From the WAI! vault

 

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Philippe Duval

[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.]

While still a high school student, Philippe Duval was hired to play guitar in a standard ballroom orchestra at the Passage des Panoramas (a venue close to the famous Golf-Drouot in Paris). It was there, he met a teenage Johnny Hallyday, who asked Duval to accompany him on stage so they could perform American-style rock 'n' roll. In December 1959, Duval accompanied Hallyday on guitar during his historic live appearance on the radio show ‘Paris Cocktail.Vogue’

Duval played alongside Hallyday during his pivotal audition for Vogue Records, which ultimately launched Hallyday's professional career. The two separated in early 1960 when the record deal forced a change in backing musicians.

Duval later transitioned to working behind the scenes as a press attaché and songwriter. He co-wrote popular 1960s French tracks with Jean-Pierre Chichportich (the original drummer for Les Chaussettes Noires), contributing songs to Yé-yé icons and artists like Sheila, Frank Alamo, Annie Philippe, and Catherine Ribeiro.

The French actor and singer appeared as a "street singer" in the 1977 film “Another Man, Another Chance” and held various character roles in French television and cinema over several decades.

Philipe Duval appeared in one Euro-western, “Un autre homme, une autre chance” (Another Man, Another Chance” as a street singer in 1977/

DUVAL, Philippe [1941, France -     ] – musician, singer, film, TV actor.

Another Man, Another Chance – 1977 (street singer)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Gottfried Kolditz

Gottfried Kolditz is a German film director and screenwriter known for his prolific career at the DEFA studios in East Germany, where he directed numerous feature films across various genres during the 1960s and 1970s. He specialized in fairy-tale adaptations, musicals, comedies, westerns (particularly the Indianerfilme featuring Gojko Mitić), and science fiction, making him one of the most productive DEFA directors of his era.

Born on December 14, 1922, in Saxony, Kolditz studied German philology and theater in Leipzig before working as an actor and theater director. He entered the film industry in 1955 and became a feature film director in 1958, producing notable works such as fairy-tale films like ''Schneewittchen'', the science-fiction film ''Signale – Ein Weltraumabenteuer'', and westerns including ''Spur des Falken'', ''Apachen'', and ''Ulzana''. His career also included screenplay writing, sometimes under a pseudonym, and he published science-fiction short stories. Kolditz died in 1982 while on location for a new project.

His son Stefan Kolditz later became a successful screenwriter.

Gottfried Kolditz died in Ljubljana, Slovenia on June 15, 1982, at the age of 59.

Gottfried Lolditz directed three Euro-westerns: “Spur des Falken” (The Falcon’s Trail) in 1967, “Apaches das Gesetz heisst Rache” (Apaches) and “Ulzana) both in 1973.

KOLDITZ, Gottfried (aka Dr. Gottfried Kolditz) [12/14/1922, Goldbach-Altenbach, Haut-Rhin, Germany – 6/15/1982, Ljubljana, Slovenia] – director, writer, actor, married to Erika Koch [1926-2004] (19??-1982) father of playwright Stefan Kolditz [1956-    ], Susanne Kolditz [1960-    ].

The Falcon’s Trail - 1967

Apaches – 1973 [as Dr. Gottfired Kolditz]

Ulzana – 1973

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Dino de Rugieriis

Dino de Rugieriis was and Italian screenwriter. According to the IMDb he wrote screenplays for only two films, both in 1969. No other biographical information is available on him.

Dino de Rugieriis wrote a screenplay for one Spaghetti western. “Quinto: non ammazzare” (Quinto: Fighting Proud) with Manuel Martínez Remís in 1969.

de RUGIERIIS, Dino (aka Dino De Rugeriis) [Italian] – writer.

