Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Cehett Grooper

Cehett Grooper was an alias for Rudolf Zehetgruber was an Austrian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor known for his prolific output of low-budget genre films during the 1960s and 1970s, including entries in the Kommissar X Eurospy series and the popular Superbug comedy series centered on a yellow Volkswagen Beetle.

Born in Vienna on September 16, 1926, Zehetgruber entered the film industry in the 1950s as an assistant director, contributing to major Austrian-German productions such as the Sissi trilogy starring Romy Schneider. He transitioned to directing and screenwriting in the early 1960s, often employing pseudonyms like David Mark and Cehett Grooper, and specialized in crime thrillers, adventure films, and exploitation pictures before achieving broader recognition with the Käfer (Superbug) comedy-action series beginning in 1971.

His work frequently blended action, humor, and low-budget spectacle, with Zehetgruber also appearing as an actor in several of his own projects. He continued directing until the mid-1980s and died in Vienna on July 2, 2023, at the age of 96.

As Cehett Grooper he co-directed one Spaghetti western, “Donne alla frontiera” (The Tall Women) with Sidney W. Pink in 1966.

GROOPER, Cehett (aka Cehett Grooper, R.Z. Gruber, Rolf Gruber, Richard Lynn, David Mark, Robert Mark, Rudolf Rittberg, Rolf Zehetgruber, Rudi Zehetgruber, Rolf Zehett, Gregor von Nazzani) (Rudolf Zehetgruber) [9/16/1926, Vienna, Austria – 7/2/2023, Vienna, Austria] – producer, director, assistant director, writer, songwriter, film editor, actor, singer, married to actress Kathrin Oginski (Barbara Kathrin Oginski) [1926-2009] (19??-2009).

The Tall Women – 1966 (co)

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Bruno Corbucci

Bruno Corbucci was an Italian screenwriter and film director, renowned for his contributions to spaghetti westerns and lowbrow comedies. As the younger brother of acclaimed director Sergio Corbucci, he co-wrote several of his sibling's landmark films, including the iconic “Django” (1966), while establishing his own reputation through directing a series of crime comedies featuring actor Tomas Milian as the character Nico Giraldi.

Born in Rome on October 23, 1931, where he also spent much of his career, Corbucci entered the film industry in the late 1950s, initially focusing on screenwriting for adventure and western genres. His collaboration with Sergio was particularly fruitful, yielding scripts for influential spaghetti westerns like “The Great Silence” (1968), which helped define the gritty, violent style of the subgenre during Italy's cinematic boom in the 1960s. Over his career, Corbucci amassed over 130 writing credits, often using pseudonyms such as Frank B. Corlish and Gordon Wilson Jr. to navigate international markets.

Transitioning to directing in the 1960s, Corbucci specialized in humorous crime films and parodies, with standout works including “The Longest Hunt” (1968).. His most enduring directorial success came with the Nico Giraldi series, beginning with “Squadra antiscippo” (1976) and spanning 11 films through 1984, blending action, satire, and Roman street culture to popularize the "poliziottesco" comedy subgenre. These efforts solidified his legacy in Italian genre cinema, emphasizing wit and social commentary amid the era's exploitation trends.

Bruno died on September 7, 1996, in Rome, Italy, at the age of 64, his passing came after a filmmaking career that extended into the early 1990s, with his later directorial efforts including episodes of the television series ‘Quelli della speciale’ (1993) and earlier films such as “Miami Supercops” (1985) and contributions to the Nico Giraldi series.

Bruno Corbucci was a screenwriter on ten Spaghetti westerns and one television episode: “I magnifici tre” (The Magnificent Three) with Giovanni Grimaldi, Mario Guerra, Giulio Scarnicci, Renzo Tarabusi and Vittorio Vighi, “Django” with Sergio Corbucci, Franco Rossetti, José G. Maesso and Piero Vivarelli, “Cuatro dólares de venganza” ($4.00 of Revenge) with Aldo Grimaldi, “Per qualche dollaro in meno” (For a Few Dollars Less) with Mario Guerra and Vittorio Vighi in 1966, “Il grande silenzio” (The Great Silence) with Sergio Corbucci, Vittoriano Petrilli and Mario Amendola, “Odio per odio” (Hate for Hate) with Mario Amendola, Fernando di Leo and Domenico Paolella both in 1967, “Spara, Gringo, spara” (The Longest Hunt) with Mario Amendola and “…dai nemici guardo io!” (Three Silver Dollars) with Mario Amendola both in 1968, “Kid il monello del West” (Bad Kids of the West) with Mario Amendola and Roberto Amoroso and “Tutti per uno... botte per tutti” (The Three Musketeers of the West) with Tito Carpi, Leonardo Martin and Peter Berling both in 1973.

Bruno also co-wrote the screenplay for the 1967 ‘Totò Ciak!’ TV episode ‘Toto Contro Ringo’ with Mario Amendola.

CORBUCCI, Bruno (aka Corbucci, B. Corbucci, Frank B. Corlish, Dean Whitcomb, Gordon Wilson Jr.) [10/23/1931, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 9/7/1996, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – director, writer, composer, songwriter, actor. brother of producer, director, assistant director, writer, actor Sergio Corbucci [1926-1990].

The Magnificent Three – 1961 (co)

Django – 1965 (co)

$4.00 of Revenge – 1965 (co)

For a Few Dollars Less – 1966 (co)

The Great Silence – 1967 (co)

Hate for Hate – 1967 (co)

Totò Ciak! – Toto contro Ringo – 1967 (TV) (co)

The Longest Hunt – 1968 (co) [as Dean Whitcomb]

Three Silver Dollars – 1968 (co)

Bad Kids of the West – 1973 (co)

The Three Musketeers of the West – 1973 (co)

Spaghetti Western Animator ~ Aleksander Lipowski

Aleksander Lipowski was a Polish cinematographer known for his extensive contributions to Polish television and cinema as a director of photography, particularly through his work on television plays, TV movies, documentaries, and occasional feature films spanning the 1950s to the 1990s. Born in Moscow on June 5, 1932, he graduated from the Cinematography Department of the Łódź Film School in 1956 and established a long career primarily with Telewizja Polska, where he collaborated on a diverse array of productions including animated shorts in his early years and numerous socially and politically themed documentaries later on. His notable credits include work on the long-running Television Theater series, the crime anthology ‘Teatr Sensacji Kobra’, the film “Kruk”, and the TV movie ‘Podróż Luizy’, for which he received a Jury Award for Cinematography at the Olsztyn Festival of Polish Television Production in 1979. Lipowski's output reflects a dedicated focus on television formats that defined much of Polish audiovisual culture during the communist era and its aftermath

He passed away on August 26, 2014, in Poland

Aleksander Lipowski was an animator on one Euro-western, “Maly western” (A Little Western) in1960.

LIPOWSKI, Aleksander [6/5/1932, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R – 8/26/2014, Poland] – animator, cameraman, married to actress [1937-    ] Teresa Lipowska (1957–1960).

A Little Western - 1960