Spaghetti Western directors, screenwriters, cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Alexander Butler 

Alexander Charles Butler was born in Lincoln, Niagara, Ontario, Canada on July 27, 1869. Butler shot around 70 works in Britain between 1913 and in 1926, mostly for the producer George Berthold Samuelson. His 1914 film “The Shepherd of the Southern Cross” was shot in Australia. His daughter, the dancer Gwendolen Tremayne, was born in Twickenham, appeared in front of the film camera as a child and was later one of the well-known Tiller girls. Occasionally, Butler, from 1917 to 1922 under the pseudonym Andre Beaulieu, also worked in front of the camera as a performer..

Butler was married to Violet Mary Gwilliam, and they had four children one of which Gwendolen Tremayne Simmons, was a child actress and later a famous dancer.

Alexander Butler directed only one Euro-western “The Night Riders” in 1920.

BUTLER, Alexander (aka Andre Beaulieu) (Alexander Charles Butler) [7/27/1869, Lincoln, Niagara Ontario, Canada – 3/7/1959, Weybridge, Surrey, England. U.K.] – director, writer, actor, married to Violet Mary Gwilliam [1887-1985] (190?-1959), father of actress, dancer Gwendolen Tremayne Simmons [1909–2012], Hugh Tremayne Simmons [1910–1988], Muriel Simmons [1912–2008], Vivien Tremayne Simmons [1914–2002].

The Night Riders - 1920

 

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Jean Bastia

Jean Charles Paul Fortunio Simoni was born February 21 1919, in Bastia, Corsica to the playwright and novelist Jean Bastia from a Corsican family. He was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, and assistant director active primarily in mid-20th-century French cinema.

He began his career in the film industry as an assistant director on numerous productions during the 1940s and 1950s, contributing to over 40 films in roles including production manager and screenwriter before transitioning to directing.

Details on Bastia's personal relationships, marriage, or children remain scarce in public records, with no documented marriages or offspring noted in available biographical sources, reflecting a private life largely shielded from media attention. His enduring connection to Corsica, through family heritage, suggests a cultural affinity that persisted beyond his professional pursuits in mainland France. No specific interests outside cinema, such as hobbies or philanthropy, are well-documented.

In his later years, Bastia resided in the Dordogne region, marking a quieter phase following his active career. He died on October 16, 2005, in Bergerac, Dordogne, France, at the age of 86, from natural causes

Besides directing a dozen films, he also was a writer on eight films including his only Eur-western: “Dynamite Jack, la terreur de l'Arizona” (Dynamite Jack) in 1960 which he also directed.

BASTIA, Jean (aka J. Bastia) (Jean Charles Paul Fortunio Simoni) [2/21/1925, Bastia, Corsica, France – 10/16/2005, Bergerac, Dordogne, France] – production manager, director, assistant director, writer, songwriter, son of songwriter, singer, actor, filmmaker Jean Bastia [1878-1940].

Dynamite Jack – 1960 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Carlo Carlini

Carlo Carlini was born in Rome on February 20, 1929. He worked on more than three hundred films, from 1949 to 1988. At the age of 16, from 1936 to 1948, he began working as an assistant cameraman together with the director of photography Otello Martelli. In 1954, he worked with directors Federico Fellini, on the film “La strada” and with Roberto Rossellini on “La paura”.

I can find no reference to his passing away, so I presume he’s still living somewhere in Italy at this time.

Carlo Carlin was a cinematographer on seven Spaghetti westerns: “El ultimo de los Mohicanos” (Fall of the Mohicans) with Miguel Mila and “Los pistoleros de Arizona” $5,000 on One Ace) with Roberto Reale and Christian Matras both in 1965, “La resa dei conti” (The Big Gundown) in 1966, “…e per tetto un cielo di stelle” (And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars) and “Da uomo a uomo” (Death Rides a Horse) both in 1968, “Il suo nome e Qualcano” (The Last Rebel) in 1970 and “Partirono preti, tornarono... curati” (Halleluja to Vera Cruz) in 1973.

CARLINI, Carlo (aka Charlie Charlies) [2/20/1929, Rome, Lazio, Italy -     ] – cinematographer, cameraman.

Fall of the Mohicans – 1965 (co)

$5,000 on One Ace – 1965 (co)

The Big Gundown - 1966

And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars – 1968

Death Rides a Horse - 1968

The Last Rebel - 1970

Halleluja to Vera Cruz – 1973