Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters and Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Giuliano Carnimeo

Giuliano Carnimeo was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his extensive work in Italian genre cinema, particularly spaghetti Westerns, sex comedies, gialli, and exploitation films from the late 1960s through the 1980s. Born on July 4, 1932 in Bari, Puglia, Italy, Carnimeo began his career in the early 1960s as an assistant director on various peplum, comedy, and adventure productions before transitioning to directing. He made his directorial debut co-directing with the spaghetti Western “The Two Sons of Ringo” and subsequently helmed over thirty low-budget features, frequently under pseudonyms such as Anthony Ascott, Arthur Pitt, and Jules Harrison. His notable films include “Sartana's Here... Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin” (aka Have a Nice Funeral My Friend) (1970), “The Case of the Bloody Iris” (1972), “Convoy Buddies” (1975), “The Exterminators of the Year 3000” (1983), and “Rat Man” (1988), reflecting his versatility across Westerns, horror, science fiction, and erotic comedies typical of the Italian B-movie industry during that era.

Giuliano Carnimeo died on September 10, 2016 in Rome, Lazio, Italy, at the age of 84.

Giuliano Carnimeo directed thirteen Spaghetti westerns: “I due figli di Ringo” (The Two Sons of Ringo) with Giorgio Simonelli in 1966, “Il momento di uccidere” (The Moment to Kill) in 1967, “Joe! Cercati un posto per morire” (Find a Place to Die) in 1968, “Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino” (Sartana the Gravedigger) in 1969, “C’e Sartana... vendi la pistola e comprati la barer!” (Fistful of Lead), “Una novola di polvere... un grido di morte... arriva Sartana” (Gunman in Town), “Buon funerale amigos... paga Sartana” (Have a Nice Funeral My Friend) all in 1970, “ Uomo avvisato mezzo ammazzato…parola di Spirito Santo” (Blazing Guns), “Gli fumavano le colt…lo chiamavano Camposanto” (A Bullet for a Stranger), “Testa t’ammazzo, croce... sei morto... Mi chimavano Alleluja” (Guns for Dollars) all in 1971, “Il West ti va stretto, amico... è arrivato Alleluja” (Return of Halleluia) in 1972, “Lo chiamavano Tresette... giocava sempre col morto” The Man Called Invincible) in 1973 and “Di Tressette ce n’è uno, tutti gli altri son nessuno” (The Crazy Bunch) in 1974.

CARNIMEO, Giuliano (aka A. Ascot, Anthony Ascot, Anthony Ascott, Jules Harrison, Arthur Pitt) [7/4/1932, Bari, Puglia, Italy - 9/10/2016, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – producer, director, assistant director, writer, actor, married to ? father of Lorenzo Carnimeo.

The Two Sons of Ringo - 1966 (co)

The Moment to Kill - 1967 [as Anthony Ascott]

Find a Place to Die – 1968 [as A. Ascot]

Sartana the Gravedigger - 1969 [as Anthony Ascott]

Fistful of Lead – 1970 [as Anthony Ascott]

Gunman in Town – 1970 [as Anthony Ascott]

Have a Nice Funeral My Friend - 1970 [as Anthony Ascott]

Blazing Guns – 1971 [as Anthony Ascott]

A Bullet for a Stranger - 1971 [as Anthony Ascott]

Guns for Dollars - 1971 [as Anthony Ascott]

Return of Halleluja - 1972 [as Anthony Ascott]

The Man Named Invincible – 1973 [as Anthony Ascott]

The Crazy Bunch - 1974 [as Anthony Ascott]

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Jane Bess

Jane Bess was a German screenwriter and producer known for her prolific work in Weimar-era cinema. She claimed to have authored over 120 screenplays across genres such as crime serials, melodramas, comedies, and literary adaptations before her career ended due to Nazi persecution. Born Rosette Herta Rosenthal on November 28, 1891, in Posen (then part of the German Empire, now Poznań, Poland), she adopted the pseudonym Jane Bess in 1914 (derived from her grandmother Johanna Besser) and entered the film industry that year as a partner in a film distribution company under her married name Hertha Holz. She founded the production company Tiger-Film in 1915 and formed a long-term collaboration with director Wolfgang Neff on over 40 projects.

