Eugenio Martín Márquez (15 May 1925 – 23 January 2023) was a Spanish film director and screenwriter. He was known for the low-budget genre films he made in the 1960s and 1970s, including ''

Bad Man's River ''Bad Man's River'' ( and ) is a 1971 Italian/Spanish/French international co-production comedy Spaghetti Western directed by Eugenio Martín and starring Lee Van Cleef, James Mason, Gina Lollobrigida, Sergio Fantoni, Simón Andreu and Lon ...

'', ''

The Bounty Killer ''The Ugly Ones'' ( es: ''El precio de un hombre'', lit. "The Price of a Man", it: ''The Bounty Killer'', later ''La morte ti segue... ma non ha fretta'', lit. "Death follows you... but not in a hurry") is a 1966 Spanish-Italian spaghetti West ...

'', and ''

Horror Express ''Horror Express'' (Spanish: ''Pánico en el Transiberiano'', "Panic on the Trans-Siberian") is a 1972 science fiction horror film directed by Eugenio Martín. It stars Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, with Alberto de Mendoza, Silvia Tortos ...

'', the latter being particularly notable for its inclusion of the well-known English actors

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

and

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition f ...

, famous for their work with

Hammer Films A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as wi ...

. Though never remarkably successful either at the box office or among critics, Martín's films, particularly ''Horror Express'', have achieved cult status. The popular

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

magazine ''

Fangoria ''Fangoria'' is an internationally distributed American horror film fan magazine, in publication since 1979. It is published four times a year by Fangoria Publishing, LLC and is edited by Phil Nobile Jr. The magazine was originally released i ...

'' included ''Horror Express'' in its book, ''101 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen: A Celebration of the World's Most Unheralded Fright Flicks''.

Early life and first films

Martín was born on 15 May 1925 in

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

. He was a child when the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

broke out. Since the uprising first broke out among Nationalist generals in Spanish Africa, the African port city of Ceuta was immediately embroiled in violence. Following the death or arrest of friends and family members, Martín's family fled to

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

on the Spanish mainland. After publishing a volume of

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse (poetry), a line or lines in a poetic composition * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict meter or rhyme, but still re ...

, Martín's interests veered toward cinema, and while still at university he created Granada's first film society. Though he considered leaving

Francoist Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

Spain for a less censorious environment, he eventually decided to stay in Spain, accepted into the "Institute of Cinematic Investigation and Experiences" in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. At the institute, Martín made a series of well-regarded short films and documentaries before making his first feature film ''Despedida de soltero'' ("Farewell to the Single Life"), in 1957.

International collaborations and commercial success

When European film crews began frequently using Spain as an affordable site for

location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. When filmmaking professionals refer to shooting "on location", they are ...

, Martín took advantage of opportunities for collaboration and worked with a number of foreign directors, most notably

Nicholas Ray Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle Jr., August 7, 1911 – June 16, 1979) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Described by the Harvard Film Archive as "Hollywood's last romantic" and "one of postwar American cinem ...

. He had the opportunity to direct films using international casts and crew which familiarized him with many different players in 1960s cinema, by many accounts among the most fertile and creative periods in film history. In 1966 Martín directed ''

'' (released as ''The Ugly Ones'' in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

), the first of many

Westerns The Western is a genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier (commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West") between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated wit ...

he was to create. The director maintained that the concept behind his film antedated and influenced the

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone ( ; ; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian filmmaker, credited as the pioneer of the spaghetti Western genre. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema. Leone's film-making style ...

film ''

For a Few Dollars More ''For a Few Dollars More'' () is a 1965 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone. It stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef as bounty hunters and Gian Maria Volonté as the primary villain. Klaus Kinski plays a supporting role as a se ...

'', worked on by

Duccio Tessari 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 ...

- a mutual acquaintance of Martín and his friend and former teacher

José G. Maesso José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

. Martín made several

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

and

giallo In Italian cinema, (; : ; from , ) is a genre that often contains Slasher film, slasher, thriller (genre), thriller, psychological horror, psychological thriller, Sexploitation film, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural, supernat ...

-type films in the following years, solidifying his reputation as "an ''

auteur An (; , ) is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded and personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, thus manifesting the director's unique style or thematic ...

