Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ André Hugon

André Hugon was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer known for directing nearly eighty feature films from 1913 to 1951, pioneering sound cinema in France with Les Trois Masques (1929), the first French talking feature film, and for his Mediterranean-inspired works that often adapted Provençal literature and featured major French stars.

Born on December 17, 1886 in Algiers, French Algeria, Hugon began his career as a journalist and film critic before transitioning to screenwriting and directing with his debut “Mademoiselle Etchiko” (1913). He frequently worked on location in Provence and North Africa, founded his own production company, and collaborated with leading performers of the silent era such as “Mistinguett in Chignon d'or” (1916) and “Musidora in Mam'zelle Chiffon” (1919). His transition to sound cinema marked a significant milestone, and in the 1930s he achieved considerable popular success with adaptations of Jean Aicard's Provençal novels, including the trilogy “Maurin des Maures” (1932), “L’Illustre Maurin” (1933), and “Gaspard de Besse” (1935) starring Raimu, as well as other titles like “Sarati le Terrible” (1937) with Harry Baur, “Le Héros de la Marne” (1938) again with Raimu, and the French remake “La Rue sans joie” (1938).

Hugon continued producing and directing during the Occupation and postwar periods, with films such as “Chambre 13” (1940) shot in Marcel Pagnol’s studios and “Le Chant de l'exilé” (1943) starring Tino Rossi, though his later output, including his final film “Les Quatre sergents du Fort Carré” (1951), received less attention. His prolific career in popular French cinema, deeply rooted in southern French and North African themes, fell into relative obscurity after World War II. Hugon died on 22 August 1960 in Cannes, France at the age of 73.

André Hugon directed one Euro-western “Les Chacals” (The Jackals) in 1917.

HUGON, André (Jean Hugon) [12/17/1886, Algiers, Algeria – 8/22/1960, Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France] – producer, director, writer.

The Jackals – 1917

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Ennio De Concini

Ennio De Concini was an Italian screenwriter and film director renowned for his prolific contributions to post-war cinema, including an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the satirical comedy Divorce Italian Style (1961).

Born in Rome on December 9, 1923, De Concini participated in the anti-fascist resistance during World War II, where he first connected with future collaborator Mario Monicelli. After the war, he entered the film industry as an assistant on Vittorio De Sica's neo-realist drama “Shoeshine” (1946), introduced by Monicelli to screenwriter Cesare Zavattini. Over a career spanning more than five decades, De Concini contributed to over 150 films across diverse genres, often working uncredited on revisions for producers like Dino De Laurentiis; his credited works included neo-realist social dramas, comedies by directors such as Monicelli and Dino Risi, horror films by Mario Bava, early spaghetti westerns by Sergio Leone, and auteur projects with Michelangelo Antonioni and Franco Brusati.

De Concini enjoyed particularly close collaborations with director Pietro Germi, beginning with the drama “The Railway Man” (1956), where he convinced Germi to take the lead role, and extending to adaptations like “The Facts of Murder” (1959) from Carlo Emilio Gadda's novel Quer pasticciaccio brutto de via Merulana. Their partnership peaked with “Divorce Italian Style”, a sharp critique of Italian divorce laws that shared the 1963 Oscar with co-writers Germi and Alfredo Giannetti, earning De Concini international acclaim and boosting stars like Marcello Mastroianni. He also penned early drafts for King Vidor's epic “War and Peace” (1956) and directed three features himself: the soccer documentary “The Eleven Musketeers” (1952, co-directed), the historical drama “Hitler: The Last Ten Days” (1973) starring Alec Guinness, and “Daniele and Maria” (1973). In his later years, De Concini shifted to television, scripting initial episodes of the influential mafia series ‘La Piovra’ (The Octopus), and he occasionally wrote poetry and short stories alongside his film work.

Ennio De Concini co-wrote screenplays for three Spaghetti westerns: “La bataille de San Sebastian” (Guns for San Sebastian) with Serge Ganz and Miguel Morayta in 1967, “I quattro dell’apocalise” (4 of the Apocalypse...) with Luico Fulci in 1974 and “Amore, piombo e furore” (China 9, Liberty 37) with Don Vicente Escrivá, Jerry Harvey and Douglas Venturelli in 1978.

De CONCINI, Ennio (aka De Concini, Ennio De' Concini, Ennio de' Concini. Vassilij Petrov, Vassilji Petrov, Ennio de Concini) [12/9/1923, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 11/17/2008, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – producer, director, writer.

Guns for San Sebastian – 1967 (co)

4 of the Apocalypse... – 1974 (co)

China 9, Liberty 37 – 1978 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Merobian

Karémine Mérobian was a French cameraman and cinematographer who as usually credited with just his last name. He worked on two dozen silent films from 1912 to 1927.

I can find no biographical information on him.

As Merobian he was a cinematographer on one Euro-western “Les Chacals” (The Jackals) in 1917.

MEROBIAN (aka Mérobian) (Karémine Mérobian) – cameraman, cinematographer.

The Jackals – 1917