Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ David Howard

David Howard (born David Paget Davis III; was an American film director renowned for his work in the B-western genre during Hollywood's Golden Age. Specializing in low-budget action films for studios such as RKO Pictures and Republic Pictures, he helmed 37 feature films between 1930 and 1941, with 14 of them being westerns starring George O'Brien, including the acclaimed “Mystery Ranch” (1932).Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 6, 1896, Howard began his career as an assistant director on silent films in the 1920s, contributing to projects like “The Big Parade” (1925) in an uncredited capacity, before transitioning to directing talkies.

Throughout his career, Howard demonstrated a knack for efficient storytelling in the fast-paced world of Poverty Row productions, often blending elements of adventure, mystery, and frontier justice. Key films under his direction include “The Mystery Squadron” (1933), a serial he also co-wrote; “Triple Justice” (1940); and his final work, “Dude Cowboy” (1941). In addition to directing, he occasionally served as a screenwriter and second-unit director, notably on “They Met in Argentina” (1941). Howard's contributions helped sustain the popularity of the western genre amid the economic constraints of the era, though his output remained largely within the realm of programmers rather than prestige pictures. He passed away in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 45 on December 21, 1941, shortly after completing his last film.

David Howard co-directed two European westerns: “Horizontes Nuevos” (The Big Trail) with – Samuel Schneider and Raoul Walsh in 1930 and “El último de los Vargas” (The Last of the Vargas) both in 1930.

HOWARD, David (David Paget Davis III) [10/6/1896, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. – 12/21/1941, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.] – writer, assistant director, director.

Horizontes Nuevos – 1930 (co)

El último de los Vargas – 1930

 

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Pompeo De Angelis

Basically nothing is known about Italian writer Pompeo De Angelis. He was born in Terni, Umbria, Italy on November 10, 1933 and died there on March 16, 2019. He’s credited for co-writing one screenplay and that was for his only Spaghetti western, “Corri uomo corri” (Run, Man, Run) with Sergio Sollima in 1967.

De ANGELIS, Pompeo [11/10/1933, Terni, Umbria, Italy - 3/16/ 2019, Terni, Umbria, Italy] – writer, married to Battaglia Isidora [19??-20??]

Run, Man Run – 1967 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Olivier Merckx

After having spent three years in photography and film school in Brussels, he saw a Steadicam demo on an exhibition and fell in love with this great invention. In 1991 he was invited by Nicolas Pecorini to join him and other great Steadicam operators such as Anastas Michos ASC, Marc Konninckx AFC and Giovanni Gebbia for the 6th European Steadicam workshop supervised by Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown.

He spent the next year working as camera and Steadicam assistant with different operators in Belgium.

In 1993 he decided to become a full-time Steadicam operator and purchased his first Steadicam rig. He made his way up from small films to big international features and has the chance to collaborate with many talented directors and cinematographers around the world. In 2011 he followed cinematographer Tiago Mesquita in Los Angeles to work on two independent features with great actors like Malcolm MC Dowell, Billy Zane, Michael Gladis and Alan Arkin. He met there actor and stuntman Steve Tartalia and hired him to play the lead he his first film as director “Resistance” an action and Sci-Fi short film. The film was a great homage to John Carpenter and B movies from the eighties. The film was a big success at the Brussels Fantastic Film Festival and was released on DVD on a fantastic film compilation.

In 2012 he had the opportunity to shoot his first feature as second unit director and cinematographer “The Monkey’s Paw” a horror movie starring Stephen Lang and Charles S Dutton. His passion for the western genre led him to be the cinematographer for the award-winning feature “Six Bullets to Hell” a real spaghetti western shot in Almeria and directed by Tanner Beard and Russell Cummings. His last credits include camera work on “The Exception” starring Christopher Plummer and Lily James, the acclaimed Ethiopian film “Lamb”, the third season of the tv series ‘Versailles’ and the upcoming thriller “Beirut” directed by Brad Anderson an photographed by Bjorn Charpentier SBC.

Olivier is an active member of the SOC and one of the founders of the French Steadicam operator association (AFCS).

Olivier Merckx was a cinematographer on two Spaghetti westerns: “¡Seis balas al infierno!” (6 Bullets to Hell) in 2013 and “Asesino de alquiler” (Bullets for the Bad) in 2017.

MERCKX, Olivier (aka Olivier Merch, Olivier Mercks) [Belgium] – producer, director, assistant director, cinematographer, cameraman, actor.

6 Bullets to Hell – 2013

Bullets for the Bad – 2017