Antonio Margheriti, also known under the pseudonyms Anthony M. Dawson and Antony Daisies, was an Italian filmmaker. Margheriti worked in many different genres in the Italian film industry, and was known for his sometimes derivative but often stylish and entertaining science fiction, sword and sandal, horror/giallo, Eurospy, Spaghetti Western, Vietnam War and action movies that were released to a wide international audience. He died in 2002.
Mario Bava was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter. His low-budget genre films, known for their distinctive visual flair and stylish technical ingenuity, feature recurring themes and imagery concerning the conflict between illusion and reality, as well as the destructive capacity of human nature. Widely regarded as a pioneer of Italian genre cinema and one of the most influential auteurs of the horror film genre, he is popularly referred to as the "Master of Italian Horror" and the "Master of the Macabre".
Ernesto Gastaldi is an Italian screenwriter. Film historian and critic Tim Lucas described Gastaldi as the first Italian screenwriter to specialize in horror and thriller films. Gastaldi worked within several popular genres including pepla, Western and spy films.
The Whip and the Body is a 1963 gothic horror film directed by Mario Bava under the alias "John M. Old". The film is about Kurt Menliff who is ostracized by his father for his relationship with a servant girl and her eventual suicide. He later returns to reclaim his title and his former fiancée Nevenka who is now his brother's wife. Menliff is later found murdered, but the locals believe his ghost has returned to haunt the castle for revenge.
Luigi Batzella also known as Paolo Solvay was an Italian film director, editor, screenwriter and actor. He made numerous low-budget genre films.
I Vampiri is a 1957 Italian horror film directed by Riccardo Freda and completed by the film's cinematographer, Mario Bava. It stars Gianna Maria Canale, Carlo D'Angelo and Dario Michaelis. The film is about a series of murders on young women who are found with their blood drained. The newspapers report on a killer known as the Vampire, which prompts young journalist Pierre Lantin to research the crimes. Lantin investigates the mysterious Du Grand family who lives in a castle occupied by Gisele Du Grand who is in love with Lantin. She lives with her aunt, who hides her face in a veil, as well as the scientist Julian Du Grand, who is trying to find the secret to eternal youth.
Terror-Creatures from the Grave is a 1965 horror film directed by Domenico Massimo Pupillo. The film was an international co-production between Italy and the United States through M.B.S. Cinematografica, G.I.A. Cinematografica and International Entertainment Corp.
Mario Caiano was an Italian film director, screenwriter, producer, art director and second unit director.
Piero Regnoli (1921–2001) was an Italian screenwriter and film director.
Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks is a 1974 Italian horror film.
Giorgio Ferroni was an Italian film director.
The Virgin of Nuremberg is a 1963 Italian horror film directed by Anthony Dawson.
The Long Hair of Death is a 1964 Italian horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti. It stars British actress Barbara Steele in the roles of Helen Rochefort and Mary, Italian actor George Ardisson as Kurt Humboldt, and Polish actress Halina Zalewska in a dual role as Adele Karnstein and her daughter Lisabeth. It is set in a 15th-century feudal castle, and the nearby village.
Uncle Was a Vampire is a 1959 Italian comedy horror film, directed by Steno. A novelty song by Bruno Martino, Dracula Cha Cha Cha, written for this film, later became a widely covered hit.
The Blancheville Monster, released in the UK and Italy as Horror, is a 1963 horror film directed by Alberto de Martino. The film's script by Gianni Grimaldi and Bruno Corbucci is promoted as being based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, but actually only borrows elements from the short stories "The Fall of the House of Usher", "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains" and "Some Words with a Mummy". Long after its release, director Alberto de Martino described his film as "a little film of no importance".
Castle of the Living Dead is a 1964 horror film directed by Warren Kiefer. It was released in English under the title Crypt of Horror. It was Kiefer's first film as a director.
Terror in the Crypt is a 1964 Italian-Spanish horror film directed by Camillo Mastrocinque. The screenplay was by Tonino Valerii and Ernesto Gastaldi, based on the 1872 novel Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It was the third film adaptation of the novel, following Carl Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr (1932) and Roger Vadim's Blood and Roses (1960).
Luigi Carpentieri (1920-1987) was an Italian assistant director (1940-1949) and film producer (1947-1968). Together with Ermanno Donati, he founded the production company "Athena Cinematografica", which in 1960 became "Panda Cinematografica". All films produced by the company were genre films.
Ermanno Donati was an Italian film producer. Along with Luigi Carpentieri, Donati won the Nastro d'Argento award for Best Producer for the film The Day of the Owl.
Bella Cortez is a Cuban actress and dancer known for her work in Italian sword-and-sandal films of the 1960s.