Quinto: Fighting Proud – 1969 (co)

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Mario Pacheco

Mario Pacheco de Usa was born in Madrid, Spain in 1923 and was a Spanish cinematographer. Mario was the son of photographer and filmmaker Juan Pacheco "Vandel" and Amparo de Usa, also dedicated to film photography. He collaborated in the incipient Spanish film industry together with his brothers Godofredo Pacheco and Rafael Pacheco. He made his debut as a camera operator in 1948 with Mariano Pombo's “Mañana como hoy” and as a cinematographer in 1952 with Antonio de Obregón's “Hace cien años”. He made a name for himself in the profession by appearing as a camera operator in “Jeromín by Luis Lucia Mingarro” in 1952 and in “Calle mayor” by Juan Antonio Bardem in 1956. He died prematurely at the age of 48. His son, Mario Pacheco (1950-2010), has been a photographer and record director.

Mario Pacheco was a cinematographer on five Spaghetti westerns: “Per mille dollari al Giorno” (Renegade Gunfighter) in 1965, “Requiem per un Gringo” (Duel in the Eclipse), “Uno dopo l’altro” (One After the Other), “L’ira di Dio” (One After the Other) all in 1968 and “Kidnapping: paga o uccidiamo tuo Figlio” ($20,000 for Seven) in 1969.

PACHECO, Mario (Mario Pacheco de Usa) [1923, Madrid, Madrid, Spain – 1971, Madrid, Madrid, Spain] – cinematographer, cameraman, son of photographer Juan Pacheco Vandel [1884-1935], brother of cinematographer, cameraman, actor Rafael Pachecho (Rafael Pacheco de Usa) [1921-    ], cinematographer, cameraman Godofredo Pacheco (Godofredo Pachecho de Usa), uncle of photographer Mario Pacheco [1950-2010].

Renegade Gunfighter – 1965

Duel in the Eclipse – 1968

One After the Other - 1968

Wrath of God – 1968

$20,000 for Seven – 1969

Django Undisputed 2: Justice Is Done, Claudio Del Falco brings the Italian western back to the set

corriereNERD

August 30, 2026

Aprilia once again has the color of dust, the sound of boots on wood and that dirty light that Italian cinema transformed, many decades ago, into a language that is recognizable everywhere. Filming for Django Undisputed 2: Justice Is Done is underway in the Pontine territory, with Claudio Del Falco still engaged in the dual role of director and protagonist. Rather than announcing the "return" of the spaghetti western, a formula abused every time a wide-brimmed hat appears on an Italian set, it is worth talking about a new incursion into a genre that has never really ceased to haunt the pop imagination. From Sergio Corbucci onwards, Django has become almost a mask of the commedia dell'arte transferred to the mud of the frontier: a name passed from film to film, often without narrative continuity, capable of immediately evoking revenge, anarchy and justice administered far from the courts. Del Falco picks up this legacy with the physical attitude gained between action cinema and martial arts, after Iron Fighter, The Martial Avenger and Camille Delamarre's participation as an antagonist in Assassin Club. The first Django Undisputed, which arrived in 2025 with a duration of 84 minutes, saw him alongside Tomas Arana, Michael Segal and Fabio Romagnolo in an action western also indebted to the light-hearted irony made immortal by the Trinity films, a contamination that is anything but sacrilegious for a strand that grew up precisely by recycling archetypes, faces and suggestions. The film is still available in the international digital market, including through Apple TV.

The second chapter ups the ante by relying on an essential, almost archetypal story: Django must free a city subjugated by an unscrupulous boss and avenge his father, supported by his outlaw brother and the women of the town. A premise that might seem simple, but the western has always found its strength in clear structures, in conflicts that can already be read through a door that opens or a hand resting too close to the holster. What changes is what is built around it: the quality of the presences, the relationship between action and landscape, the ability to make the weight of a sunny road perceived even before the first shot is fired. The official profile of Filmitalia–Cinecittà records the project as an Italian production currently in production, dated 2027, directed by Del Falco and scripted by the director himself together with Sandro Arista. The production is being handled by Human Film International, supported by BRS Media and Terik Film Productions; after the passage of the Madison Cinema circuit in theaters, the announced plan provides for the digital distribution of United Digital Studios in over fifty countries and dubbing in ten languages. An interesting strategy especially for an independent work: the western genre has immediate international readability and, in the streaming ecosystem, can cross territories in which contemporary Italian cinema often struggles to reach.

