Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Alberto De Martino

Alberto De Martino was an Italian film director and screenwriter best known for crafting low-budget genre movies that cleverly imitated popular Hollywood formulas, spanning peplum epics, spaghetti westerns, spy thrillers, horror, and action-adventure films.

Born in Rome on June 12, 1929, to a father who worked as a film make-up artist, De Martino began his career as a child actor in minor roles before studying law and transitioning into the industry in the early 1950s as an assistant editor, assistant director, and screenwriter, including contributions to an Italian television adaptation of ‘The Three Musketeers’. His directorial debut came with the sword-and-sandal epic “The Invincible Gladiator” in 1961, quickly followed by other mythological adventures like “Perseus Against the Monster” (1962) and “The Triumph of Hercules” (1964), capitalizing on the era's fascination with ancient hero tales.

De Martino adeptly shifted with cinematic trends, directing spaghetti westerns such as “$100,000 for Ringo” (1965), a film later praised by Quentin Tarantino, and “Django Shoots First” (1966), which riffed on Sergio Leone's style with international casts and dubbed English versions for global distribution. In the mid-1960s spy craze, he helmed parodies like “The Spy with Ten Faces” (1966), “Special Mission Lady Chaplin” (1966), and his most ambitious James Bond spoof, “Operation Kid Brother” (1967, also titled “OK Connery”), featuring Neil Connery (brother of Sean Connery), Lois Maxwell, Adolfo Celi, Daniela Bianchi, and Bernard Lee, with a score by Ennio Morricone.

Later in his career, De Martino ventured into horror with “The Antichrist” (1974), an Exorcist-inspired tale, and war films like “Dirty Heroes” (1967), echoing “The Dirty Dozen” and “Where Eagles Dare”, while his action thriller “Blazing Magnum” (1976) aped “Dirty Harry” with stars Stuart Whitman and Martin Landau. One of his highest-profile works was “Holocaust 2000” (1977), a nuclear apocalypse story starring Kirk Douglas that varied on “The Omen's” supernatural themes, often released under the pseudonym Herbert Martin to appeal to international markets. By the early 1980s, as multiplex cinemas and home video disrupted traditional distribution, De Martino's output waned; he retired in the mid-1980s partly due to health issues flagged by his son, leaving a legacy of over 20 films that blended spectacle, imitation, and B-movie charm for audiences worldwide.

De Martino passed away in Rome on 2 June 2015, at the age of 85.

Alberto De Martino directed five Spaghetti westerns: “Due contro tutti” (The Terrible Sheriff) with Antonio Momplet in 1962, “Gli eroi di Fort Worth” (Charge of the 7^th) in 1964, “Centomila dollari per Ringo” ($100,000 for Ringo) in 1965, “Django spara per primo” (Django Shoots First) in 1966 and “Ci risiamo, vero Provvidenza?” (Another Try, Eh Providence?) in 1973

De MARTINO, Alberto (aka Martin Herbert) [6/12/1929, Rome, Lazio, Italy - 6/2/2015, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – director, assistant director, film editor, screenwriter, actor son of makeup artist Romolo De Martino (Romelus de Martino), married to ? father of a son.

The Terrible Sheriff – 1962 (co)

Charge of the 7th – 1964 [as Martin Herbert]

$100,000 for Ringo – 1965

Django Shoots First – 1966

Another Try, Eh Providence? – 1973

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Adolfo Cagnacci

Adolfo Cagnacci is/was an Italian assistant director and writer. He worked as an assistant director on six films between 1961 and 1967. He wrote the screenplay for one Spaghetti western, “Se incontri Sartana prega per la tua morte” (Sartana) with Luigi De Santis, Fabbio Piccioni, Werner Hauff.

I can find no biographical information on him.

CAGNACCI, Adolfo (aka Adolfo Gagnacci) [Italian] – assistant director, writer.

Sartana – 1969 (co)

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Florian N Gintenreiter

Florian N Gintenreitrt is a Norwegian cameraman and cinematographer. He’s worked on ten films as a cinematographer between 1999 and 2023. He also was a cameraman on one film in 2001 and was a film editor on one film in 2000. After starting out as a film editor, he studied cinematography at the London Film School.

Although film was his starting point he ventured into digital imaging very early on. He now owns and operates Netflix approved digital cinema camera packages, lighting- and audio equipment

Florian N Gintenreitrt was a cinematographer on two Euro-westerns: “Dead Bones” in 2008 and “Wienerland” in 2020.

GINTENREITER, Florian N. [Norwegian] – cinematographer, film editor.

Dead Bones – 2008

Wienerland - 2020