Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director – Hermann Basler

 Hermann Siegfried Basler was born in Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany on October 6, 1896. The son of son of director Adolf Basler and screenwriter Mary Basler. His claim to Euro-western fame was his starring role in the silent film three-part series "Bull Arizona". Hermann was also a producer, director and screenwriter and co-wrote one of the Bull Arizona episodes along with his mother and father. By the early 1920s his career in front of the camera was over. Hermann wrote one more script in 1922 for the film “Der graue Hund” for director Phil Jutzi and that was the climax of his short three-year career.

Basler directed one Euro-western: “Der Überfall in der Sierra-Nevada-Schlucht” in 1920.

 Hermann Basler passed away on September 17, 1982, at Inning am Ammersee, Bavaria, Germany. He was 85.

BASLER, Hermann (Hermann Siegfried Basler) [10/6/1896, Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany - 9/17/1982, Inning am Ammersee, Bavaria, Germany] - producer, director, screenwriter, cameraman, actor, son of director Adolf Basler [1878-1951], screenwriter Mary Basler [18??-19??].

Der Überfall in der Sierra-Nevada-Schlucht – 1920

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter – Dario Argento

Dario Argento was born on September 7, 1940, in Rome, Italy, the first-born son of famed Italian producer Salvatore Argento and Brazilian fashion model Elda Luxardo. Argento recalls getting his ideas for filmmaking from his close-knit family from Italian folk tales told by his parents and other family members, including an aunt who told him frighting bedtime stories. Argento based most of his thriller movies on childhood trauma, yet his own--according to him--was a normal one. Along with tales spun by his aunt, Argento was impressed by stories from The Grimm Brothers, Hans Christian Andersen and Edgar Allan Poe. Argento started his career writing for various film journal magazines while still in his teens attending a Catholic high school. After graduation, instead of going to college, Argento took a job as a columnist for the Rome daily newspaper Paese Sera. Inspired by the movies, he later found work as a screenwriter and wrote several screenplays for a number of films.

Between 1968 and 1972, Argento was married to Marisa Casale, the great-granddaughter of Italian composer, pianist and conductor Alfredo Casella. Argento and Casale had one child, actress and costume designer Fiore Argento (born in 1970).

Argento had a professional and romantic relationship with Italian actress and screenwriter Daria Nicolodi; they met in 1974 during casting for “Deep Red”, and their daughter director, writer, actress Asia Argento was born in 1975. He’s the grandfather of actress Anna Lou Castoldi

Argento is considered in Italy as the Master of Horror and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at Locarno Film Festival [2021].

Often overlooked but most important were his western collaborations, which included “Cimitero senza croci (Cemetery Without Crosses) (1969), the Sergio Leone masterpiece “C'era una volta il West” (Once Upon a Time in the West) (1968) and co-writing the screenplay for “Un esercito di 5 uomini” (The 5-Man Army) with Marc Richards in 1969..

ARGENTO, Dario (aka Argento, Sirio Bernadotte) [9/7/1940, Rome, Lazio, Italy -     ] – producer, director, writer, composer, film editor, actor, son of producer Salvatore Argento [1914-1987] fashion model Elda Luxardo [1915-2013], married to professor Marisa Casale (1968-1972) [1940-    ] father of production manager, actress Fiore Argento (Fiorella Argento) [1970-    ], father of director, writer, actress Asia Argento (Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento) [1975-    ] with writer, actress Daria Nicolodi [1950-2020], grandfather of actress Anna Lou Castoldi [2001-    ] awarded Lifetime Achievement Award at Locarno Film Festival [2021].

Today We Kill… Tomorrow We Die! – 1967 (co)

Cemetery Without Crosses – 1968 (co)

The 5-Man Army – 1969 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer – Léon Wladimir Batifol

French cinematographer Léon Wladimir Batifol was born around the end of the 20^th century but no specific date of birth can be found. He worked during the silent film era on eighteen films between 1919 and 1928. What happened to him after this is unknown as I can find no biographical information on him.

Batifol’s only Euro-western was “La filled du lion” in 1923.

BATIFOL, Léon Wladimir (aka Batifol, Guillaume Batifol, Léon Batifol) [French]– cinematographer, actor.

La fille du lion - 1923