Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Nando Cicero

Fernando ‘Nando’ Cicero was born in Asmara, Eritrea, Ethiopia on January 22, 1931. He was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor renowned for his contributions to low-budget comedy cinema during the 1970s and 1980s.

Beginning his career as an actor in the mid-1950s, Cicero appeared in over a dozen films, often in supporting roles, including uncredited parts in acclaimed works such as Luchino Visconti's “Senso” (1954) as a soldier and Francesco Rosi's “Salvatore Giuliano” (1962) as a bandit, as well as credited performances in titles like “Divisione Folgore” (1954) as Enrico Damiani and “Hercules Unchained” (1959) as Lastene. He was also featured in early Italian television, such as the 1956 mini-series ‘L'alfiere’.

By the 1970s, Cicero shifted focus to directing and screenwriting, helming around 20 feature films, many of which fell into the popular decamerotici and sex comedy subgenres with recurring themes of military life, education, and lighthearted erotica. Notable directorial efforts include “Ma chi t'ha dato la patente?” (1970), a satirical take on driving lessons starring Paolo Villaggio; “The School Teacher” (1975), featuring Edwige Fenech; and “W la foca” (1982), another Fenech-led comedy. His writing credits extended to 10 projects, often collaborating on stories and screenplays for his own films, such as “La dottoressa del distretto militare” (1976) and “La soldatessa alla visita militare” (1977), which emphasized humorous military inspections.

Cicero's work, while not critically acclaimed in the vein of Italy's neorealist or arthouse traditions, captured the commercial spirit of post-war Italian genre cinema, blending slapstick, innuendo, and social satire to appeal to domestic audiences. He passed away in Rome at age 64 on July 30, 1995, in Rome, leaving a legacy of prolific, if formulaic, entertainment that reflected the era's escapist trends.

Cicero directed three Spaghetti westerns: “Il tempo degli avvoltoi” (Last of the Badmen) and “Professionisti per un massacre” (Professionals for a Massacre) both in 1967, “Dos veces Judas” (Twice a Judas) in 1968.

CICERO, Nando (Fernando Cicero) [1/22/1931, Asmara, Eritrea, Ethiopia – 7/30/1995, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – CSC, director, assistant director, writer, actor.

Last of the Badmen - 1967

Professionals for a Massacre - 1967

Twice a Judas – 1968

The Penitence Brothers – 1972 [film was never made.]

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ José Luis Borau

José Luis Borau was a Spanish producer, director and writer. He was born in Zaragoza, Spain on August 8, 1929. He began to publish articles about cinema in the newspaper El Heraldo de Aragon from April 1954 to January 1956. He was a film critic for the same newspaper. In1957, he entered the Spanish Instituto de Investigaciones y Experiencias Cinematograficas in Madrid (Official Cinema School) where he later became a teacher. In 1964 where he directed classes in the Cathedra of Cinema in the University of Valladolid. In 1967 He founded his own production company, El Iman.

Borau directed eighteen films between 1960 and 2000. He was a writer on twenty films between 1960 and 2009. As an actor, he’s appeared in a dozen films between 1965 and 1996. He served as President of the Spanish Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.1994-1998.

José died from throat cancer on November 23, 2012, in Madrid, Spain at the age of 83.

José Luis Borau directed only one Spaghetti western “Brandy” (Ride and Kill) in 1964 using the alais Joe Baker.

BORAU, José Luis (aka Joe Baker, J.L. Borau, Jose L. Borau, Louis Boraw) (José Luis Borau Moradell) [8/8/1929, Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain - 11/23/2012, Madrid, Madrid, Spain (throat cancer)] – producer, director, writer, founded El Iman Productions [1967].

Ride and Kill (1964) [as Joe Baker]

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Aldebrando De Vero

Aldebrando De Vero is/was an Italian cameraman (three films from 1960-1965) and a cinematographer on two films from 1963 to 1968. What happened to him is unknown and I can find no biographical information about him.

Aldebrando De Vero was the cinematographer on one Spaghetti western, “Pistole e pane” in 1968. He was also a cameraman on 1965’s “L'uomo dalla pistola d'oro“ (The Man Who Came to Kill)

De VERO, Aldebrando [Italian] – director, cinematographer.

Pistole e pane – 1968