Ernesto Gastaldi

Ernesto Gastaldi (born 10 September 1934) is an Italian screenwriter. Film historian and critic Tim Lucas described Gastaldi as the first Italian screenwriter to specialize in horror and thriller films.[1] Gastaldi worked within several popular genres including pepla, Western and spy films.[1]

Ernesto Gastaldi
Born (1934-09-10) 10 September 1934
Graglia, Italy
Pen nameJulian Berry
OccupationScreenwriter, film director
Spouse
Mara Maryl
​
(m. 1960)​
Children3

Biography

Ernesto Gastaldi was born on 10 September 1934 in Graglia in the province of Province of Biella, Piedmont.[2] Gastaldi left his job as a clerk at the Sella bank in Biella to move to Rome where he was admitted into Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.[2] After graduating, Gastaldi had trouble finding work.[3] In 1957, Gastaldi wrote his first science fiction novel which the publishers requested an English-language name for the cover.[4][5] Gastaldi was sharing an apartment at the time with an Anglo-Italian man named Julian Birri, whom he adapted his name to for his alias, Julian Berry.[5] Gastaldi would write more crime and science fiction novels during this period such as Sangue intasca (1957) as James Duffy, Brivido sulla schiena (1957) as Freddy Foster and Tempo zero (1960) as Berry.[6]

Gastaldi's debut as a screenwriter and assistant director was with the film The Vampire and the Ballerina by Renato Polselli.[7] Gastaldi reflected on writing the film by stating that his working hours were from 8 in the morning until midnight, stating that "if someone had told me I was making a Gothic film I would have laughed."[7] Other works in gothic horror included Gastaldi writing for Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory, The Horrible Dr. Hichcock and The Whip and the Body.[8] Following his gothic works, was his work in giallo film, where Gastaldi directed films such as Libido, which was released in 1965.[9][10]

Selected filmography
TitleYearCredited asNotesRef(s)
ScreenwriterScreen story writerOther
The Vampire and the Ballerina 1960 Yes Yes [11]
Guns of the Black Witch 1961 Yes [12]
Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory Yes [13]
Queen of the Seas Yes [14]
Venus Against the Son of Hercules 1962 Yes [15]
The Horrible Dr. Hichcock Yes Yes [16][17]
Alone Against Rome Yes [18]
Avenger of the Seven Seas Yes [19]
Charge of the Black Lancers Yes [20]
Medusa Against the Son of Hercules 1963 Yes [21][22]
The Whip and the Body Yes Yes Yes Assistant director [23]
Hercules and the Masked Rider Yes [24]
Terror in the Crypt 1964 Yes [25]
The Vampire of the Opera Yes Yes [26]
The Long Hair of Death Yes [27]
Goliath at the Conquest of Damascus 1965 Yes [28]
The Possessed Yes Uncredited [29][30][31]
Libido Yes Yes Director [10][30][32]
The Murder Clinic 1966 Yes Yes [33][34]
Killer's Carnival Yes [35]
Arizona Colt Yes Yes [36][37]
Blood at Sundown Yes Yes [38][39]
Day of Anger 1967 Yes [40]
Flashman Yes Yes [41]
The Sweet Body of Deborah 1968 Yes Yes [42][43]
The Battle of El Alamein 1969 Yes [44][45]
So Sweet... So Perverse Yes [46][47][48]
The Price of Power Yes [49]
Arizona Colt Returns 1970 Yes [50][51]
Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming Yes [52][53]
All the Colors of the Dark 1972 Yes [54]
La morte accarezza a mezzanotte Yes [55][56]
The Grand Duel Yes [57]
Torso 1973 Yes [58][59]
Milano trema: la polizia vuole giustizia Yes Yes [60]
My Name Is Nobody Yes Yes [61]
Almost Human 1974 Yes [62]
Gambling City 1975 Yes Yes [63]
Kidnap Syndicate Yes [64]
Savage Three Yes Yes Yes Treatment [65]
The Suspicious Death of a Minor Yes Yes [66]
A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe Yes Yes [67][68]
The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist 1977 Yes [69]
Sahara Cross Yes [70]
Concorde Affaire '79 1979 Yes [71][72]
The Scorpion with Two Tails 1982 Yes Yes [73][74]
Notturno con grida Yes Yes Yes Director [75][76]
Once Upon a Time in America 1984 Yes Uncredited [77]
Shatterer 1987 Yes [78][79]