The face destined to first attract the attention of the general public is that of Daniel McVicar, an American actor linked for many years to Beautiful, here very far from the sentimental geometries of Los Angeles in the role of El Chapo. The idea has an almost irresistible irony: one of the most familiar characters on afternoon television enters an Italian border where conflicts are not resolved over a glass in the office of Forrester Creations. His participation is confirmed both by the Filmitalia profile and by the information released by Sky TG24, together with the return of Fabio Romagnolo, an IFBB Pro athlete whose physicality had already left an evident imprint in the first film. The cast is completed by Martina Marotta, Annarita Del Piano, Clara Guggiari, Ciro Buono, Stefano Tricarico, Vanni De Simoni and Reyson Grumelli. Particularly curious is the entry of Vincenzo Galluzzo, interpreter of Jesus in Giulio Base's The Gospel of Judas, presented at the Locarno Film Festival and distributed in Italian cinemas in 2026: a leap from the spiritual rarefaction of a biblical tale to the rough material of the western, also confirmed by the National Film Evaluation Commission, which documents the role played by the actor in Base's work.

The main settings have been identified in Meatfield Town, a permanent western village in Aprilia designed by set designer Tiziano Carnevale, together with other locations in the area. A production choice that matters much more than it may seem, because a western lives in the tactile credibility of spaces: worn axes, facades, fences, dust and perspective depths do not function as a simple backdrop, but determine movements, shots and choreography. Carnevale also signs the set design and coordinates the stunts, while Matteo De Angelis returns to the direction of photography, consolidating a partnership now in its fourth consecutive film with Del Falco. The original music is entrusted to Tony Riggi, the costumes to Francesco Bureca and the production supervision to Giuseppe M. Andreani of Dreamline Pictures. After the conclusion of the set, the work will continue in the BackLight Digital studios for post-production, a step in which the classic image of the frontier and the more muscular rhythm of contemporary action will have to find the right balance.

The real challenge, after all, is not to rebuild a saloon or make a spur resonate over a wooden walkway. It means understanding why we continue to need Django, a dirty and imperfect knight who arrives where the law has stopped working. Django Undisputed 2: Justice Is Done was born within an independent Italian production, with international ambitions and a team that seems to want to work on concreteness even before nostalgia. We will only know in front of the screen if the shot will reach the target; meanwhile, seeing the border reopen in Aprilia retains that slightly crazy charm that belongs to obstinately built cinematographic enterprises. And the western community, on this, will certainly have a lot to discuss.

Spaghetti Western Locations for “Companeros”.

We continue our hunt for filming locations for “Companeros”. As Marcia, John’s trained hawk scours the countryside for The Swede. We see him approaching and stopping at the station where John and his henchmen lie in wait. He watches as Marcia lands in a nearby tree and departs the train engine. Yodlaf tells John to come on out. The two meet and Yodlaf tells John he sees he was able to get off the cross that he nailed him to. John says it was a second resurrection. Yodlaf explains to the henchmen that the two had worked together in Cuba but when the merchandise they sold was found out to be defective Yodlaf, to save himself, made John the fall guy. The Swede asks John how he was able to get off the cross and John said it was Marsha who saved him by eating off his hand. They both laugh Yodlaf tells John those things happen and tells him he must be going but John sends him tumbling to the ground with a punch from his false hand. He’s beaten by John’s henchman and then tied up.

This scene was filmed at what was called the Gor station on the Guadix rail line.

For a more detailed view of this site and other Spaghetti Western locations please visit my friend Yoshi Yasuda’s location site: http://y-yasuda.net/film-location.htm and Captain Douglas Film Locations http://www.western-locations-spain.com/

Special Birthdays

Jeannette Batti (actress) would have been 105 today but died in 2011.

Franz Hofmann (actor) is 60 today.

From the WAI! vault