, of course. *****

 

Rose Mary – International title

 

A 1977 Czechoslovakian television production 

Producer:

Director: Václav Hudeček

Story: “Rose Marie” by Rudolf Friml

Teleplay: Václav Hudeček

Photography: Ilja Bojanovský

Music: Rudolf Friml

Running time: 105 minutes

 

Story: The most famous operetta by the American composer of Czech origin Rudolf Friml, inspired by the romance of the Wild West, about the love of the charming Rose Mary and the gold digger Jim.

 

Cast:

Rose Mary - Jana Preissová

Wanda - Tána Medvecká (Taťjana Medvecká)

Lady Jane - Jaroslava Obermaierová

Ethel - Eva Klenová

Jim - Viktor Preiss

Hermann - Jiří Štěpnička

Malon - Petr Kostka

Hawley - František Němec

Emil - Petr Svojtka

Black Eagle - Josef Čáp

Rudy Sup - Bohumil Bezouska

Listonos - František Filipovský

With: Eva Svobodová, Irena Pešicová, Marta Boháčová, Libuše Márová, Libuše Hošťálková, Daniela Šounová, René Tuček, Karel Průša

Special Birthdays

Luigi Pavese (actor) would have been 130 today but died in 1969.

Sabine Bethmann (actress) would have been 95 today but died in 2021.

 

From the WAI! vault

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Carl-Axel Elfving

[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.]

Carl-Axel Elfving was a Swedish actor known for his prolific career as a character actor in Swedish cinema, spanning more than four decades and encompassing over seventy film appearances primarily in popular comedies and farces.

Born on January 12, 1920, in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, Elfving began his film career in 1946 and became a familiar supporting presence in numerous beloved Swedish comedy series from the 1950s through the 1970s, including multiple entries in the “Åsa-Nisse, 47:an Löken”, “91:an Karlsson”, and “Janne Vängman” franchises. Early in his career, he also had roles in Ingmar Bergman-directed films such as “Summer Interlude” (1951) and “Summer with Monika” (1953).

His work extended into the 1980s, with credits in films like “Morrhår & ärtor” (1986) and “Åke och hans värld” (1984), showcasing his versatility in mainstream Swedish productions.

Elfving passed away on January 12, 1988, in Enskede, Stockholm, on his 68^th birthday, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most frequently cast actors in mid-20th-century Swedish popular film.

Carl-Axel Elfving appeared as the Count of Apple Pie and Sheriff of Desperado City “Under ditt parasol” (Under Your Parasol) in 1968 and as a waiter in 1975’s “I Död Mans Spår” (Dead Man’s Trail).

ELFVING, Carl-Axel (aka Karl-Axel Elfing, Karl Axel Elfving, Karl-Axel Elfving) [1/12/1920, Örnsköldsvik, Västernorrlands län, Sweden – 1/12/1988, Enskede, Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden] – theater, film, TV actor, singer.

Under ditt parasol – 1968 (Count of Apple Pie, Sheriff of Desperado City)

Dead Man’s Trail – 1975 (waiter)