Massimo Dallamano

Massimo Dallamano (17 April 1917 – 4 November 1976) was an Italian cinematographer, film director, and screenwriter. He is best known for his work on Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy, and for directing several giallo and poliziotteschi films during the 1970s.

Life and career Born in Milan, Dallamano began in the 1940s as cameraman for documentaries and commercials, and after the war he became a cinematographer, specializing in adventure films.

In 1959, he co-directed the travel documentary Tierra mágica, which was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 9th Berlin International Film Festival. He was also active in Spanish cinema. He shot Francisco Rovira Beleta's film Los Tarantos, which was nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film at the 36th Academy Awards.

His best known work as a cinematographer were Sergio Leone's landmark Spaghetti Westerns A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965).

In 1967, he made his narrative film directorial debut with another Spaghetti Western, Bandidos. He went on to direct a dozen more films, including poliziotteschi, giallo, horror, and erotic films. His films include A Black Veil for Lisa (1968) with Luciana Paluzzi and John Mills, Dorian Gray (1970) with Helmut Berger, What Have You Done to Solange? (1972), What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (1974), and The Cursed Medallion (1975). His next film was intended to be Red Rings of Fear, which was ultimately directed by Alberto Negrin. Dallamano retained a posthumous screenwriting credit.

Select filmography