'' in every genre", per the subtitle of a recent

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

. The director's filmography and competence in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

led American producer

Philip Yordan Philip Yordan (April 1, 1914 – March 24, 2003) was an American screenwriter, film producer, novelist and playwright. He was a three-time Academy Award nominee, winning Best Story for ''Broken Lance'' (1954). During the 1950s and 1960s, Yorda ...

to contract him for three films, which remain among his better-known works: ''Bad Man's River'', ''

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

'', and ''Horror Express''. These films have decidedly uneven critical reputations, but the latter especially remains a favorite among fans of its lead actors,

and

. Martín's international profile dropped significantly after his 1973 film, ''

A Candle for the Devil ''A Candle for the Devil'' ( Spanish: ''Una vela para el diablo''), also released as ''It Happened at Nightmare Inn'', is a 1973 Spanish horror film directed by Eugenio Martín and starring Aurora Bautista and Judy Geeson. Its plot follows two s ...

,'' released in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

as ''It Happened at Nightmare Inn.'' After this release, most of his work was in Spanish-language

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. On 11 October 2017, he was honored for the fiftieth anniversary of his film '' El precio de un hombre'' (1967) at the 7th

Almería Western Film Festival The Almería Western Film Festival is an annual film festival held every October in the Spain, Spanish city of Tabernas in the province of Almería. The event was created in 2011 to celebrate Almería's ongoing history as one of the Western film ...

Personal life and death

Martín died in Madrid on 23 January 2023, at the age of 97.

Selected filmography

* ' (1961), starring

Hans von Borsody Hans von Borsody (; 20 September 1929 – 4 November 2013) was a German film actor. Biography He was born in Vienna into an artistic family of Hungarian descent. His father Eduard was a film director, his uncle Julius a set designer.(in German ...

* ''Despedida de soltero'' (1961), starring

Germán Cobos Germán Sánchez Hernández-Cobos (7 July 1927 – 12 January 2015) was a prolific Spanish actor in a variety of European films. He was married to Visitación Peralta. Biography He was born on 7 July 1927 in Sevilla. He was known for playing Art ...

, Silvia Solar * ' (1962), starring

Götz George Götz George (; 23 July 1938 – 19 June 2016) was a German actor, the son of actor couple Berta Drews and Heinrich George. His arguably best-known role is that of Duisburg detective Horst Schimanski in the TV crime series ''Tatort''. Early lif ...

Jean Sorel Jean Bernard Antoine de Chieusses de Combaud de Roquebrune (born 25 September 1934), known professionally as Jean Sorel (), is a French actor. He was a leading man of European cinema during the 1960s and '70s, with a screen persona that often d ...

Heinz Drache Heinz Drache (; 9 February 1923 – 3 April 2002) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1953 and 2002. He was born in Essen, Germany and died in Berlin, Germany of lung cancer. Selected filmography * '' Once ...

* ''

Golden Goddess of Rio Beni ''Golden Goddess of Rio Beni'' () is a 1964 adventure film directed by Franz Eichhorn and Eugenio Martín and starring Pierre Brice, Gillian Hills and René Deltgen.Bock & Bergfelder p.82 It was made as a co-production (film), co-production betwee ...

'' (1964), starring

Pierre Brice Pierre-Louis Le Bris (6 February 1929 – 6 June 2015), known as Pierre Brice, was a French actor, best known as portraying fictional Apache chief Winnetou in German films based on Karl May novels. Life and films Brice was born in Brest, ...

* ''

Captain from Toledo Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

'' (1965), starring Stephen Forsyth * ''

'' (1967), starring

Tomas Milian Tomás Quintín Rodríguez-Varona Milián Salinas de la Fé y Álvarez de la Campa (3 March 1933 – 22 March 2017) was a Cuban-born actor with American and Italian citizenship, known for the emotional intensity and humor he brought to starring ...

* '' Requiem for a Gringo'' (1968) * ''Una señora estupenda'' (1967), starring

Lola Flores María Dolores "Lola" Flores Ruiz (; 21 January 1923 – 16 May 1995) was a Spanish actress, (flamenco dancer) and singer. Born in Jerez de la Frontera, Flores became interested in the performing arts at a very young age. Known for her overwhe ...

