León Klimovsky
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

León Klimovsky Dulfán (16 October 1906 – 8 April 1996) was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and producer notable for his work during the classical era of Argentine cinema. He was known mainly for his work in
Spanish cinema The art of motion-picture making within Spain or by Spanish filmmakers abroad is collectively known as Spanish Cinema. Only a small portion of box office sales in Spain are generated by domestic films. The different Spanish governments have t ...
during the 1960s and '70s.


Early life

Klimovsky was born in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
, to
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
emigrant parents from the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. His brother, Gregorio Klimovsky, was a noted mathematician and philosopher. Klimovsky originally trained to be a dentist, but his real passion was always the cinema. He pioneered the Argentine cultural movement known as
cineclub A film society is a membership-based Club (organization), club where people can watch Public and private screening, screenings of films which would otherwise not be shown in mainstream Movie theater, cinemas. In Spain, Ireland and Italy, they are kn ...
and financed the first Argentine movie theater to show art movies. He also founded Argentina's first
film club A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...
in 1929.


Career

After participating as scriptwriter and assistant director of 1944's ''Se abre el abismo'', he filmed his first movie, an adaptation of
Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...
's ''The Player''. He also worked on adaptations of
Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...
' ''
The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...
'' and
Ernesto Sabato Ernesto Sabato (; June 24, 1911 – April 30, 2011) was an Argentine novelist, essayist, painter, and physicist. According to the BBC he "won some of the most prestigious prizes in Hispanic literature" and "became very influential in the litera ...
's ''The Tunnel''. During the 1950s, Klimovsky settled in
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, where he became a full-time "professional" director. He directed many
Spaghetti Western The spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's filmmaking style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...
s, Euro War and ''
exploitation films An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...
'', filming in
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, Spain and Egypt. Horror film fans best remember him for his contributions to Spain's
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 ...
genre, beginning with ''La Noche de Walpurgis'' ("Walpurgis Night"), the film that is said to have started the Spanish horror film boom of the 1970s. Klimovsky directed famed Spanish horror icon
Paul Naschy Jacinto Molina Álvarez (September 6, 1934 – November 30, 2009) known by his stage name Paul Naschy, was a Spanish film actor, screenwriter, and director working primarily in horror films. His portrayals of numerous classic horror figures&md ...
in no less than 9 films in the 1970s, while also directing other classic horror films such as "The Strange Love of the Vampires", "The Dracula Saga" and "The Vampires' Night Orgy". Naschy complimented Klimovsky's workmanlike attitude and abundant energy, but he always felt that Klimovsky rushed through many of their projects together, never allowing for sufficient retakes. León Klimovsky always dreamt of doing great mainstream movies but ended up doing commercial exploitation films, but he had no remorse, as cinema was a vocational mandate for him. He retired from directing in 1979, at age 73. In 1995, at age 89, he won the "Honor Award" from the Spanish Film Directors Association. He died the following year 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 ...
from a heart attack.