Footnotes
  1. Lucas 2013, p. 517.
  2. Curti 2016b, p. 16.
  3. Curti 2016b, p. 17.
  4. Curti 2015, p. 66.
  5. Curti 2015, p. 67.
  6. Curti 2015, p. 95.
  7. Gastaldi 2017, p. 1.
  8. Gastaldi 2017, pp. 1–2.
  9. Gastaldi 2017, p. 2.
  10. Ehrenreich 2018, p. 8.
  11. Curti 2015, p. 60.
  12. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 77.
  13. Curti 2015, p. 64.
  14. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 133.
  15. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 113.
  16. Curti 2015, p. 68.
  17. Curti 2015, p. 69.
  18. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 17.
  19. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 23.
  20. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 35.
  21. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 115.
  22. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 116.
  23. Curti 2015, p. 102.
  24. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 87.
  25. Curti 2015, p. 124.
  26. Curti 2015, p. 135.
  27. Curti 2015, p. 128.
  28. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 76.
  29. Ehrenreich 2018, p. 9.
  30. Ehrenreich 2018, p. 10.
  31. Ehrenreich 2018, p. 17.
  32. "Libido (1965)". Archivio del cinema italiano (in Italian). Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  33. Curti 2015, p. 165.
  34. Curti 2015, p. 167.
  35. "Gern hab' ich die Frauen gekillt". Filmportal.de (in German). Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  36. "Arizona Colt (1966)". Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  37. Erickson, Hal. "Arizona Colt". Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  38. "Sartana". Filmportal.de (in German). Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  39. "1000 dollari sul nero (1966)". Archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian). Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  40. "Der Tod ritt dienstags" (in German). Filmportal.de. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  41. Curti 2016a, p. 67.
  42. "Il dolce corpo di Deborah (1968)". Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  43. "The Sweet Body of Deborah". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2 April 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  44. "La battaglia di El Alamein (1968)" (in Italian). Archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  45. Erickson, Hal. "The Battle of El Alamein on AllMovie". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  46. Firsching, Robert. "Kiss Me, Kill Me". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  47. "Cosi dolce, cosi perversa (1969) Umberto Lenzi" (in French). Bifi.fr. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  48. Howarth 2015, p. 111.
  49. Curti 2016b, p. 195.
  50. "Arizona si scatenò... e li fece fuori tutti". Archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian). Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  51. Grant 2011, p. 453.
  52. Curti, Roberto (2018). "If You Meet Sartana...". The Complete Sartana (Booklet). Arrow Video. p. 30. FCD1762 / AV151.
  53. "Cast & Crew". The Complete Sartana (Booklet). Arrow Video. 2018. p. 12. FCD1762 / AV151.
  54. Curti 2017a, p. 77.
  55. Firsching, Robert. "La Morte Accarezza a Mezzanotte". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 24 June 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  56. "La morte accarezza a mezzanotte (1972)". Archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian). Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  57. "Drei Vaterunser für vier Halunken" (in German). Filmportal.de. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  58. Binion, Cavett. "Torso". Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  59. "I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale (1972)". Archivio del cinema italiano (in Italian).
  60. Curti 2013, p. 102.
  61. Curti 2016b, p. 197.
  62. Curti 2013, p. 105.
  63. Curti 2013, p. 171.
  64. Curti 2013, p. 137.
  65. Curti 2013, p. 146.
  66. Curti 2013, p. 151.
  67. "Nobody ist der Größte". Filmportal.de (in German). Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  68. "Un genio, due compari, un pollo (1975)". Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian). Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  69. Curti 2013, p. 211.
  70. Curti 2013, p. 230.
  71. "Concorde Affaire '79 (1979)". Archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian). Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  72. "Concorde Affaire '79". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  73. Curti 2019, p. 96.
  74. Curti 2019, p. 97.
  75. Curti 2019, p. 105.
  76. Curti 2019, p. 106.
  77. Sconce 2007, p. 161.
  78. Curti 2016b, p. 201.
  79. Galbraith IV 2008, p. 356.

References
  • Curti, Roberto (2013). Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786469765.
  • Curti, Roberto (2015). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957–1969. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1989-7.
  • Curti, Roberto (2016a). Diabolika: Supercriminals, Superheroes and the Comic Book Universe in Italian Cinema. Midnight Marquee Press. ISBN 978-1-936168-60-6.
  • Curti, Roberto (2016b). Tonino Valerii: The Films. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476664682.
  • Curti, Roberto (2017a). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1970-1979. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476629605.
  • Curti, Roberto (2017b). Riccardo Freda: The Life and Works of a Born Filmmaker. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476628387.
  • Curti, Roberto (2019). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1980-1989. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476672434.
  • Ehrenreich, Andreas (2018). "The Production of The Possessed". The Possessed (booklet). Arrow Video. FCD1850 / AV183.
  • Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1461673743.
  • Gastaldi, Ernesto (2017). "Foreword by Ernesto Gastaldi". Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1970-1979. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476629605.
  • Grant, Kevin (2011). Any Gun Can Play. Fab Press. ISBN 9781903254615.
  • Howarth, Troy (2015). So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films. Midnight Marquee Press, Inc. ISBN 978-1936168507.
  • Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476662916.
  • Lucas, Tim (2013). Mario Bava - All the Colors of the Dark. ISBN 978-0-9633756-1-2.
  • Sconce, Jeffrey, ed. (2007). Sleze Artists: Cinema at the Margins of Taste, Style, and Politics. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0822390190.
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