SWDb Spaghetti Western Hall of Fame

Jan de Bont’s first western?

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Ehmmm, no, I meant The Hunting Patty, which was somehow a foreseeing western adaptation of the Patty Hearst story.

Not directed by Jan de Bont.

Tonino Valerii
May 20, 1934 (Teramo, Italy)-

He spent most of his career in Sergio Leone’s shadow, but was a talented filmmaker in his own right, being involved in the making of some of the most commercially successful Spaghetti westerns ever made. After serving as Leone’s assistant director on A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965), he was given a chance to direct on his own, making Taste of Killing (1966). Pairing up two of the genre’s most popular stars, Lee Van Cleef and Giuliano Gemma, he then directed and co-wrote Day of Anger (1967), which was a huge financial success, and is today regarded as a classic of the genre. Continued success soon followed with Price of Power (1969), and A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die (1972). Valerii was commissioned by Leone to direct the western comedy spoof, My Name is Nobody, pairing up Terence Hill with screen legend Henry Fonda. The film was a huge blockbuster hit, and although Leone himself directed a few scenes, Valerii was the main director. Outside of the western genre, his most well known film is the giallo, My Dear Killer (1972).

Ferdinando Baldi

May 19, 1917 (Cava dei Tirreni, Salerno, Italy)- November 12, 2007 (Rome, Italy) One of the most interesting and offbeat bodies of work in the Spaghetti Western genre belong to Ferdinandi Baldi. A former professor in Greek Tragedy turned film director, Baldi’s early body of work in the genre often resembles Greco Tragedy with internal family problems, vengeance, and murder. Blaid bedut in the Soaghetti Western genre with the American tingd, Texas Adios (1966) which starred recent box office star Franco Nero. As with most of Baldi’s Westerns, he also wrote the film. His next western is one that is a Spaghetti Western oddity, Little Rita of the West (1967), a Musical Spaghetti Western. The only one ever made. Baldi went on to make even more Westerns, Hate Thy Neighbor (1968), Django Get the Coffin Ready (1968), and the famous Forgotten Pistolero (1969). Pistolero is the best example of Baldi’s Greek tragic experience as the film is an adaptation of Orestes. Baldi really made a name for himself directing the Tony Anthony vehicle, Blindman (1971). What many call a genre classic but many also spurn for it’s unusually large amount of sleazy violence. After directing the Spaghetti Comedies Carambola (1974) and Carambola’s Philosophy (1975), Baldi directed Anthony again in the fantasy Spaghetti Get Mean (1976). His last western was Comin’ at Ya (1981). Not only another Anthony film but the film that was responsible for the 3-D revival of the 80’s.

Korano I edited your Baldi piece. Here it is. Looking forward to your Petroni!

May 19, 1917 (Cava dei Tirreni, Salerno, Italy)- November 12, 2007 (Rome) Baldi amassed an interesting and offbeat body of work in the Spaghetti Western genre, directing and having a hand in writing 10 in all. Baldi’s Spaghetti Western debut was Texas Adios (1966) starring Franco Nero, fresh off his success with Django. His next western was a musical, Little Rita of the West (1967). Baldi went on to make Django, Prepare a Coffin aka Viva Django (1968), a box office hit and considered among the best of the unofficial “Django” sequels. The Forgotten Pistolero (1969) incorporated Baldi’s expertise in Greek Tragedy (he was a former College Professor in the subject) as the film was based on the legend of Orestes. He went on to make a series of films with Tony Anthony, of which three are westerns. These were the Zatoichi inspired Blindman(1971), the Spaghetti Western fantasy Get Mean (1976), and the 3D western Comin’ at Ya (1981). Blindman and Comin’ at Ya were both sizable box office hits in the US. Outside of westerns he was an associate producer of Mario Bava’s Whip and the Body (1963) and co-directed David and Goliath (1960).

Petroni will definitely get the last word in.

Here is my eulogy for the this great director. Rip

Giulio Petroni

September 21, 1917 (Rome, Italy)- January 31, 2010 (Rome, Italy) Director of some of the most praised and respected genre entries, Giulio Petroni himself never seems to garner the same respect his films get. Though he directed 5 Westerns, 3 of which he wrote. He started of with the classic revenge tale Death Rides a Horse (1967) starring John Philip Law and Lee Van Cleef fresh of from the success of the leone films. After the success of that film, he went on to direct Tepepa (1968) starring Tomas Milian and Orson Welles. He decided to change pace once again with A sky Full of Stars for a Roof (1968). A well made Comedy Spaghetti staring Giuliano Gemma and Mario Adorf. His least known western is the criminally nderrated Night of the Serpent (1969) starring American character actor Luke Askew in his only Italian film and only lead role. Petroni ended his western career with the surprisingly hilarious yet extremely odd Life is Tough, eh’ Providence? (1972). Sadly, Giulio passed away only yesterday. Leaving behind a great legacy of some of the best Spaghetti Westerns ever made. Viva Petroni.