Filmography

;Director * '' El jugador'' (1947) * '' Se llamaba Carlos Gardel'' (1949) * ''
La guitarra de Gardel ''The Guitar of Gardel'' (Spanish:''La guitarra de Gardel'') is a 1949 Argentine-Spanish musical film directed by León Klimovsky and starring Agustín Irusta (actor), Agustín Irusta, Carmen Sevilla and Antonio Casal. The film is based on the life ...
'' (1949) * ''
Marihuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has been used as a drug for both recr ...
'' (1950) * '' La vida color de rosa'' (1951) * ''
Suburbio ''Suburb'' (Spanish: ''Suburbio'') is a 1951 Argentine drama film of the Argentine classical cinema, classical era of Argentine cinema, directed by León Klimovsky and starring Pedro López Lagar, Fanny Navarro and Zoe Ducós. The film portrays lif ...
'' (1951) * ''
El pendiente ''The Earring'' (Spanish: ''El Pendiente'') is a List of Argentine films of 1951, 1951 Argentine thriller film of the Argentine classical cinema, classical era of Argentine cinema, directed by León Klimovsky and starring Mirtha Legrand. It is a fi ...
'' (1951) * '' El túnel'' (1952) * ''La Parda Flora'' (1952) * '' El conde de Montecristo'' / ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (1953) * '' Tres citas con el destino'' (episode ''Maleficio'', 1954) * '' El juramento de Lagardere'' (1955) * '' El Tren Expreso'' (1955) * '' La pícara molinera'' (1955) * '' Viaje de novios'' (1956) * '' Gli amanti del deserto'', (1956) * '' Miedo'' (1956) * '' Viaje de novios'' (1956) * ''
Un indiano en Moratilla The United Nations (UN) is the global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among sta ...
'' (1958) * '' Llegaron los franceses'' (1959) * '' Salto a la gloria'' (1959) * '' S.O.S., abuelita'' (1959) * '' Gharam fi sahraa'' (''Amor en el desierto'', in Arabic in Egypt, 1960) * ''
Un bruto para Patricia The United Nations (UN) is the global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among sta ...
'' (1960) * ''
El hombre que perdió el tren EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...
'' (1960) * '' Ama Rosa'' (1960) * (1960) * '' Un tipo de sangre'' (1960) * ''
La danza de la fortuna ''The Dance of Fortune'' (Spanish: ''La Danza de la fortuna'') is a 1944 Argentine musical comedy film of the Argentine classical cinema, classical era of Argentine cinema, directed by Luis Bayón Herrera and starring Luis Sandrini, Olinda Bozán ...
'' (1961) * '' Torrejón City'' (1962) * '' Todos eran culpables'' (1962) * ''
Horizontes de luz ''Horizons'' () is a 1913 oil painting by Francisco Antonio Cano Cardona. ''Horizons'' shows the idealized migrant family and it portrays a '' colono'' family –consisting of a husband, wife, and child– sitting on a bluff, surrounded by ...
'' (1962) * '' Escuela de seductoras'' (1962) * ''
Los siete bravísimos LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...
'' (1964) * '' Ella y el miedo'' (1964) * '' Fuera de la ley'' (1964) * '' Escala en Tenerife'' (1964) * '' Aquella joven de blanco'' (1965) * '' La colina de los pequeños diablos'' (1965) * '' Dos mil dólares por Coyote'' (''Django... Cacciatore di taglia'') (1966) * '' El bordón y la estrella'' (1966) * ('' Alambradas de violencia'') (1966) * ''
A Ghentar si muore facile A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient G ...
'' (1967) * '' Una chica para dos'' (1968) * ''
Un hombre vino a matar ''Rattler Kid'' (, ) is a 1967 Italian-Argentine western film directed by León Klimovsky, scored by Francesco De Masi, and starring Richard Wyler, Jesús Puente Jesús Puente Alzaga (18 December 1930 – 26 October 2000) was a Spanish actor. ...
'' (1968) * '' Hora cero: Operación Rommel'' (''L'urlo dei giganti'') (with the alias Henry Mankiewicz, 1969) * '' No me importa morir'' (1969) * '' Pagó cara su muerte'' (1969) * '' Un dólar y una tumba'' (1970) * ''
Los hombres las prefieren viudas ''Los hombres las prefieren viudas'' (''Men Prefer Widows'') is a 1943 Argentine film, directed by Gregorio Martínez Sierra and starring Catalina Bárcena, Santiago Gómez Cou and Alita Román. The film, made by Estudios San Miguel, is based o ...
'' (1970) * '' Quinto: non ammazzare'' (1970) * ''
La noche de Walpurgis ''La Noche de Walpurgis'' /''Walpurgis Night'' (released in the United States as ''The Werewolf vs. The Vampire Woman'', in the UK as ''Shadow of the Werewolf'', and in Canada as ''Werewolf Shadow''), is a 1970 Spanish/German horror film starrin ...
''/ ''Walpurgis Night'' (aka ''The Werewolf Vs. the Vampire Woman'', 1971) * '' El hombre que vino del odio'' (1971) * '' Reverendo Colt'' (1971) * ''
Un dólar para Sartana ''Raise Your Hands, Dead Man, You're Under Arrest'' is a 1971 Italian-Spanish western film directed by Sergio Bergonzelli but credited to León Klimovsky for contractual reasons, produced by Sergio Bergonzelli, scored by Alessandro Alessandroni ...
