.Westerns...All'Italiana!

Saturday, May 9, 2026

From the WAI! vault

Little Known Spaghetti Western Actors ~ Grazia DiMarzà

[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.]

Grazia Di Marzà was born on January 18, 1922, in Catania, Sicily, Italy. As a native of Catania, she originated from the Sicilian region of southern Italy.

Di Marzà was an Italian actress known for her supporting roles in Italian films and television productions, primarily during the 1960s and 1970s. She appeared in over twenty films, often in character parts, with notable credits including “Malicious” (1973), “Il marchese di Roccaverdina” (1972), and “The Beast” (1970). She worked in both cinema and television, contributing to various Italian productions throughout her career from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Di Marzà was the mother of actor and voice actor Franco Chillemi. She died on April 17, 1993, in Rome, Italy at the age of 71.

Grazia DiMarzà appeared in two Spaghetti westerns: “La Belva” (The Beast) as Maria in 1970 and “Il sogno di Zorro” (The Grandson of Zorro) as Ruarte’s mother in 1975.

DiMARZA, Grazia (aka Grazia De Marza) (Grazia DiMarzà) [1/18/1922, Catania, Sicily, Italy – 4/17/1993, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – film, TV actress, mother of assistant director, actor Franco Chillemi [1942-2011] with actor Nicola Chillemi.

The Beast – 1970 (Maria)

The Grandson of Zorro – 1975 (Ruarte’s mother)

Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Edward Dmytryk

Edward Dmytryk was a Canadian-born American film director noted for his work in film noir and films addressing social issues during the 1940s, including “Murder, My Sweet” (1944) and “Crossfire” (1947). Born in Grand Forks, British Columbia on September 4, 1908, to Ukrainian immigrant parents, he moved with his family to San Francisco as a child and entered the film industry as a messenger at Paramount Pictures before becoming an editor in 1929 and directing his first feature, “The Hawk”, in 1935.

Dmytryk joined the Communist Party in 1944, motivated by ideals of ending global poverty, but left the organization by 1945 after becoming disillusioned. In 1947, as one of the Hollywood Ten, he refused to answer questions from the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) regarding his political affiliations, leading to a conviction for contempt of Congress and a sentence of up to one year in federal prison, of which he served six months after returning from exile in England. The episode resulted in his placement on the Hollywood blacklist, severely limiting his directing opportunities amid industry-wide ostracism of those associated with communism.

In April 1951, Dmytryk testified cooperatively before HUAC, admitting his prior Communist Party membership and naming 26 former colleagues as party members, actions that ended his blacklisting and enabled him to resume a prolific career with high-profile films such as “The Caine Mutiny” (1954) and “The Young Lions” (1958). He later described communism as immoral and defended his testimony, arguing it provided HUAC only information the committee already possessed, though it drew lasting condemnation from some peers who viewed his cooperation as betrayal. Toward the end of his directing career in the 1970s, Dmytryk transitioned to teaching at institutions like the University of Southern California and authored memoirs reflecting on his experiences, including It's a Hell of a Life, But Not a Bad Living (1979) and Odd Man Out: A Memoir of the Hollywood Ten (1996).

Edward Dmytryk died on July 1, 1999 in Encino, California, at age 90, from heart and kidney failure at his home in Encino, California. He had been ill for approximately one year prior to his death, as reported by his wife, Jean Porter.

Edward Dmytryk directed one Spaghetti western, “Shalako” in 1968.

DMYTRYK, Edward (aka Edward Dymtryk, Moe Miller) [9/4/1908, Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada – 7/1/1999, Encino, California, U.S.A. (heart, kidney failure)] – producer, director, writer, film editor, married to Madeleine Robinson [1912–1952] (1932-1947) father of production manager, director, assistant director Michael J. Dmytryk (Michael Joseph Dmytryk) [1941-2021], actress, singer married to Jean Porter [1922–2018] (1948-1999) father of Richard Dmytryk (Richard Edward Dmytryk) [1949-1992] , Victoria Dmytryk [1951- ], Rebecca Dmytryk [1961- ].

Shalako - 1968

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ James Campbell

James Campbell is a British filmmaker known for his work as a writer and director specializing in independent genre films, particularly horror, western-horror, crime, and action shorts. Based in the Northeast of England, he graduated from the Northern School of Art in 2015 and has since focused on creating low-budget, high-concept projects inspired by the films he enjoyed as a young viewer.

His notable short films include “Ripper” (2016), “Please Don't Die” (2018), “Tiger Man” (2020), “1986” (2021), “Bushwhacker Blues” (2022), and “Seeing” (2023), often serving as director, writer, and producer across these projects. Campbell has transitioned toward feature-length work, with upcoming films such as “The Moonshine Gang of Cheyenne” starring Steven Ogg, Pollyanna McIntosh, and Richard Brake), “Jumper” (a festive horror comedy co-written with Pollyanna McIntosh), and others in development including “Screwjob” and “Killingworth”.

His filmmaking approach emphasizes practical effects, genre homage, and regional storytelling from the Northeast of England, positioning him as an emerging voice in independent British cinema.

