Writing

Sergio Donati

Born

1933-04-13 (93)

Place of birth

Rome, Italy

Known for

Writing

Credits

45 titles

Sergio Donati (born 13 April 1933) is an Italian screenwriter. He has written for more than 70 films since 1952. He was born in Rome, Italy. He started as a writer and had some of his books optioned for film. He is well known for his collaboration with Italian director Sergio Leone, who encouraged him to take up screenwriting as a full-time career, and with Italian producer Dino de Laurentis.

Known for

Once Upon a Time in the West poster
8.3

As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jill arrives in the small town of Flagstone with the intention of starting a new life.

Once Upon a Time in the West

1968

Duck, You Sucker poster
7.7

At the beginning of the 1913 Mexican Revolution, greedy bandit Juan Miranda and idealist John H. Mallory, an Irish Republican Army explosives expert on the lam from the British, fall in with a band of revolutionaries plotting to strike a national bank. When it turns out that the government has been using the bank as a hiding place for illegally detained political prisoners -- who are freed by the blast -- Miranda becomes a revolutionary hero against his will.

Duck, You Sucker

1971

Orca poster
6.2

After witnessing the killing of his mate and offspring at the hands of a reckless Irish captain, a vengeful killer whale rampages through the fisherman's Newfoundland harbor. Under pressure from the villagers, the captain, a female marine biologist, and an Indigenous tribalist venture after the great beast, who will meet them on its own turf.

Orca

1977

Ennio poster
8.3

A portrait of Ennio Morricone, the most popular and prolific film composer of the 20th century, the one most loved by the international public, a two-time Oscar winner and the author of over five hundred unforgettable scores.

Ennio

2022

Buddy Goes West poster
6.2

Outlaw drifter Buddy is mistaken for a doctor after his Indian companion inadvertently steals a bag of surgical instruments.

Buddy Goes West

1981

Mean Frank and Crazy Tony poster
4.6

There's trouble in Frankie Diomede's criminal empire in Genoa. A French gangster has moved into his territory, so he flies home to take care of business. He promptly has himself arrested so that he'll have the perfect alibi when the bodies start piling up. But it turns out his enemies have enough juice to keep him in prison, his associates start dying and the attempts on his life start. Cue Tony Breda, a wannabe wiseguy, who has a plan to spring Frankie from jail.

Mean Frank and Crazy Tony

1973

Film credits

Behind the camera

Once Upon a Time in the West poster
8.3

As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jill arrives in the small town of Flagstone with the intention of starting a new life.

Once Upon a Time in the West

1968

Duck, You Sucker poster
7.7

At the beginning of the 1913 Mexican Revolution, greedy bandit Juan Miranda and idealist John H. Mallory, an Irish Republican Army explosives expert on the lam from the British, fall in with a band of revolutionaries plotting to strike a national bank. When it turns out that the government has been using the bank as a hiding place for illegally detained political prisoners -- who are freed by the blast -- Miranda becomes a revolutionary hero against his will.

Duck, You Sucker

1971

Orca poster
6.2

After witnessing the killing of his mate and offspring at the hands of a reckless Irish captain, a vengeful killer whale rampages through the fisherman's Newfoundland harbor. Under pressure from the villagers, the captain, a female marine biologist, and an Indigenous tribalist venture after the great beast, who will meet them on its own turf.

Orca

1977

Buddy Goes West poster
6.2

Outlaw drifter Buddy is mistaken for a doctor after his Indian companion inadvertently steals a bag of surgical instruments.

Buddy Goes West

1981

Mean Frank and Crazy Tony poster
4.6

There's trouble in Frankie Diomede's criminal empire in Genoa. A French gangster has moved into his territory, so he flies home to take care of business. He promptly has himself arrested so that he'll have the perfect alibi when the bodies start piling up. But it turns out his enemies have enough juice to keep him in prison, his associates start dying and the attempts on his life start. Cue Tony Breda, a wannabe wiseguy, who has a plan to spring Frankie from jail.

Mean Frank and Crazy Tony

1973

Island of the Fishmen poster
5.6

After their prison ship sinks in the Caribbean, a group of prisoners and a doctor wash ashore on a seemingly deserted island. They soon discover a strange couple, who invite them to stay at their house. While the prisoners plan an escape, the doctor does some investigating, and soon finds out just what the pair are really doing, and why the prisoners keep disappearing mysteriously.

Island of the Fishmen

1979

The Big Gundown poster
7.3

Unofficial lawman John Corbett hunts down Cuchillo Sanchez, a Mexican peasant accused of raping and killing a 12-year-old girl.

The Big Gundown

1967

Man on Fire poster
5.7

Creasy, a traumatized ex-CIA agent, gets a job as a bodyguard for Samantha, the twelve-year-old daughter of a wealthy Italian family living in a swanky villa on the shores of Lake Como.

Man on Fire

1987

Hearts and Armour poster
5.3

Love blossoms between crusader Bradamante—a woman knight wearing an invincible suit of armor—and Moorish prince Ruggero. But a sorceress predicts to Bradamante her beloved will die in battle at the hand of fellow Christian paladin Rolando, whom in turn is in love with Isabella, Ruggero's sister.

Hearts and Armour

1983

Holocaust 2000 poster
5.8

An executive in charge of a nuclear power plant in the Mid-East must stop his son-- who turns out to be the Anti Christ -- from blowing it up.