A small correction.
Tepepa was actually his 3rd SW, at least the 3rd which was released, but only less than a half year after his Gemma comedy.

So we’ve finally finished with the directors. I’m gonna move on to the actresses but will need help for that since I really don’t know much about the ladies of the genre.

Here is the edited Petroni piece.

Giulio Petroni

September 21, 1917 (Rome, Italy)- January 31, 2010 (Rome, Italy) He made just eight films during his relatively sporadic career, yet five of those films are westerns, including among them several well regarded entries. His first Spaghetti Western is also his most famous, the classic revenge tale Death Rides a Horse (1967) starring John Philip Law and Lee Van Cleef. The film was a huge financial success, and somewhat of a breakthrough role for Law. Today it remains regarded among the genre’s finest. He went on to direct the memorable Zapata western, Tepepa (1968) starring Tomas Milian and Orson Welles. He decided to change pace with A Sky Full of Stars for a Roof (1968), a comedy with Giuliano Gemma. He went on to direct the presently obscure but well praised Night of the Serpent (1969) starring American character actor Luke Askew. His last western was another comedy, Life is Tough, eh’ Providence? (1972), starring Milian. The film was successful enough to have spawned a direct sequel, not directed by Petroni.

Hey Col, as said in my above post, A Sky was most likely made before Tepepa. It was released 5 months earlier.

This is true.

Ok I’ll change that.

an IMDb error was the culprit

Okay I’m gonna do the senoritas now. But can you guys do me a favor…

For each of the ladies I need to know what their “trademarks” were. Besides their beauty of course, what were they known for?

What type of Spaghetti roles did they usually play?

Simone Blondell’s trademark is that she’s Fidani’s daughter and usually plays in his films. Then I don’t really know but Nieves Navarro did often played female baddies didn’t she?

Thanks, I didn’t know that about Blondell!
Yeah I think Navarro usually plays conniving manipulators. The quisissential bad girl as Phil calls her.
Don’t know much about Linda Veras other from being Sollima’s girlfriend?

There is one problem with several of the girls. They were really beautiful, but most of them hadn’t a great impact for the genre.

Most of them didn’t get the chance to appear more than in a few supporting roles.

And Colonel, don’t forget to mention Simonetta’s legs. :wink:

Here are the bios for the 10 actresses. Please tell me if they are okay. If so, than I will add the entries to the page.

Loredana Nusciak
May 3, 1942 (Rome, Italy)-

The red-haired actress appeared in 6 Spaghetti Westerns, but it was her unforgettable portrayal as the strong-willed saloon girl Maria, in Sergio Corbucci’s highly influential Django (1966), opposite Franco Nero, for which she is best known. Her role, more assertive than was typical of a Spaghetti Western heroine, was so popular that she did a sort of reprise of it in the unofficial Django sequel 10,000 Blood Money (1967), this time playing the love interest of Gianni Garko. She also appeared in Seven Dollars to Kill (1966). Outside of westerns, she had a supporting role in A Difficult Life (1961). She retired from films during during the mid 1970s.

Nieves Navarro aka Susan Scott
November 10, 1938 (Almeria, Spain)-

Perhaps better known internationally by her anglicized pseudonym of Susan Scott, the sultry Navarro specialized in playing seductive, conniving villainesses in Spaghetti Westerns. She appeared in 8 westerns in all, including several blockbuster hits. She had a small but important role as the widowed, ranch owning dominatrix in The Big Gundown (1966). She also appeared in both of Duccio Tessari’s “Ringo” films, Adios Sabata (1971), Light the Fuse, Sartana is Coming (1971), and Long Days of Vengeance (1967). Outside of the western genre, her best known roles were in the Joe D’Amato Cannibal horror film Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (1977) and the Sergio Martino giallo, All the Colors of the Dark (1972). She also appeared in several films directed by her husband, Luciano Ercoli.

Claudia Cardinale

April 15, 1938 (Tunis, Tunisia)-
In a genre in which female characters are rarely ever central to the plot, Cardinale stands out as the most iconic Spaghetti Western actress of them all. Her immortal portrayal of Jill in Sergio Leone’s masterpiece, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), set the standard for the “Whore with a Heart of Gold” archetype. It also marked the first time Leone ever used a strong, important female character in a film. Cardinale made just one other Euro-western, co-starring with Bridgett Bardot in The Legend of Frenchie King (1971), a French, Italian, Spanish, and UK production. Cardinale has carved out a respectable career in both Hollywood and European cinema, starring in Federico Fellini’s 8 ½ (1963), Blake Edward’s The Pink Panther (1963), Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo (1982), and the Hollywood western, Richard Brook’s The Professionals (1966) and is still active in cinema today.

Marianne Koch
August 19, 1931 (Munich, Germany)-

The German beauty is best known for playing the tormented Mexican peasant Marisol, who is aided by Clint Eastwood’s “Man with no Name” in A Fistful of Dollars (1964). She also appeared in four early German and Spanish co-produced westerns. She would star in only one other Spaghetti Western, Clint the Nevada’s Loner (1967). Outside of the western genre, her best known role was in the German WWII drama The Devil’s General in (1955). She also had a supporting role in Night People (1954), starring Gregory Peck. She retired from acting in 1971 to pursue a medical career, earning her MD in 1974. Doctor Koch has since been active as a practicing Medical Specialist and as a frequent guest host on German Television.

