Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ J.L.V. Leigh 

John Louis Victor Leigh (frequently credited as J.L.V. Leigh) was a British silent-era actor and director best known for co-directing “The First Men in the Moon” (1919), which is widely considered the first full-length science fiction feature film ever made. Adapted from the famous 1901 H.G. Wells novel, the movie was co-directed alongside Bruce Gordon and produced by British Gaumont. Unfortunately, the historic film is currently deemed lost and remains featured on the British Film Institute's

Leigh appeared as an actor in five films between 1913 and 1917 and directed twenty films between 1915 and 1919.

J.L.V. Leigh directed one silent Euro-western, “The Cowboy Village” in 1915.

LEIGH, J.L.V. (aka Jack L.V. Leigh) (John Louis Victor Leigh) [18??, U.K. – 19??] – director, actor.

The Cowboy Village – 1915

 

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Günter Ebert

Günter Ebert was a German writer, journalist, and literary critic known for his work in the German Democratic Republic as a critic and author, as well as his contributions to screenwriting in European genre cinema during the late 1960s and 1980s. Born on February 19, 1925 in Meerane, Germany, he became active as a freelance literary critic in the GDR starting in 1952, contributing to publications such as Sonntag, ndl, and Weltbühne, while also studying at the Literature Institute Johannes R. Becher in 1957–58. Ebert authored works including the non-fiction book Ansichten zur Entwicklung der epischen Kinder- und Jugendliteratur in der DDR von 1945 bis 1975 (1976) and established himself as an expert on GDR crime fiction and children's literature. He later wrote screenplays for numerous films, often under pseudonyms such as Fritz Ebert or Gunter Eber, including the spaghetti western “Compañeros” (1970), the exploitation film “Sadomania” (1981), and others like “Hellhole Women” (1981) and “Don't Turn the Other Cheek!” (aka Long Live Your Death 1971). His diverse career spanned literary criticism, journalism, and scriptwriting across both socialist East German culture and international commercial cinema. He died on July 17 2006 in Berlin, Germany.

Ebert's output reflected the cultural and political context of divided Germany, combining ideological literary engagement in the East with practical work in genre filmmaking.

Günter Ebert co-wrote one Spaghetti western, “Vamos a matar, companeros!” (Companeros!) with Sergio Corbucci, Massimo De Rita and Dino Maiuri. He also supplied German dialogue for two other Spaghetti westerns: “Viva la muerte... tua!” (Long Live Your Death) in 1971 And “La vita, a volte, è molto dura, vero Provvidenza?” (They Call Me Providence) in 1972.

EBERT, Günter (aka Gunter Eber, Fritz Ebert, Gerhard Elsenkirchen) [2/19/1925, Meerane, Saxony, Germany – 7/17/2006, Berlin, Berlin, Germany] – writer.

Companeros! – 1970 (co) [as Fritz Ebert]

Long Live Your Death – 1971 [as Gunter Eber] [German dialogue]

They Call Me Providence – 1972 [German dialogue]

 

Spaghetti Western Animator ~ Břetislav Pojar

Břetislav Pojar was a Czech animator, puppeteer, and film director renowned for his masterful work in puppet animation and his creation of innovative, often wordless short films that blended sophisticated humor with humanistic, social, and political commentary.

Born on October 7, 1923 in Sušice, Czechoslovakia, Pojar began his career in animation during the 1940s at the Bratři v triku studio in Prague before becoming a close collaborator with Jiří Trnka, contributing as a key animator to landmark puppet films such as “The Emperor’s Nightingale”, “Story of the Bass Cello”, and “Old Czech Legends”. He made his directorial debut in 1951 with the puppet short “Gingerbread House” and earned early acclaim for pieces like “A Drop Too Much” and “The Lion and the Song”, the latter winning the top prize at the inaugural Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 1960.

In the mid-1960s, Pojar emigrated to Canada, where he produced several internationally recognized shorts for the National Film Board of Canada, including “To See or Not to See” and “Balablok”, celebrated for their allegorical depth and visual ingenuity. He later returned to the Czech Republic and served as the founding head of the animation department at FAMU (Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts) in Prague from 1990 onward, while continuing to direct, including contributions to the 2006 anthology film “Fimfárum 2”.

Pojar received numerous accolades throughout his career, including awards at major festivals such as Annecy, Berlin, and Cannes, and was honored late in life with a special prize from the Czech Ministry of Culture for his contributions to cinema. He remained active in animation until his death on October 12, 2012, in Prague at the age of 89, leaving a lasting legacy as one of the foremost figures in Czech and international puppet animation.

Břetislav Pojar was a co-animator on one Euro-western, “Arie Prerie” (Song of the Prairie) with Bohuslav Šrámek, Zdeněk Hrabě, Stanislav Látal and Jan Karpaš in 1949.

 POJAR, Břetislav [10/7/1923, Susice, Czechoslovakia – 10/12/2012, Prague, Czech Republic] – director, writer, animator, film editor, SFX, awarded lifetime achievement from Czech Ministry of Culture.

Song of the Prairie – 1949 (co)