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.

Massimo Dallamano
Born	(1917-04-17)17 April 1917 Milan, Lombardy, Italy
Died	4 November 1976(1976-11-04) (aged 59) Rome, Lazio, Italy
Other names	Max Dillman Max Dillmann Jack Dalmas
Occupation(s)	Film director, cinematographer, screenwriter

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.^[1]

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).^[1] Christopher Frayling notes Dallamano's contributions to those films' distinctive visual style, including the use of widescreen compositions and Renaissance-style lighting effects in close-ups.^[2]

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).^[1]

Throughout his career, Dallamano was sometimes credited under the aliases Max Dillman (also spelled Dillmann) and Jack Dalmas.

Death

Dallamano died at age 59 in a car accident, several months after the release of his film Colt 38 Special Squad (1976).^[3][4] 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

Title	Year	Credited as			Notes	Ref(s)
		Director	Screenwriter	Cinematographer
Herod the Great	1959			Yes		[5][6]
The Cossacks	1960			Yes		[7]
Love and Larceny				Yes		[8]
Constantine and the Cross	1961			Yes		[7]
Queen of the Nile				Yes		[8]
Pontius Pilate	1962			Yes		[9]
Duello nel Texas	1963			Yes		[8]
Los Tarantos				Yes		[10]
A Fistful of Dollars	1964			Yes		[11]
Bullets Don't Argue				Yes		[12][13]
For a Few Dollars More	1965			Yes		[14]
The Mona Lisa Has Been Stolen	1966			Yes		[8]
Bandidos	1967	Yes		Yes		[15][16][17]
A Black Veil for Lisa	1968	Yes				[18]
Venus in Furs	1969	Yes				[19]
Dorian Gray	1970	Yes	Yes			[20]
What Have You Done to Solange?	1972	Yes	Yes			[21]
Super Bitch	1973	Yes	Yes			[22]
What Have They Done to Your Daughters?	1974	Yes	Yes			[23][24]
The Cursed Medallion	1975	Yes				[25]
Colt 38 Special Squad	1976	Yes	Yes			[26]
Red Rings of Fear	1978		Yes		Posthumous release	[27]

Sources

Footnotes

1. Marco Giusti (2007). Dizionario del western all'italiana. Mondadori, 2007. ISBN 978-88-04-57277-0.
2. Sir Christopher Frayling, A Fistful of Dollars audio commentary (Blu-ray version). Retrieved on 15 September 2014.
3. Marco Giusti. Stracult. Dizionario dei film italiani. Frassinelli, 2004.
4. Jane, Ian (June 22, 2006). "Colt 38 Special Squad". DVD Talk.
5. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 98.
6. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 99.
7. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 41.
8. "Massimo Dallamano – Cinematographer". mubi.com. Retrieved 2025-01-09.
9. Kinnard & Crnkovich 2017, p. 130.
10. MYmovies.it. "Con odio e con amore". MYmovies.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-01-09.
11. Curti 2016, p. 192.
12. "Die letzten Zwei vom Rio Bravo". Filmportal.de (in German). Retrieved February 19, 2019.
13. "Las pistolas no discuten [Le pistole non discutono] (1964)". Archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian). Retrieved February 19, 2019.
14. Curti 2016, p. 193.
15. Grant 2011, p. 443.
16. Grant 2011, p. 444.
17. "Bandidos (1967)". Archiviodelcinemaitaliano.it. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
18. Curti 2022, p. 146.
19. "Venus im Pelz". Filmportal.de (in German). Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
20. "Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray". Filmportal.de (in German). Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
21. "Das Geheimnis der grünen Stecknadel". Filmportal.de (in German). Archived from the original on November 30, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
22. Curti 2013, p. 101.
23. Curti 2013, p. 124.
24. Curti 2013, p. 125.
25. Curti 2017, p. 144.
26. Curti 2013, p. 165.
27. "Red Rings of Fear". Filmportal.de (in German). Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.

References

• Kinnard, Roy; Crnkovich, Tony (2017). Italian Sword and Sandal Films, 1908-1990. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476662916.
• Curti, Roberto (2013). Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980. McFarland. ISBN 978-0786469765.
• Curti, Roberto (2016). Tonino Valerii: The Films. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476626185.
• Curti, Roberto (2017). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1970-1979. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476629605.
• Curti, Roberto (2022). Italian Giallo in Film and Television. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-8248-8.
• Grant, Kevin (2011). Any Gun Can Play. Fab Press. ISBN 9781903254615.

External links

• Massimo Dallamano at IMDb