Duccio Tessari (11 October 1926 – 6 September 1994) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor, considered one of the fathers of Spaghetti Westerns.

Born in Genoa, Tessari started in the fifties as documentarist and as screenwriter of peplum films. In 1964 he co-wrote Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, one year later he gained an impressive commercial success and launched the Giuliano Gemma's career with A Pistol for Ringo and its immediate sequel, The Return of Ringo. In 1975, Tessari launched the most popular and successful European depiction of Zorro, when he directed Zorro starring Alain Delon as the titular masked hero. The movie was a smash hit in Europe, Russia, Japan and China.

He later touched different genres and worked in RAI, directing some successful TV-series. He died of cancer in Rome, at 67. He was married to actress Lorella De Luca.

Filmography

Note: The films listed as N/A are not necessarily chronological.

TitleYearCredited asNotesRef(s)
DirectorScreenwriterScreen story writerOther
Kanonenserenade[de]1958YesYesAssistant director
The Last Days of Pompeii1959YesYesAssistant director
Carthage in Flames1960Yes
MessalinaYesYes
Goliath and the DragonYes
Colossus and the Amazon QueenYesAssistant director
The Revolt of the SlavesYes
Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis1961Yes
Goliath and the VampiresYes
The Colossus of RhodesYes
Samson and the Seven Miracles of the WorldYes
The Wonders of AladdinYes
Hercules in the Haunted WorldYes
Duel of the TitansYes
My Son, the Hero1962YesYes
Marco PoloYes
Il fornaretto di Venezia—N/aYesYes
The Avenger of Venice1964Yes
A Fistful of DollarsYes
Secret of the Sphinx—N/aYesYes
A Pistol for Ringo1965YesYesYes
The Return of RingoYesYesYes
Una voglia da morire—N/aYesYes
Kiss Kiss...Bang Bang1966YesYesYes
Seven Guns for the MacGregorsYes
Dick Smart 2.007—N/aYes
Per amore... per magia...1967YesYes
La dama de Beyrut—N/aYes
The Cats1968YesYes
Better a Widow—N/aYesYes
Train for Durango—N/aYesYes
Sundance and the Kid1969YesYes
Quella piccola differenza—N/aYesYes
Death Occurred Last Night1970YesYes
The Bloodstained Butterfly—N/aYesYes
Long Live Your Death1971YesYes
Winged Devils—N/aYesYes
The Heroes—N/aYes
Tony Arzenta1973Yes
Three Tough Guys1974Yes
Puzzle—N/aYesYes
Zorro1975Yes
Sexycop1976YesYes
Safari Express—N/aYesYesYes
The Fifth Commandment1978YesYesYes
Un centesimo di secondo—N/aYesYes
Tex and the Lord of the Deep1985YesYes
Please, Let the Flowers Live[de]1989YesYes
There Was a Castle with Forty Dogs—N/aYesYes

Bibliography

  • Curti, Roberto (2013). Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980. McFarland. ISBN978-0786469765.
  • Curti, Roberto (2016). Diabolika: Supercriminals, Superheroes and the Comic Book Universe in Italian Cinema. Midnight Marquee Press. ISBN978-1-936168-60-6.
  • Curti, Roberto (2017). Riccardo Freda: The Life and Works of a Born Filmmaker. McFarland. ISBN978-1476628387.
  • Curti, Roberto (2018). Mavericks of Italian Cinema. McFarland. ISBN978-1-4766-7242-7.
  • Grant, Kevin (2011). Any Gun Can Play. Fab Press. ISBN9781903254615.
  • Hughes, Howard (2006). Once Upon a Time in the Italian West. I B Tauris. ISBN0857730452.
  • Hughes, Howard (2009). Aim for the Heart. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN978-1-84511-902-7.
  • Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN978-1476662916.

External links