Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Carlo Lizzani

Carlo Lizzani was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and critic known for his prominent role in the neorealist movement and his extensive contributions to Italian cinema across multiple decades.

Born in Rome on April 3, 1922, he began his career in the 1940s as a film critic and screenwriter, co-writing key neorealist works such as “Bitter Rice” (1949), which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Motion Picture Story, and contributing to films like Germany “Year Zero” (1948).

His directorial debut came with “Achtung! Banditi!” (1951), and he went on to direct acclaimed films including “Chronicle of Poor Lovers” (1954), “The Violent Four” (1968), and “Celluloide” (1996), often exploring social, historical, and political themes.

Lizzani collaborated with major figures in Italian and international cinema, including Jean-Luc Godard, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Pier Paolo Pasolini, and directed segments in collective projects such as “Love and Anger” (1969). He also made documentaries, including an early one on Italian Communist leader Palmiro Togliatti, reflecting his long association with leftist politics. From 1979 to 1982, he served as director of the Venice Film Festival, where he helped foster new generations of filmmakers, and he later served on the Berlin Film Festival jury in 1994.

Lizzani died in Rome where he committed suicide on October 5, 2013, at age 91, by jumping from the balcony of his apartment. His body of work, spanning fiction, documentaries, and television, cemented his legacy as a versatile and influential figure in postwar Italian film.

Carlo Lizzani directed two Spaghetti westerns: “Un fiume di dollari” (The Hills Run Red) in 1966 and “Requiescant” (Kill and Pray) in 1967.

LIZZANI, Carlo (aka Lee W. Beaver) [4/3/1922, Rome, Lazio, Italy - 10/5/2013, Rome, Lazio, Italy (suicide)] – producer, director, assistant director, writer, film editor, actor, married to actress Edith Bieber [192?-2015] (1949-2013) father of director, assistant director Francesco Lizzani [1958-    ], casting director, actress Flaminia Lizzani [1963-    ].

Hills Run Red – 1966 [as Lee W. Beaver]

Kill and Pray – 1967

Burning Daylight – 1973 [film was never made]

 

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Harry Essex

Harry Essex was an American screenwriter, director, and playwright best known for his prolific contributions to 1950s science fiction and horror cinema, including the screenplays for the landmark 3-D films “It Came from Outer Space” (1953) and “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954). Born in New York City on November 29, 1910, he graduated from St John's University in 1936 and pursued writing from an early age, balancing welfare work with theater writing before his Broadway play Something for Nothing was produced in 1937.1 His Hollywood career began in the early 1940s but was interrupted by service in the US Army Signal Corps during World War II.

Essex established himself as a versatile screenwriter across genres, with early credits including the film noir “Desperate” (1947) and the thriller “The Killer That Stalked New York” (1950). He gained particular recognition for his work in science fiction and horror, adapting Ray Bradbury's story for “It Came from Outer Space” (1953) and co-writing “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954), both notable for their innovative use of 3-D effects and memorable creatures. He also directed several films, making his directorial debut with the adaptation of Mickey Spillane's novel “I, the Jury” (1953). Later in his career, Essex contributed to Westerns such as co-writing “The Sons of Katie Elder” (1965) starring John Wayne, and wrote for television anthologies and series including ‘Philco TV Playhouse’, ‘Playhouse 90’, and ‘The Untouchables’.

Essex's career spanned more than five decades, encompassing plays, novels, short stories, feature films, and television, with a particular impact on mid-century genre filmmaking before dying in Los Angeles, California on February 6, 1997 from heart failure at the age of 86.

Harry Essex co-wrote the screenplay for one Spaghetti western, “Los amigos” (Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears) with Oscar Saul, Paolo Cavara, Lucia Brudi and Augusto Finocchi in 1972

ESSEX, Harry (aka H.J. Essex) (Harry J. Essex) [11/29/1910, New York City, New York, U.S.A. – 2/6/1997, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (heart failure)] – producer, director, author, writer, married to Lee Berman [1911-1987] (1936-1997) father of actor David Stephen Essex [1948-    ], Vickie Essex.

Deaf Smith & Johnny Ears – 1972 (co)

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ Tom Richmond

Thomas Richmond was an American cinematographer whose career spanned over four decades, marked by innovative visual storytelling in independent cinema and collaborations with first-time directors on films such as “Stand and Deliver” (1988), “Killing Zoe” (1993), “Little Odessa” (1994), “Slums of Beverly Hills” (1998), and “Right at Your Door” (2006).

Born in Bronxville, New York on January 18, 1950, Richmond initially studied architecture and photography at Harvard University before pursuing graduate studies at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (1976–1978) and the American Film Institute (1979–1980), where his passion for still photography transitioned into filmmaking.

 His early professional roles in the 1980s included additional photography on Alex Cox's “Repo Man” (1984) and camera operation on Oliver Stone's “Salvador” (1986), before he earned his first director of photography credits on low-budget features like “Chopping Mall” (1986) and “Straight to Hell” (1987).

He forged long-term partnerships, notably shooting all five features directed by Keith Gordon—including “A Midnight Clear” (1992), “Mother Night” (1996), and “The Singing Detective” (2003), and launching careers with debuts like Rob Zombie's “House of 1000 Corpses” (2003), Tamara Jenkins's “Slums of Beverly Hills” (1998), and James Gray's “Little Odessa” (1994).

 Beyond features, he lensed music videos for artists such as Pearl Jam ("Jeremy"), Foo Fighters, and Neil Young, as well as commercials for brands like Nike and Verizon.

Throughout his career, Richmond received critical acclaim, including Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best Cinematography for “Stand and Deliver” (1988), “Pastime” (1990), and “Little Odessa” (1994), and a win for Best Cinematography at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival for “Right at Your Door”.

In his later years, he joined the American Society of Cinematographers in 2012 and served as an adjunct professor of advanced cinematography at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and Brooklyn College, where he mentored emerging talents like future ASC members Jaron Presant and Jody Lee Lipes.

Richmond died in New York City at age 72 in New York City on July 29, 2022, leaving a legacy of supporting bold, human-centered storytelling in independent film.

Tom Richmond was a cinematographer on one Euro-western, “Straight to Hell” in 1986. He also filmed the follow up documentary “Back to Hell” in 2000.

RICHMOND, Tom (Thomas Julian Richmond) [1/18/1950, Bronxville, New York, U.S.A. – 7/29/2022, New York City, New York, U.S.A.] - cinematographer

Straight to Hell – 1986

Back to Hell – 2000 [documentary]