Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Paolo Bianchini

Paolo Bianchini was born in Rome, Italy on August 13, 1931. He hailed from a family with deep ties to Italy's resistance during World War II, as the nephew of Mariano Buratti, a partisan educator awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor posthumously after his execution at Forte Bravetta in 1944. This familial legacy, rooted in the anti-fascist struggle, likely shaped Bianchini's perspective on social justice and resilience amid Italy's turbulent mid-20th-century political landscape

 He began his career in 1953 working as an assistant director of a number of notable directors, including Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Vittorio De Sica, Mauro Bolognini and particularly Luigi Zampa, with whom he collaborated several times. From the second half of the 1960 Bianchini was also active as a director and a screenwriter, specializing in low-budget genre films. Starting in the 1970s he focused his work on television and advertising commercials.

Bianchi was also credited under the alias Paul Maxwell several times and as Paolo Bianchi.

Bianchin directed four Spaghetti westerns: “Quel caldo maledetto giorno di fuoco” (Gatling Gun) and “Dio il crea... io li ammazzo!” (God Made Them…I Kill Them” and “Lo voglio morto” (I Want Him Dead) all in 1968 and “Ehi Amigo… sei morto!” (Hey Amigo! A Toast to Your Death) in 1970.

BIANCHINI, Paolo (aka Paolo Bianchi, Paul Maxwell) [8/13/1931, Rome, Lazio, Italy - ] – producer, director, assistant director, writer, married to model, actress Susan Kaszner Worth (Susan Lee Kaszner Van Horn) [1936-    ] (1963-1975) father of Paolo Bianchini Jr. one other child.

Gatling Gun – 1968

God Made Them... I Kill Them – 1968 [as Paolo Bianchi]

I Want Him Dead – 1968

Hey Amigo! A Toast to Your Death - 1970 [as Paul Maxwell]

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Rafael Azcona

Rafael Azcona Fernández was born on October 24, 1926, in Logroño, La Rioja, Spain. He was a Spanish screenwriter and novelist who worked with some of the best Spanish and international filmmakers. Azcona won five Goya Awards during his career, including a lifetime achievement award in 1998.

Azcona initially began his career writing for humor magazines. He became known as a screenwriter when he penned the screenplay for the film, “El Pisito” (The Little Apartment), which was based on his own novel. The 1959 film was directed by Italian film director, Marco Ferreri.

Azcona teamed up with director Fernando Trueba in “Belle Époque,” which won an Academy Award for best foreign film in 1994. He collaborated with other Spanish directors including Luis Garcia Berlanga, Jose Luis Cuerda, José Luis García Sánchez, Pedro Olea, and Carlos Saura. Azcona was also awarded the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts in 1994.

Rafael Azcona died at his home in Madrid, Spain, on March 24, 2008, at the age of 81.

Azcona wroter screenplays for three Spaghetti westerns: “Si può fare... amigo” (It Can Be Done Amigo) and “Una ragione per vivere e una per morire” (Masscare at Fort Holman) with Ernesto Gastaldi and Tonino Valerii, both in 1972 and “Non toccare la donna bianca” (Don’t Touch the White Woman) with Marco Ferreri in 1973

AZCONA, Rafael (aka Raffaele Ascona, Raphael Atzcona, R. Azcona, Raphael Azcona) (Rafael Azcona Fernández) [10/24/1926, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain – 3/24/2008, Madrid, Madrid, Spain (lung cancer)] – writer, actor, married to director, writer Susan Youdelman [1942-     ] (19??-998) father of Daniel Azcona, Barbara Azcona.

It Can Be Done Amigo - 1972

Massacre at Fort Holman – 1972 (co) [as Howard Sandford/Jay Lynn]

Don’t Touch the White Woman! – 1973 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Enrico Betti Berutto

Little is known about Italian cinematographer Enrico Betti Berutto. He was primarily a cameraman who worked on thirty-three films between 1948-1971 and a cinematographer on six films between 1948 and 1966. He was a production manager on the 1956 film “Donne sole”.

Berutto’s only Spaghetti western was as a co-cinematographer on 1962’s “Cabalgando hacia la Muerte” (Shadow of Zorro) with Rafael Pacheco.

BERUTTO, Enrico Betti (aka Enrico Betti Berruti, Enrico Betti) [Italian] – cinematographer, cameraman.

Shadow of Zorro – 1962 (co)