Luigi Batzella

Luigi Batzella (San Sperate, 27 May 1924 – San Sperate, 18 November 2008) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and former actor who used numerous pseudonyms such as Paolo Solvay, Ivan Kathansky, A.M. Frank, Gigi Batzella, Paul Hamus, Dean Jones and Paul Selway.

Life and career

Batzella made films in a variety of genres, directing Spaghetti Westerns such as A Pistol for Django and Paid in Blood,^[1][2] war films such as When the Bell Tolls, erotic horror such as Nude for Satan and Nazi-exploitation with Achtung! The Desert Tigers and The Beast in Heat.

Batzella became known for working with very low budgets, using stock footage and recycling scenes from one film to another. Both Achtung! The Desert Tigers and The Beast in Heat feature footage from When the Bell Tolls.

He worked with a number of established B-actors of the time like Richard Harrison, Gordon Mitchell, Brad Harris, Rita Calderoni and Mark Damon. Batzella's directing career ranged from the late 1960s to the late 1970s.

Partial filmography

• The Pirates of the Mississippi (1963)
• When the Bell Tolls, aka Quando suona la campana (1970)
• Paid in Blood (1971})
• The Devil's Wedding Night, aka Il plenilunio delle vergini (1973)
• Nude for Satan, aka Nuda per Satana (1974)
• Achtung! The Desert Tigers (1977)
• The Beast in Heat, aka SS Hell Camp (1977)
• Black Gold Dossier (1979)

References

External links

• Luigi Batzella on IMDb
• Lightsleepermag.com review of Beast in the Heat
• Dvddrive-in.com review of Beast in the Heat
• A review of Kinocite.co.uk review of Nude for Satan