Alberto De Martino
Born(1929-06-12)12 June 1929
Rome, Italy
Died2 June 2015(2015-06-02) (aged 85)
Rome, Italy
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active1959–1985

Alberto De Martino (12 June 1929 – 2 June 2015) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. Born in Rome, De Martino started as a child actor and later returned to the cinema where worked as a screenwriter, director and dubbing supervisor. De Martino's films as a director specialised in well-crafted knock-offs of Hollywood hit films.[1] These films were specifically created films in Western, horror and mythology genres which were developed for the international market.[1] The Telegraph stated that his best known of these film was probably The Antichrist.[1] The Antichrist capitalized on the box-office appeal of The Exorcist (1973) and in its first week in the United States earned a greater box office than Jaws.[1]

Life and career

Alberto De Martino was born on 12 June 1929 in Rome.[1] De Martino was the son of a film make-up artist.[2] He started his career as a child actor.[2]

On attending University, De Martino studied law.[1] Martino returned to a career in cinema working as an editor, screenwriter and as an assistant director.[1] Martino stated he was encouraged to be a director by Federico Fellini for whom he supervised the dubbing for La Dolce Vita.[1] De Martino was also very active in the field of dubbing, and he was dubbing director for more than 1,500 films.[2]

De Martino was one of the active directors in the Italian genre cinema between 1960s and mid-1980s; his films spanned different genres, including Spaghetti Western, poliziotteschi, Peplum films and horror.[2][3] A real life friend of Sergio Leone, he was second unit director in Duck, You Sucker![3] He was often credited as Martin Herbert.[2][3]

In 1980, De Martino nearly lost his home when his film The Pumaman failed at the box office.[1] Pumaman was followed by a few more films concluding his career with Miami Golem.[1]

He died in Rome on 2 June 2015 at the age of 85.[1][4][5]

Selected filmography

Note: The films listed as N/A are not necessarily chronological.
Title Year Credited as Notes Ref(s)
Director Screenwriter Screen story writer Other
Scipio Africanus: The Defeat of Hannibal 1937 Yes Actor as "Son of Scipio" [6]
Minotaur, the Wild Beast of Crete 1960 Yes Assistant director [7]
The Invincible Gladiator 1961 Yes Yes Yes producer [8][9]
Gladiators 7 1962 Yes Yes [10][11]
Medusa Against the Son of Hercules 1963 Yes Yes [12][13]
The Blancheville Monster Yes [14]
Gli invincibili sette [it] Yes Yes Yes [12][15]
Gladiators Seven 1964 Yes Yes [16]
The Triumph of Hercules — Yes [17]
100.000 dollari per Ringo 1965 Yes Yes Yes [18][19]
Heroes of Fort Worth — Yes [20]
The Spy with Ten Faces 1966 Yes Yes [21]
Special Mission Lady Chaplin Yes [22][23]
Django Shoots First Yes [24][25]
Dirty Heroes 1967 Yes Yes [26]
O.K. Connery Yes [27]
Roma come Chicago 1968 Yes Yes [28]
Carnal Circuit 1969 Yes Yes [29][30]
The Man with Icy Eyes — Yes [31]
Crime Boss 1972 Yes [32]
The Killer Is on the Phone — Yes Yes Yes [33][34]
Ci risiamo, vero Provvidenza? — Yes [35]
Counselor at Crime 1973 Yes Yes Yes [36]
The Antichrist 1974 Yes Yes Yes [37][38]
Strange Shadows in an Empty Room 1976 Yes [39]
Holocaust 2000 — Yes Yes Yes [40]
The Pumaman 1980 Yes Yes [41][42]
Blood Link 1982 Yes Yes [43][44][45]
Formula for a Murder 1985 Yes Yes Yes [46][47][44]
Miami Golem — Yes [48]

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Alberto De Martino; Italian director whose films were unrepentantly brazen versions of better-known Hollywood hits". The Daily Telegraph. 9 June 2015. p. 27.
  2. ^ a b c d e Stefania Ulivi (3 June 2015). "Addio a De Martino, regista di culto amato da Tarantino". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Marco Giusti (2007). Dizionario del western all'italiana. Mondadori, 2007. ISBN 978-8804572770.
  4. ^ "Addio a Alberto De Martino, regista culto tra peplum e horror". corriere. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Addio a De Martino, regista di culto amato da Tarantino". Corriere della Sera.
  6. ^ Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 46.
  7. ^ Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 120.
  8. ^ Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 100.
  9. ^ Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 101.
  10. ^ Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 65.
  11. ^ Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 67.
  12. ^ a b Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 115.
  13. ^ Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 116.
  14. ^ Curti 2015, p. 86.
  15. ^ Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 151.
  16. ^ Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 140.
  17. ^ "Il trionfo di Ercole (1964)" (in Italian). Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it.
  18. ^ "Sangre sobre Texas [100.000 dollari per Ringo] (1965)" (in Italian). Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it.
  19. ^ Hughes, Howard (2018). "Westerns, Italian Style: Once Upon a Timeline". The Complete Sartana (Booklet). Arrow Video. p. 34. FCD1762 / AV151.
  20. ^ "Gli eroi di Fort Worth (1964)" (in Italian). Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it.
  21. ^ "Der Mann mit den tausend Masken". Filmportal.de. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  22. ^ "Missione speciale Lady Chaplin (1966)". Archviodelcinemaitaliano.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  23. ^ "Missione Speciale Lady Chaplin (1966)". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  24. ^ "Django spara per primo (1966)" (in Italian). Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it.
  25. ^ Hughes, Howard (2018). "Westerns, Italian Style: Once Upon a Timeline". The Complete Sartana (Booklet). Arrow Video. p. 37. FCD1762 / AV151.
  26. ^ "...und morgen fahrt ihr zur Hölle". Filmportal.de. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  27. ^ "Operation Kid Brother". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  28. ^ Curti 2013, p. 14.
  29. ^ Roberto Chiti; Roberto Poppi; Enrico Lancia; Mario Pecorari (1991). "Femmine insaziabili". Dizionario del cinema italiano. I film. Gremese Editore, 1992. ISBN 8876055932.
  30. ^ "Mord im schwarzen Cadillac". Filmportal.de. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  31. ^ "L'uomo dagli occhi di ghiaccio (1971)" (in Italian). Archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  32. ^ Curti 2013, p. 55.
  33. ^ Howarth 2015, p. 196.
  34. ^ "L'assassino... è al telefono (1972)" (in Italian). Archvio del cinema italiano. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  35. ^ "Ci risiamo, vero Provvidenza?" (in Italian). Archvio del cinema italiano. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  36. ^ Curti 2013, p. 79.
  37. ^ "L'anticristo (1974)" (in Italian). Archvio del cinema italiano. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  38. ^ Firsching, Robert. "Antichrist (1974)". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 28 November 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  39. ^ Curti 2013, p. 196.
  40. ^ "Holocaust 2000". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 45, no. 528. London: British Film Institute. 1978. pp. 47–48.
  41. ^ Curti 2016, p. 160.
  42. ^ Curti 2016, p. 161.
  43. ^ Curti 2022, p. 376.
  44. ^ a b Curti 2022, p. 9.
  45. ^ Luther Smith 1999, p. 12.
  46. ^ "7, Hyden Park. La casa maledetta (1985)" (in Italian). Archvio del cinema italiano. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  47. ^ Curti 2022, p. 377.
  48. ^ "* * Mi ami Golem (1986)" (in Italian). Archvio del cinema italiano. Retrieved 1 June 2018.

Sources

External links

Films directed by Alberto De Martino
Authority control databases
Categories