'' 1971) * '' La casa de las chivas'' (1972) * '' Dr. Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo'' / ''Dr. Jekyll and the Wolf Man'' * '' La orgía nocturna de los vampiros''/ ''The Vampires' Night Orgy'' (1973) * ''
La saga de los Drácula LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...
'' aka ''The Dracula Saga'', 1973) * ''
La rebelión de las muertas ''Vengeance of the Zombies'' (/ ''Rebellion of the Dead Women'') is a 1972 Spanish horror film directed by León Klimovsky and starring Paul Naschy, Mirta Miller, Vic Winner and Aurora de Alba. The film was shot in July 1972, but was only theatric ...
'' / ''Vengeance of the Zombies'', 1973) * ''
El talón de Aquiles EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...
'' (1974) * '' Odio mi cuerpo'' (1974) * '' El mariscal del infierno''/ ''The Devil's Possessed'' (1974) * ''
Una libélula para cada muerto Una and UNA may refer to: People * Una (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Arts and entertainment * ''Una'' (film), a 2016 drama * ''Una'', a 1981 novel by Momo Kapor * '' The Una'', a woman's rights ...
''/ ''A Dragonfly for Each Corpse'' (1974) * '' Mean Mother'' (United States, 1974), co-directed with
Al Adamson Albert Victor Adamson Jr. (July 25, 1929 – June 21, 1995) was an American Filmmaking, filmmaker and actor known as a prolific director of B movie horror and exploitation films throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The son of silent film veterans Vict ...
. * '' Muerte de un quinqui''/ ''Death of a Hoodlum'' (1975) * '' Tres días de noviembre'' (1976) * '' Secuestro''/ ''Kidnapped'' (1976) * '' Gritos a medianoche'' (1976) * ''
Último deseo ''The People Who Own the Dark'' () is a 1976 Spanish post-apocalyptic thriller directed by León Klimovsky starring Nadiuska and Alberto de Mendoza. Plot A group of wealthy men who have survived an apocalyptic fallout unscathed mingling with ...
''/ ''The People Who Own the Dark'' (1976) * '' ¿Y ahora qué, señor fiscal?'' (1977) * '' El transexual'' (1977) * ''
El extraño amor de los vampiros EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a List of Shugo Chara! characters#El, character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (Stranger Things), Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fiction ...
''/ ''The Strange Love of the Vampires'' (1977) * '' Laverna'' (1978) * '' La doble historia del Dr. Valmy'' (1978) * '' Violación fatal'' (1978) * ''
La barraca LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...
'' (TV series, 1979) ;Screenwriter * '' Se abre el abismo'' (1945) * '' 3 millones y el amor'' (1946) * '' Albergue de mujeres'' (1946) * '' Siete para un secreto'' (1947) * ''
La guitarra de Gardel ''The Guitar of Gardel'' (Spanish:''La guitarra de Gardel'') is a 1949 Argentine-Spanish musical film directed by León Klimovsky and starring Agustín Irusta (actor), Agustín Irusta, Carmen Sevilla and Antonio Casal. The film is based on the life ...
'' (1949) * '' La parda Flora'' (1952) * '' El túnel'' (1952) * '' El conde de Montecristo'' (1953) * '' El Tren Expreso'' (1955) * '' Miedo'' (1956) * ''
Un indiano en Moratilla The United Nations (UN) is the global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among sta ...
'' (1958) * '' S.O.S., abuelita'' (1959) * ''
Un bruto para Patricia The United Nations (UN) is the global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among sta ...
'' (1960) * '' Ama Rosa'' (1960) * (1960) * '' Y el cuerpo sigue aguantando'' (1961) * '' Todos eran culpables'' (1962) (dialogue) * ''
Horizontes de luz ''Horizons'' () is a 1913 oil painting by Francisco Antonio Cano Cardona. ''Horizons'' shows the idealized migrant family and it portrays a '' colono'' family –consisting of a husband, wife, and child– sitting on a bluff, surrounded by ...
'' (1962) * ''
Los siete bravísimos LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...
'' (1964) * '' Escala en Tenerife'' (1964) * '' La colina de los pequeños diablos'' (1965) * '' Un dólar y una tumba'' (1970) * ''
Una señora llamada Andrés Una and UNA may refer to: People * Una (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Arts and entertainment * ''Una'' (film), a 2016 drama * ''Una'', a 1981 novel by Momo Kapor * '' The Una'', a woman's rights ...
'' (1970) * '' Odio mi cuerpo'' (1974) ;Producer * '' Rodríguez supernumerario'' (1948) ;Assistant director * '' Se abre el abismo'' (1944) * '' Viaje sin regreso'' (1946)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Klimovsky, Leon 1906 births 1996 deaths Male actors from Buenos Aires Argentine emigrants to Spain Argentine film directors Argentine Jews Argentine people of Polish-Jewish descent Spanish male screenwriters Spanish film producers Spanish horror film directors 20th-century Spanish screenwriters 20th-century Spanish male writers Argentine people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent 20th-century Argentine screenwriters 20th-century Argentine male writers