Erika Blanc
July 23, 1942 (Brescia, Italy)-

Born Enrica Bianchi Colombatto, Blanc has enjoyed a decades long career in cinema, lending her versatile acting talents to 13 Spaghetti Westerns. She played the lead female role in Blood at Sundown (1966), Shoot, Gringo, Shoot (1968), Fistful of Lead aka Sartana’s Here, Trade your Pistol for a Coffin (1970), as well as a supporting roles in Django Shoots First (1966) and The Stranger and the Gunfighter (1974). Outside of the western genre, she had notable roles in several cult horror classics. Among them are Mario Bava’s Kill Baby Kill (1966), The Devil’s Nightmare (1971), and The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971), in which she did a memorable “Coffin Striptease” scene. Today, she continues to act on television, stage and film, with supporting roles in His Secret Life (2001) and Sacred Heart (2005), for which she was nominated for several Best Supporting Actress awards.

Nicholetta Machiavelli
August 1, 1944 (Stuffione, Italy)-

She was cast as the leading actress in six Spaghetti westerns, often playing intense but righteous characters. Her best known role was opposite Burt Reynolds in the Sergio Corbucci western Navajo Joe (1966). Among the other westerns she appeared in were The Hills Run Red (1966), A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die (1968), and No Room to Die (1969). She also appeared in a small uncredited role in Face to Face (1967). She played a revenge seeking female gunfighter in the relatively obscure Garter Colt (1968), which was one of the rare instances where a Spaghetti Western featured a female lead protagonist. Outside of the western genre she played a small role in Candy (1968). A descendant of Niccola Machiavelli, she began guiding group tours of her native Italy as well as teaching Italian language classes at the University of Washington after retiring from acting.

Ida Galli
April 9, 1942 (Sestola, Italy)-

Perhaps better known by her anglicized pseudonym of Evelyn Stewart, she appeared in 12 Spaghetti westerns. In these roles, Galli often played the sweet, innocent heroine and love interest of the main protagonist. Her best known western roles were playing opposite Giuliano Gemma in two box office hits, One Silver Dollar (1965), and Adios Gringo (1965). Outside of the western genre, she had small roles in Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960), and Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard (1963). She played much larger roles in two Mario Bava films, Hercules in the Haunted World (1961), and The Whip and the Body (1963). She also starred in Lucio Fulci’s The Psychic (1977), and Sergio Martino’s The Case of the Scorpian’s Tail (1971).

Simonetta Vitelli aka Simone Blondell
Born 19-

Under her anglicized pseudonym of Simone Blondell, Vitelli appeared in 11 Spaghetti Westerns, eight of them under the direction of her father, Demofilo Fidani aka Miles Deem. Her best known western role is perhaps Fidani’s best, Showdown for a Badman aka Coffin Full of Dollars (1971). She also starred in Django and Sartana’s Showdown in the West (1970), and His Name was Sam Walbash, But They Call Him Amen aka Savage Guns (1971), both directed by Fidani. She occasionally helped out her father as an assistant production and set designer on his films. Her best known western not directed by her father was W Django aka Man Called Django (1971). Her acting career was relatively brief, but she also managed a supporting role in the low budget cult horror film, Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks (1974), which was to be her last acting credit.

Linda Veras
Born 19- (Bolzano, Italy)

Her acting career was relatively sporadic, yet the sultry blonde graced the screen in five Spaghetti Westerns, three of which are genre classics. She appeared in two classic westerns directed by then boyfriend Sergio Sollima, a small role in Face to Face (1967), and a more important role as a Salvation army missionary in Run Man Run (1968). Her best known role was as saloon girl Jane, the lover of William Berger’s “Banjo” character in the international hit Sabata (1969). Outside of the Spaghetti Western genre, she appeared uncredited in Jean-Luc Goddard’s Contempt (1963) and had a small role in Roberto Rosselini’s Il Generale Della Rovere (1959). She stopped acting in the early 1970s.

Rosalba Neri
June 19, 1939 (Forli, Italy)-
As prolific as they come, the dark, tantalizing actress appeared in a total of 17 Spaghetti Westerns, being equally adept at playing both villainesses and heroines. Among some of the better known westerns which she starred in were Johnny Yuma (1966), Arizona Colt (1966), This Man Can’t Die aka Long Days of Hate (1967), and Arizona Colt Returns (1970). Besides westerns, she also starred in numerous films in various exploitation genres ranging from peplum to erotic including The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969), 99 Women (1969), Lady Frankenstein (1971), Asylum Erotica aka Slaughter Hotel (1971), and French Sex Murders (1973).

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They look pretty good to me Len. Good job.

Good work Len, I added the new bios.