Luciano Ercoli (October 19, 1929 – March 15, 2015) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, producer and

unit production manager In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non- ...

. Ercoli's career spanned approximately two decades before his retirement in the late 1970s, and saw him direct several films in the

giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...

genre, as well producing several Spaghetti Westerns. Ercoli was married to Spanish actress Nieves Navarro, who has appeared in several of the films he worked on.

Life and career

Ercoli was born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, on October 19, 1929. His first film credit was as an assistant director for the 1955 film '' La risaia'', directed by

Raffaello Matarazzo Raffaello Matarazzo (17 August 1909 – 17 May 1966) was an Italian filmmaker. Life Matarazzo started writing film reviews for the Roman newspaper ''Il Tevere'' before re-editing scripts for the Italian film company Cines. His first films w ...

. Ercoli then acted as a film producer on several titles throughout the 1960s, before making his directorial début in 1970, helming the

film '' Le foto proibite di una signora per bene'', which he also produced and

edited Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

. Ercoli went on to direct several more films throughout the early to mid-1970s, including ''

Il figlio della sepolta viva ''Il figlio della sepolta viva'' is a 1974 Italian drama film directed by Luciano Ercoli. Based on the novel with the same name written by Carolina Invernizio, it is part of the Invernizio's revival occurred in the early 1970s. In this adaptation ...

'' and '' Troppo rischio per un uomo solo''. Ercoli was married to Spanish actress Nieves Navarro, who has appeared in several of his giallo films, starring in 1971's ''

La morte cammina con i tacchi alti ''La morte cammina con i tacchi alti'' (International title: ''Death Walks on High Heels'') is a 1971 giallo film directed and co-produced by Luciano Ercoli. It starred Frank Wolff and Susan Scott, co-written by Ernesto Gastaldi, with music by St ...

'' and 1972's ''

La morte accarezza a mezzanotte ''La morte accarezza a mezzanotte'' (''Death Walks at Midnight''Luther-Smith, Adrian (1999). Blood and Black Lace: The Definitive Guide to Italian Sex and Horror Movies. Stray Cat Publishing Ltd.) is a 1972 ''giallo'' film directed by Luciano Erco ...

''. Navarro had also appeared in lesser roles in ''Le foto proibite di una signora per bene'', and the Ercoli-produced Spaghetti Westerns '' Una pistola per Ringo'' and '' Il ritorno di Ringo''. Ercoli, described as "one of the first directors to jump on the thriller bandwagon", retired from the film industry in the late 1970s after inheriting "a fortune". His last role was as the director of the 1975

poliziottesco Poliziotteschi (; singular ''poliziottesco'') constitute a subgenre of crime and action films that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s. They are also known as ''polizieschi all'italiana'', ...

film '' La polizia ha le mani legate''. Ercoli's final film was '' La Bidonata'' from 1977. ''La Bidonata'', also known as ''The Big Ripoff'', was released as an extra on the

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

release of the Italian thriller ''

Colt 38 Special Squad ''Colt 38 Special Squad'' ( it, Quelli della Calibro 38) is a 1976 Italian ''poliziottesco'' film. This film, by Massimo Dallamano, stars Ivan Rassimov and Marcel Bozzuffi. Plot Turin, Italy mid-1970s. When his wife becomes the latest innocent vi ...

''.

Filmography

Footnotes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ercoli, Luciano 1929 births 2015 deaths Film directors from Rome Spaghetti Western directors Italian film producers Italian screenwriters Giallo film directors Poliziotteschi directors Italian male screenwriters