Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Mihai Iacob

Mihai Iacob was a Romanian director, assistant director and writer. Born in Orastie on May 11, 1933. He graduated from the Institute of Theatre and Cinematography in 1955, making several premieres in Romanian cinema: the first Eminescu-Bala film or the first biographical film, “Darclee”, which was part of the official selection of the Cannes Festival, 1961 edition.

Between 1961 and 1972, Mihai Iacob was a professor of director at IATC. In 1971, on a documentary trip to the United States, he applied for political asylum. Since then, he worked in a braided factory, distributed pizza, was a seller in a grocery store, waiter, real estate transaction agent, printer, screenwriter and ultimately, producer associate of the film before dying in Los Angeles, California on June 29, 2009, at the age of 76.

Mihai Iacob co-directed one Euro-western, “Moartea lui Joe Indianul” (Death of Injun Joe) with Wolfgang Liebeneiner

IACOB, Mihai [5/11/1933, Orastie, Romania – 6/29/2009, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.] – director, assistant director, writer.

Death of Injun Joe – 1967 (co)

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Antonio del Amo

Antonio del Amo Algara was a Spanish film director, screenwriter, film critic, film historian, and producer whose career spanned from the Spanish Civil War era through the late Franco period, marked by his involvement in Republican documentaries, post-war repression, and later commercial successes in popular genres like musicals and melodramas.

Born in the rural town of Valdelaguna near Madrid on September 9, 1911, to a humble farming family, del Amo developed a passion for cinema in his adolescence and abandoned his studies around age 20 to contribute as a critic and essayist to specialized publications and the Madrid Cine Club Nuestro Cinema. A member of the Communist Party, he co-authored and directed several documentaries during the Spanish Civil War, including “Mundo único” (1937), “Industrias de Guerra” (1937), “Soldados campesinos” (1938), “Paso del Ebro” (1938), and “Alerta” (1938), produced for the film section of the Republican Army's Líster Brigade alongside Fernando G. Mantilla.

Following the Nationalist victory in 1939, del Amo faced severe repression as a leftist intellectual; he was imprisoned and sentenced to death, but his life was spared through the intervention of fellow director Rafael Gil. This connection facilitated his reintegration into the film industry under the Franco regime, beginning as a screenwriter for Emisora Films and serving as an assistant director to Gil, Antonio Román, and Ignacio F. Iquino. He made his directorial debut in the post-war period with “Cuatro mujeres” (1947), followed by films such as “El huésped de las tinieblas” (1948) and “Noventa minutos” (1949), which explored social and dramatic themes amid the regime's censorship.

Del Amo's career peaked in the 1950s and 1960s with a prolific output of over 20 feature films, often blending rural melodramas, musicals, and light comedies tailored to popular audiences. He achieved significant commercial success with “El pequeño ruiseñor” (1956), his first collaboration with child singer-actor Joselito, which became a box-office hit in Spain, France, parts of the Arab world, and Latin America, launching a series of similar child-star vehicles like “Saeta del ruiseñor” (1957), “El ruiseñor de las cumbres” (1958), and “El pequeño coronel” (1960). Other notable works include “Pescador de coplas” (1954), a folk musical, and “El hijo de Jesse James” (1965), a spaghetti western co-production.

In addition to directing, del Amo continued writing screenplays for his own projects and others, such as “Cerco de forajidos” (1965), and ventured into production with films like “Operación Caribe” (1965).

Later in life, he taught film-related courses and contributed to the medium until his death in a car accident in Madrid 0n June 19, 1991, at the age of 79. His body of work reflects the challenges and adaptations of Spanish cinema under dictatorship, balancing artistic ambitions with commercial imperatives.

Antonio del Amo co-wrote one screenplay for a Spaghetti western, “El hijo de Jesse James” (Son of Jesse James) with Pino Passalacqua and Marcello Fondato in 1964.

del AMO, Antonio (aka A. del Amo) (Antonio del Amo Algara) (Antonio de Lara Gavilán) [9/9/1911, Valdelaguna, Madrid, Spain – 6/191991, Madrid, Madrid, Spain (car accident)] – producer, production manager, director, assistant director, writer, cinematographer, film editor

The Son of Jesse James – 1964 (co)

Spaghetti Western Cinematography ~ Miguel Fernández Mila

Miguel Fernández Mila was a Spanish cameraman, actor and cinematographer. His date and place of birth in Spain is unrecorded but most likely in the early 1920s. He was a cameraman on ten films and television shows between 1943 and 1963. He also is credited as an actor/dancer in three films in 1936, 1939 and 1959. The bulk of his career was as a cinematographer on seventy-nine films between 1951 and 1994.

Once again, we seen a noted film industry participant with no biographical information or recognition other than a filmography. He doesn’t appear in the Diccionario del Cine Español. All we do know is he died sometime in 2011, apparently forgotten.

Miguel Fernández Mila was a cinematographer on eleven Spaghetti westerns: “Murieta!” and “La tumba del pistolero” (Tomb of a Pistolero) both in 1964, “Ocaso de un pistolero” (Hands of a Gunfighter) with Fausto Zuccoli, “Uncas, el fin de una raza” (Fall of the Mohicans) with Carlo Carlini and “I quattro inesorbili” (The Relentless Four) all in 1965, “Djurado” in 1966, “El hombre que mató a Billy el Niño” (A Few Bullets More) in 1967, “Manos torpes” (When Satan Grips the Colt) in 1969, “Arizona Vuelve” (Arizona Colt Returns), “Uomo avvisato mezzo ammazzato…parola di Spirito Santo” (Blazing Guns) in 1971, “La pazienza ha un limite… noi no!” (Patience Has a Limit, We Don’t) in 1974.

MILA, Miguel Fernández (Miguel Fernández, Michael Mila, Miguel F. Mila, Miguel Fernandez Mila, Miguel Fez. Mila, Miguel Mila, Miguel F. Milá, Mike Milet) [19?? – 2011, Spain] – cinematographer, cameraman, actor.

Murieta! - 1964

Tomb of the Pistolero – 1964

Hands of a Gunfighter – 1965 (co) [as Miguel Mila]

Fall of the Mohicans – 1965 (co) [as Mike Mila]

The Relentless Four – 1965 [as Miguel F. Mila]

Djurado – 1966

A Few Bullets More – 1967 [as Miguel F. Mila] (co)

When Satan Grips the Colt – 1969 [as Mike Milet]

Arizona Colt Returns - 1970

Blazing Guns – 1971

Patience Has a Limit, We Don’t – 1974