Bess's output was prolific during the 1910s and 1920s, encompassing multi-part serials and adventure films early on, followed by works such as “Frauenarzt Dr. Schäfer” (1928), “Die Zirkusprinzessin” (1929), and “Hilfe! Überfall!” (1931). She also directed one film, “Schie-Bo-Li” (1922), and made a rare acting appearance (under pseudonym Hanna Holl) in “Die Erbschaft von New York” (1919). Her transition to sound film included scripts like “Der Tanzhusar” (1930) and her final realized work, the Dutch production “De kribbebijter” (1935).

As a Jewish woman, Bess was forced into exile after the Nazis came to power in 1933, fleeing first to the Netherlands and later to Argentina before returning to Europe in poor health. Her German citizenship was revoked in 1935, and from 1940 she endured internment in camps including Camp de Gurs and Drancy. On March 27, 1944, she was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where she was murdered shortly thereafter

Bess wrote screenplays for two Euro-westerns: “Apachenrache, 3. Teil - Die Verschwundene Million” and “Die Sklavenhalter von Kansas-City” both in 1920.

BESS, Jane (aka Jane Beß, Hanna Holl) (Rosette Herta Rosenthal) [11/28/1891, Pose, Poland – 4/?/1945, Auschwitz, Birkenau, Germany (murdered)] – writer, married to lawyer Leonhard Holz [18??-1945] (1910-1920), mother of a Ilse Holz [1912-19??], married to director Alfons Fruchter (1921-1925), re-married lawyer Leonhard Holz (1937-1945), founded Tiger Film.

Apachenrache, 3. Teil - Die Verschwundene Million - 1920

Die Sklavenhalter von Kansas-City – 1920

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Arthur Crabtree

Arthur Crabtree was a British cinematographer and film director renowned for his contributions to mid-20th-century British cinema, particularly through his work at Gainsborough Pictures on comedies and melodramas featuring stars like Will Hay and Arthur Askey.

Born in Shipley, Yorkshire, England on October 29, 1900, Crabtree left a stable engineering job to enter the film industry as a clapper boy at Elstree Studios in the early 1920s. He advanced to cinematographer at British International Pictures, where he lensed five minor features, including the now-lost quota quickie “The Love Test” (1935, dir. Michael Powell). In 1936, he joined Gainsborough Pictures, establishing a reputation for efficient, high-contrast cinematography in fast-paced comedies such as “Will Hay's Good Morning, Boys!” (1937), “Oh, Mr Porter!” (1937), and “Old Bones of the River” (1938), all directed by Marcel Varnel, as well as Arthur Askey vehicles like “Band Waggon” (1939), “Charley's Big-Hearted Aunt” (1940), and “I Thank You” (1941). He also shot the ensemble drama “Bank Holiday” (1938).

Crabtree's breakthrough came with the influential Gainsborough costume melodrama “The Man in Grey” (1943, dir. Leslie Arliss), where his Expressionist lighting style highlighted the film's stars and costumes while driving its visual impact. He followed with visually inventive work on “Fanny by Gaslight” (1944, dir. Anthony Asquith). Transitioning to directing, Crabtree debuted with “Madonna of the Seven Moons” (1944) and helmed several successful Gainsborough productions, including “They Were Sisters” (1945), “Caravan” (1946), and “Dear Murderer” (1947), noted for their strong photography despite variable dramatic depth. After Gainsborough's closure in 1950, he continued directing into the 1950s with horror films like “Fiend Without a Face” (1958) and “Horrors of the Black Museum” (1959), and also worked in television, directing episodes of series such as ‘The Adventures of Sir Lancelot’ (1956-1957) and ‘Ivanhoe’ (1958).

Athur Crabtree died on March 15, 1975, in Worthing, Sussex, England, at the age of 74

“The Frozen Limits” in1939

CRABTREE, Arthur [10/29/1900, Shipley, Yorkshire, England, U.K. – 3/15/1975, Worthing, Sussex, England, U.K.] – director, cinematographer, cameraman.

The Frozen Limits – 1939