Spaghetti Western Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers

Spaghetti Western Director ~ Oldřich Lipský

Oldřich Lipský was a Czech film director and screenwriter renowned for his influential contributions to comedy in Czechoslovak and later Czech cinema.

Born on July 4, 1924, in Pelhřimov, Czechoslovakia, Lipský began his career as an actor and stage director before making his directorial debut with a comedy in 1950. He became a leading figure in popular Czech filmmaking, directing over twenty comedies that characteristically mixed parody, absurd humor, science-fiction and fantasy elements, fairytale motifs, and circus-inspired visual spectacle.

His frequent collaborators included screenwriters Jiří Brdečka and Miloš Macourek, as well as animator Jan Švankmajer, whose contributions enhanced the inventive and playful style of many of his works.

Lipský's films often achieved lasting popularity in Czech culture, with notable examples including “Lemonade Joe” (1964), “Happy End” (1967), “Adela Has Not Had Her Supper Yet” (1978), “The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians” (1981), and “Three Veterans” (1983).

Oldrich died on October 19, 1986, in Prague during the production of his final film, “The Great Movie Robbery”, which was completed posthumously. He was 62.

His body of work has been recognized for bridging popular entertainment with formal experimentation, particularly in films like “Happy End”, which employed radical narrative structures and has been compared to the most innovative achievements of the Czechoslovak New Wave, despite its grounding in comedy. Lipský remains celebrated as a master of Czech film comedy whose eccentric and visually dynamic approach left a significant legacy in the region's popular cinema.

Oldrich Lipsky directed one Euro-western, “Limonádový Joe aneb Konská opera” (Lemonade Joe) in 1964.

LIPSKY, Oldrich (Oldrich Lipský) [7/4/1924, Pelhrimov, Czechoslovakia – 10/19/1986, Prague, Czechoslovakia] – director, assistant director, writer, actor, brother of actor, singer Lubomír Lipský [1923–2015], actor Borek Lipský [1930-1947], married to Šárka Lipská [1926- 2014] (195?–1986) father film editor Dalibor Lipský [1954-    ], doctor Ludmila  Lipský, grandfather of cinematographer Tomáš Lipsky [1990-    ], awarded Meritorious Artist (1974) and National Artist (1979),Thalia Award for lifelong mastery in the field of drama [2006].

Lemonade Joe – 1964

 

Spaghetti Western Screenwriter ~ Francesco Degli Espinosa

Francesco Degli Espinosa was an Italian assistant director, film editor and writer. He was born in Rome on December 19, 1933. Degli Espinosa was already an assistant director to Michelangelo Antonioni at the age of twenty, and later, until 1955, to Valerio Zurlini and Franco Maselli. After working in this function twice more in the following decade, he did not work for feature films again until the 1970s. The Giallo “Giochi erotichi du una famiglia perbene”, for example, he directed himself in 1975; he wrote the book for an erotic crime film the following year. In 1983, he was finally listed as the organizer of a small film by Vincenzo Matassi.

Some sources claim an identity with Matassi, which Roberto Poppi denies in his standard work on directors of Italian film, as does Luca Rea in "I colori nel buio".

Francesco died in Rome, sometime in June of 2006 at the age of 72.

Degli Espinosa was an assistant director on five films between 1953 and 1975, film editor on three films between 1966 and 1968 and was a screenwriter on five films between 1966 and 1976.

Francesco Degli Espinosa wrote and co-wrote screenplays for two Spaghetti westerns: “La vendetta è il mio perdono” (Shotgun) with Tito Carpi, Roberto Natale and Luciana Ribet and “C’era una volta questo pazzo pazzo west” (Once Upon a Time in the Wild Wild West) in 1973.

ESPINOSA, Francesco Degli (Francisco Degli Espinosa, Enzo Matassi, Vincenzo Matassi, Tom Scott) [12/19/1933, Rome, Lazio, Italy – 6/?/2006, Rome, Lazio, Italy] – production manager, director, assistant director, writer, film editor.

Shotgun – 1967 (co)

Once Upon a Time in the Wild Wild West – 1973

 

Spaghetti Western Cinematographer ~ C. Richardson

C. Richardson was an alias used by Claudio Catozzo. He is/was an Italian cameraman and cinematographer. He worked as a cameraman on two films in 1952 and 1956. He was a cinematographer on nine films between 1958 and 1979.

This little-known cinematographer’s career is filled with films considered bizarre and bottom drawer such as 1968’s A Hyena in the Safe”, “The Nude Pricness” and 1977’s “The Gestapo’s Last Orgy”.

Why he used an alias for his only Spaghetti western 1964’s “Per un dollaro a Tucson si muore” (Died for a Dollar in Tucson) is unknown but early in his career he may have set his sights on a career in ore prestigious films.

RICHARDSON, C (Claudio Catozzo) [Italian] – cameraman, cinematographer.

Die for a Dollar in Tucson – 1964