Spanish Western actors [Part 2 “The Great Secondary Actors”]

 Diario 16 Mediterraneo

By Santiago Aparicio

8/18/2023

If Spain contributed anything, in addition to specialists and the territory, secondary actors were secondary actors to the European western. There are Xan das Bolas, José Calvo, Julián Mateos, Armando Calvo, Leo Anchóriz, Antonio Casas... and so many others who participated residually. Of course, all the extras who acted were also national products. But there were some secondary ones who were the real faces of the European western because they appeared in almost every movie.

Great actors who often had no line, but in others were secondary luxury and, even in some productions, co-stars. Actors who have died so many times that Sean Bean remains a mere apprentice. Aldo Sambrell, Indio González, Frank Braña or Antonio Molino Rojo are faces that cannot be seen without the music of Ennio Morricone or Bruno Nicolai floating in the atmosphere. If you think of a western movie bad it is more than likely that his image will appear in that effluvium of memories. They didn't make all the films but almost. When given the opportunity to act beyond two or three lines they demonstrated their acting abilities. Without them there would have been no European western.

And finally, although they did not usually have a leading role, two great Spanish western actresses. Nieves Navarro (or Susan Scott) was the great Spanish lady of the genre (she would make a film with Fernando Sancho and Peret) until she went to Italy to make risqué films, typical of the 1970s. Monica Randall was the other great lady of the western participating in some of the best-known productions. Later his career is well known for its interpretive quality.

Good actors today almost forgotten, at least the names that not the faces, who starred in a cinematographic boom that managed to eclipse the creators of the genre themselves. In Europe, although in the US there are true fans of spaghetti western, the most remembered cowboy movies (beyond the four or five classics) are those of their own production. Those double sessions, those summer cinemas, all those revenges to fulfill, filled the European theaters with shots, horses and dust. Today they are still one of the most watched movies when they are shown on television (free). And in all, there were the magnificent Spanish actors who today receive a well-deserved tribute.