Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Sidney Lean

  

Giovanni Fago is an Italian film director and screenwriter, best known for his contributions to the Spaghetti Western genre and other action-oriented Italian cinema of the 1960s and 1970s.

Born in Rome on April 25, 1933, Fago entered the film industry in 1959 as a second assistant director on Vittorio De Sica's acclaimed drama Two Women, marking the start of his behind-the-scenes work. He progressed to assistant director roles on notable projects, including Riccardo Freda's horror film “The Horrible Dr. Hichcock” (1962) and Lucio Fulci's Western “Massacre Time” (1966), gaining experience in diverse genres before transitioning to directing.

Fago made his directorial debut with the Spaghetti Western “Vengeance Is Mine” (also known as $100,000 for a Killing, 1967), followed by “To Hell and Back” (also known as Full House for the Devil, 1968) and “Viva Cangaceiro” (also known as The Magnificent Bandits, 1969), for which he also provided the story. Among his most recognized works are the crime thriller “Kidnap” (1974, also titled Fatevi vivi, la polizia non interverrà). He frequently collaborated as a screenwriter, contributing stories and screenplays to films like “Stateline Motel” (1973) and the miniseries ‘Life Is Beautiful’ (1979).

In addition to feature films, Fago directed television productions, including the series ‘T.I.R.’ (1987), ‘Black Sequence’ (1989), and the historical miniseries ‘Don Luigi Sturzo’ (1981). Later in his career, he wrote the screenplay for “Mai con le donne” (1985) and contributed to the drama “Sulla spiaggia e di là dal molo” (2000). Throughout his body of work, Fago exemplified the versatile storytelling of Italian genre cinema, blending elements of Westerns, thrillers, and social dramas.

Giovanni Fago as Sidney Lean directed two Spaghetti westerns: “Uno di più all'inferno” (Full House for the Devil” and “Per 100.000 dollari ti ammazzo” (Vengeance is Mine) both in 1968.

LEAN, Sidney (John Farquhar, Sidney Lean) (Giovanni Fago) [4/25/1933, Rome, Lazio, Italy -     ] - director, assistant director, writer.

Full House for the Devil – 1968

Vengeance is Mine – 1968

 

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Gilles Maurice Dumoulin

 

 

Gilles Maurice Dumoulin was a French writer of science fiction and detective novels. Known by a number of pseudonyms including G. Morris, he was also a prolific translator from English to French (translating Bill S. Ballinger, Leslie Charteris, Peter Rabe and Mickey Spillane, among others). He also translated the novel The Boyfriend by R. Raj Rao. He has also participated in the dialogues or scripts of several film productions.

Launched very early on the job market following the death of his father, at the age of 15 he worked as a biller and executive secretary for an importer of raw cotton. At the same time, in Le Havre, his hometown, he cultivated the songs of Charles Trenet and the Assimil methods. Then he "went to Paris" where he sang his own songs in various establishments and founded an association of young amateur actors called "La route monte", which performed three plays in suburban theatres, two of which bore his signature. At the end of the war, he spent a few months as an interpreter at the Philip Morris camp in Le Havre.

Gilles died in Paris on June 10, 2016 at the age of 92.

Guilles Morris Dumoulin co-wrote the screenplay for one Spaghetti western, “Per pochi dollari ancora” (Fort Yuma Gold) with Massimiliano Capriccioli, Sandro Continenza, Remigo Del Grosso, Augusto Finocchi, Ettore Giannini and Leonardo Martin.

DUMOULIN, Gilles Maurice (aka G. Morris, Géo Moris, Géo Morris, Gilles Morris, G.M. Dumoulin, G. Morris Dumoulin and Vic St Val.) [1/16/1924, Paris, Île-de-France, France, France – 6/10/2016, Paris, Île-de-France, France] – singer, author, writer, songwriter, founded the actors’ guildtroupe “La route monte”.

Fort Yuma Gold – 1966 (co)

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Ernest Plhak

Ernest Plhak is an Austrian cinematographer known for his contributions to German silent films during the late 1910s and early 1920s. Born on December 7, 1888, in Vienna, Austria, he worked primarily in the burgeoning German film industry, serving as director of photography on a range of productions that captured the visual aesthetics of the era. His credits include notable works such as the mystery serial “Das Geheimnis der sechs Spielkarten” (1921), the James Fenimore Cooper adaptation “Lederstrumpf” (1920), the operetta-based “Die Rose von Stambul” (1919), “Schwarzwaldmädel” (1920), and “Marie Antoinette - Das Leben einer Königin” (1922).

Plhak's career highlights his role in early European cinema, where he collaborated on diverse genres from adventure and drama to musical adaptations, reflecting the dynamic silent film landscape in Germany and Austria following World War I. Limited additional biographical details are available from contemporary records, underscoring his contributions primarily through his extensive filmography.

Plhak died in Berlin-Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany on July 10, 1942 at the age of 53.

Ernest Plhak was a cinematographer on two silent film westerns: “Lederstrumpf, 1. Teil: Der Wildtoter und Chingachgook” (The Deerslayer) and “Lederstrumpf 2 Teil: Der letzte der Mohikaner” (The Last of the Mohicans) both in 1920

PLHAK, Ernest (aka Ernst Plhak) [12/7/1888, Pötzleinsdorf,, Austria-Hungary – 7/10/1942, Berlin-Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany] – cinematographer, cameraman, married to production manager Lotte Thude [1916-1942].

The Deerslayer - 1920

The Last of the Mohicans - 1920