James Campbell wrote the screenplays for two recent Euro-westerns: “The Moonshine Gang of Cheyenne” in 2018 and “Bushwhacker Blues” in 2022.

CAMPBELL, James [British] – producer, director, writer.

The Moonshine Gang of Cheyenne - 2018

Bushwhacker Blues – 2022

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Aldo Greci

Aldo Greci is/was an Italian cinematographer on 39 films between 1957 to 1980. He’s another overlooked artist who’s not mentioned in Italian Film: A Who’s Who and little other than a filmography can be found online.

Aldo Greci was a cinematographer on four Spaghetti westerns: “Il segno di Coyote” (The Sign of the Coyote) with Carlo Fiore, “El Cisco” (Cisco) in 1966, “Una colt in pugno al diavolo” (A Colt in the Hand of the Devil) in 1967 and “Il lungo giorno del massacre” (The Long Day of the Massacre) in 1968.

GRECI, Aldo (aka Alfred Carbot, Alan Jones, Al Worley) [Italian] – writer, cinematographer.

The Sign of the Coyote – 1963 (co)

Cisco – 1966

A Colt in the Hand of the Devil - 1967

The Long Day of the Massacre – 1968

Spaghetti Western Locations for 1970’s “Companeros”.

We continue our search for filming locations for 1970s “Companeros” As mentioned last week the story is told by Yodlaf ‘The Penguin’ Petersen in flashback. A passenger train arrives in the town of San Bernardino and ‘The Penguin’, the only passenger departing, uncouples the boxcar from the last passenger car and signals the engineer to proceed. As the train exits the small station Yodlaf approaches the station office only to discover it covered with revolutionary slogans and dead soldiers with notes laying on their bodies. Yodlaf leaves the office and walks to the box car. Opening it he retrieves a pistol from his satchel and attaches a timing mechanism to the underside of the box car and attaches the wires to a box of dynamite. He closes the door and switches the sign on the side of the box car from “Explosives” to “Infectious Vaccines”. He then walks away.

This location was filmed in the town Villamanta, Spain only the station remains today.

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/

Zorro - Série de TV (2024) Review

Por um punhado de euros

By Pedro Pereira

It is not customary to discuss TV series here on the blog, but we are going to make an exception to cover Jean Dujardin’s return to the Western genre. After starring as Lucky Luke in the 2009 film, Dujardin now dons the cape of the Californian vigilante, Zorro. This time, it is in a serialized version brought to us by Paramount+ in 2024. The format is that of a miniseries, consisting of eight short episodes. And, as with previous adaptations of the pulp character, the tone leans toward comedy—though here it is more amped-up, yet unfortunately never quite reaches the level of being hilarious.

Dujardin is an effective actor with a long and multifaceted career already under his belt. He even won an Oscar for Best Actor in 2012 for his role as George Valentin in the silent film “The Artist’. He is capable of delivering roles with a dramatic bent as well as others that are completely nonsensical. I tend to prefer the latter—and perhaps that is why I was seriously frustrated by his portrayal of this masked hero, which pales in comparison to the highly politically incorrect secret agent from the spy-spoof franchise “OSS 117”—one of the French actor's best recent roles.

Unfortunately, the humor in this “Zorro” falls flat. The jokes are ineffective, and—because they are frequently sexualized—they contribute to alienating the traditional target audience for these adventures: families.

The series is set in 1821, when Don Diego de la Vega’s father serves as the Mayor of Los Angeles and faces a corrupt adversary: Don Emmanuel. This takes place twenty years after Don Diego retired his alter ego, Zorro. Now in his fifties, Don Diego finds his aptitude and desire to fight social injustice largely held in check by a primary desire to reconnect with his wife, Doña Gabriella—with whom he shares a sterile relationship. The couple has been together for seventeen years; they have no children and no longer make love. It is the return of the masked hero that will ultimately reignite the spark.

Between the lines lies a message regarding immigration, as well as the exploitation of Native Americans and their customs. These are powerful and extremely timely messages—yet they fall short by getting lost in the superficiality with which they are presented. These are significant adaptations, which may prove somewhat disorienting to those familiar with the character through the classic Disney series—then starring the impeccable Guy Williams. These stories were also adapted into comic book form by the great master Alex Toth.

The success of these two formats has colored much of the perception we still hold of the character today, though I believe that by now, the primary reference has shifted to the 1998 film version (“The Mask of Zorro”), which catapulted the Andalusian Antonio Banderas onto the list of the world's most popular actors.

The series was filmed in Castile-La Mancha and Almería, which serve as the setting for the deserts of California; it was shot by a predominantly Spanish crew that repurposed the aesthetic of the sets from Ridley Scott’s “Exodus” and “Game of Thrones”. Ultimately, these are the very landscapes we saw in the hundreds of Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s and 70s—a choice that lends the series absolutely impeccable cinematography.

[The series aired on RTP2 and can still be streamed via the RTP Play platform. ‘Zorro’ premiers in the U.S.A. on the Disney Channel on June 30, 2026.]