* ''Las Leandras'' (1969), starring

Rocío Dúrcal María de los Ángeles de las Heras Ortiz (4 October 1944 – 25 March 2006), better known as Rocío Dúrcal (), was a Spanish singer and actress with a career spanning more than four decades. She performed pop music, bolero, mariachi and romanti ...

* ' (1969), starring

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...

* ' (1971) ''Death at the Deep End of the Swimming Pool'', starring

Carroll Baker Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American retired actress. After studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Baker began performing on Broadway in 1954. From there, she was recruited by director Elia Kazan to play the lead in t ...

* ''

'' (1971), starring

Lee Van Cleef Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of spaghetti Westerns, particularly t ...

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (4 July 1927 – 16 January 2023) was an Italian actress, model, photojournalist, and sculptor. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and 1960s, a period in which she was an international ...

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

* ''

'' (1972), starring

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (; January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was a Greek-American actor. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on the crime drama series '' Kojak'' (1973� ...

* ''

'' (1972), starring

Clint Walker Norman Eugene "Clint" Walker (May 30, 1927 – May 21, 2018) was an American actor. He played cowboy Cheyenne (TV series), Cheyenne Bodie in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC/Warner Bros. Western (genre)#Film, western series ''Cheyenn ...

* ''A Candle for the Devil'' (1973) ''It Happened at Nightmare Inn'', starring

Judy Geeson Judith Amanda Geeson ( ; born 10 September 1948) is an English film, stage, and television actress. She began her career primarily working on British television series, with a leading role on '' The Newcomers'' from 1965 to 1967, before making ...

* ''

The Girl from the Red Cabaret ''The Girl from the Red Cabaret'' (Spanish: ''La chica del Molino Rojo'') is a 1973 Spanish musical film, musical drama film directed by Eugenio Martín and starring Marisol (actress), Marisol, Renaud Verley and Mel Ferrer.Historical Dictionary of ...

'' (1973), starring

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón FerrerAncestry Library Edition (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, and producer, active in film, theatre, and television. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ...

, Marisol * ''No quiero perder la honra'' (1975), starring

Ángela Molina Ángela Molina Tejedor (born 5 October 1955) is a Spanish actress. Aside from her performances in Spanish films, she has starred in multiple international productions, particularly in a number of Italian films and television series. Family Mol ...

José Sacristán José María Sacristán Turiégano (born 27 September 1937), better known as José Sacristán, is a Spanish film, theatre, and television actor. He made his feature film debut in 1965 in '. At Gijón International Film Festival in 2015, he r ...

* ''Esclava te doy'' (1976), starring

Alfredo Landa Alfredo Landa Areta MML (3 March 19339 May 2013) was a Spanish actor. Biography He was born in Pamplona, Navarre. He finished his pre-university studies in Donostia-San Sebastián. He then began university studies in law, where he began to ...

* ''Call Girl'' (1976) * ''Tengamos la guerra en paz'' (1977) * ''Aquella casa en las afueras'' (1980) aka ''The House in the Outskirts'' * ''Supernatural'' (1981) ''Return of the Poltergeist'', starring

Cristina Galbó Cristina Galbó Sánchez (born 17 January 1950) is a Spanish actress who achieved moderate fame in Europe during the late 1960s and early 1970s, making a name for herself in film mostly for European horror films. She started her career with a y ...

* ''La sal de la vida'' (1996), starring

Patxi Andión Francisco "Patxi" Andión González (6 October 1947 – 18 December 2019) was a Spanish singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Biography Patxi Andión was born to Basque parents in Madrid in 1947 and lived part of his childhood in the Basqu ...

, Ivonne Reyes,

Juan Diego Botto Juan Diego Botto Rota (born 29 August 1975) is an Argentine-Spanish film, stage and television actor. Born in Argentina, he moved to Spain together with his mother (the actress and acting coach Cristina Rota) in 1978. Following early film appe ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Eugenio 1925 births 2023 deaths People from Ceuta Spanish screenwriters Spanish male screenwriters Giallo film directors Spanish horror film directors

Early life and first films

International collaborations and commercial success

Personal life and death

Selected filmography

Further reading

References

External links