The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most of these Westerns were produced and directed by Italians.
Gianni Garko, often billed as John Garko and occasionally Gary Hudson, is a Dalmatian Italian actor who found fame as a leading man in 1960s Spaghetti Westerns. He is perhaps best known for his lead role as Sartana, starting with the first official film If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death and starring in three sequels as this character, the role played by George Hilton in the third film in the series.
Sartana is a series of Spaghetti Western films which follows the adventures of the title character, a gunfighter and gambler who uses mechanical gadgets and seemingly supernatural powers to trick his rivals. The series features five official entries: If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death (1968), I am Sartana, Your Angel of Death (1969), Sartana's Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin, Have a Good Funeral, My Friend... Sartana Will Pay and Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming. The first film was directed by Gianfranco Parolini, with the remaining four directed by Giuliano Carnimeo. Sartana is portrayed by Gianni Garko in all films in the series except for Sartana's Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin, in which he was portrayed by George Hilton.
George Hilton was a Uruguayan actor well known for his many spaghetti Western performances. Sometimes credited as Jorge Hilton, he appeared in over 20 Euro-Westerns as well as several giallo and action films.
Sabata, is a 1969 Italian Spaghetti Western directed by Gianfranco Parolini. It is the first film in The Sabata Trilogy by Parolini, and stars Lee Van Cleef as the title character. Parolini had previously had a major success with the first Sartana Spaghetti Western If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death (1968), but the sequels were given to Giuliano Carnimeo. Producer Alberto Grimaldi contacted Parolini for a similar series of Sabata.
Gianfranco Parolini was an Italian film director. He is often credited as Frank Kramer. Among his films are The Sabata Trilogy, several sword and sandal films, most of the Kommissar X films and a number of Spaghetti Westerns.
Federico Boido, was an Italian film actor who appeared in many horror films, Spaghetti Westerns, and sword and sandal movies. He also acted in the Sadistik photo novels and related his experiences in the film The Diabolikal Super-Kriminal.
Blood at Sundown is a Spaghetti Western film directed by Alberto Cardone. The film is notable as the primary inspiration for the Sartana film series, starring Gianni Garko as a antiheroic incarnation of the villainous character he previously portrayed in Blood at Sundown.
I am Sartana, Your Angel of Death is a 1969 Italian Western film directed by Giuliano Carnimeo and starring Gianni Garko as Sartana. The film is presented on some DVD reissues under its German title, Sartana - Töten war sein täglich Brot.
Piero Lulli was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 111 films between 1942 and 1977. He was the younger brother of actor Folco Lulli.
Silver Saddle is a 1978 spaghetti Western. It is the third and final western directed by Lucio Fulci and one of the last spaghetti Westerns to be produced by a European studio. The film was based on an original story written by screenwriter Adriano Bolzoni and directed by Fulci for the Italian studio Rizzoli Film Productions.
Django is a fictional character who appears in a number of Spaghetti Western films. Originally played by Franco Nero in the 1966 Italian film of the same name by Sergio Corbucci, he has appeared in 31 films since then. Especially outside of the genre's home country Italy, mainly Germany, countless releases have been retitled in the wake of the original film's enormous success.
Giuliano Carnimeo was an Italian director and screenwriter, sometimes credited as Anthony Ascott or Antony Ascot.
Aldo Addobbati was an Italian film producer. In 1968 he produced Gianfranco Parolini's Se incontri Sartana prega per la tua morte, a western starring Gianni Garko, William Berger, Fernando Sancho and Klaus Kinski. He followed this by producing another of Parolini's and Kinski's in 1969 with the war picture 5 per l'inferno and he also co-produced the western Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino with Paolo Moffa. The film was directed by Giuliano Carnimeo and starred Gianni Garko.
Django, Prepare a Coffin, alternatively titled Viva Django, is a 1968 Italian spaghetti Western film directed by Ferdinando Baldi. The film was produced by Manolo Bolognini, who also produced Sergio Corbucci's original film. The film stars Terence Hill in the title role, which was previously played by Franco Nero. Originally Nero was intended to star.
Gianni Rizzo (1925–1992) was an Italian film actor. Between 1944 and 1986 he appeared in over seventy films and television productions, in a variety of supporting roles.
Have a Good Funeral, My Friend... Sartana Will Pay is a 1970 Spaghetti Western film directed by Giuliano Carnimeo, written by Roberto Gianviti and starring Gianni Garko as Sartana.
Sartana's Here… Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin AKA A Fistful of Lead is a 1970 Spaghetti Western that is the third of the Sartana film series with George Hilton taking over the lead role from Gianni Garko. The film was shot in Italy and directed by Giuliano Carnimeo.
Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming is a 1970 Italian-Spanish Spaghetti Western film directed by Giuliano Carnimeo and starring Gianni Garko as Sartana.