Holocaust 2000

1977

Ben & Charlie poster
5.1

Also known as Ben & Charlie. When Ben Bellow is released from prison, Charlie Logan is there waiting for him. Not to welcome him, but to tell him that he does not want to hear from him again. But his wish won't be granted as the the two men constantly forced to reconnect while still hating each other's guts...

Ben & Charlie

1972

Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair poster
4.9

The story of the hijacking of the Italian luxury liner Achille Lauro by four Palestinians.

Voyage of Terror: The Achille Lauro Affair

1990

Face to Face poster
7.0

History Professor Brad Fletcher heads west for his health, but falls in with Solomon Bennett's outlaw gang. Fascinated by their way of life, Fletcher finally takes over the gang, leading with a new 'efficient' ruthlessness.

Face to Face

1967

Bonnie and Clyde Italian Style poster
5.1

Two stupid lowlifes are "forced" into a life of violent crime on the streets of Italy. What follows is a mocking takeoff of the American crime classic "Bonnie and Clyde."

Bonnie and Clyde Italian Style

1983

Stanza 17-17 palazzo delle tasse, ufficio imposte poster
5.9

Architect Giambattista Manteghin, actor Romolo Moretti, Prince Pantegani and inventor Leonardo Rossi meet while trying to bribe a tax official out of paying exorbitant taxes. The four get together and conspire to rob the taxation office building, which happens to have been designed by Manteghin.

Stanza 17-17 palazzo delle tasse, ufficio imposte

1971

Mission Stardust poster
4.4

A team of astronauts is sent to the moon to rescue an alien who is seeking help to save her dying race. They are attacked by a force of bandit robots and discover that enemy spies are out to kill the alien.

Mission Stardust

1967

Slap the Monster on Page One poster
7.7

Days before the general election, after a girl from a rich family is murdered in an attempted rape, the editor-in-chief of a conservative tabloid tries to derail the police investigation in order to help the right-wing candidates supported by his bosses.

Slap the Monster on Page One

1972

Cry, Onion! poster
5.3

Onion Jack has bought a piece of land on which to settle, but the property is still in possession of the orphans of the original owner and is coveted by the local oil baron.

Cry, Onion!

1975

Casablanca, Casablanca poster
6.4

Francesco forgot billiards because now he lives with Chiara. She is a musician and she would like to become famous. Francesco is different: he found in her the reason of his life. But when she accepts a job far from home, Francesco comes back to billiards.

Casablanca, Casablanca

1985

Too Beautiful to Die poster
4.8

A group of high fashion models have been invited to an isolated house to attend a party. As the night wears on, one of the models falls victim to a deadly 'accident,' which sets into motion a series of brutal murders, all traced back to a shocking secret...

Too Beautiful to Die

1988

Policewoman poster
5.6

A young policewoman discovers an ecological scandal and must face the corruption in the Milan Police department.

Policewoman

1974

The Monster poster
6.4

A low rank journalist at Tribuna Sera newspaper receives a letter one day. His correspondence contains a serial killer's letters, which he exploits.

The Monster

1977

The Boss and the Worker poster
5.0

Social/sexual farce focusing on a boss and his workers in a faucet factory.

The Boss and the Worker

1975

Tit for Tat poster
5.7

Fun adventures of a taxi driver and his passenger, a broken financial genius.

Tit for Tat

1984

North Star poster
4.8

Set during the Alaskan gold rush of the late 1800s. In his efforts to gain control of a small mining town, Sean McLennon is buying up every claim that becomes available, usually after the deaths of the previous owners at the hands of McLennon's 'assistants'. One of the miners targeted by McLennon, a half-Indian hunter named Hudson Saanteek, manages to escape his hired thugs and comes back into town looking to re-establish his claim and get revenge. McLennon and his men have the advantage of numbers and weapons, but Saanteek has his survival skills and knowledge of the Alaskan wilderness.

North Star

1996

Requiem for a Secret Agent poster
7.4

A veteran US Secret Service agent must thwart the covert conspiracy of an enemy spy network that threatens the world's safety.

Requiem for a Secret Agent

1966

Italy is Rotten poster
4.8

Two Sicilian's, Peppe Truzzoliti and Antonio Mancuso, decide, after a misadventure with some mafia drug dealers, to leave the cold and racist Turin to return to their native land. Along for the ride with them is Domenica, a beautiful girl from Veneto, who had arrived in Turin in search of work, but due to a number of setbacks, had been forced into prostitution.

Italy is Rotten

1976

The Weekend Murders poster
6.1

An aristocratic English family gather for the reading of their father's will. The family are dismayed to find that everything has been left to Barbara, the deceased's favourite daughter. The butler is soon found stabbed to death and Sergeant Thorpe, the local bobby, telephones Scotland Yard for assistance. Inspector Grey arrives and he and Barbara narrowly escape being shot. Cousin Ted and his wife Pauline are both killed. Sergeant Thorpe recalls some photos which Ted asked to have developed...

The Weekend Murders

1970

The Heroes poster
5.7

Four soldiers and a beautiful Greek nurse, thrown together in North Africa during World War II, team up to pull off a heist of two-million pounds in boxes marked "plasma."

The Heroes

1973

Dollars for a Fast Gun poster
6.0

In a desert region, Martin, bound to a wheelchair, is served by a gang of desperados to collect rents and kill anybody who resists. Then Lassiter arrives, telling Martin that he knows where Frank is, the man who made him a cripple. A reward is promised for his head. Then Frank smells danger... Source: SWDB www.spaghetti-western.net

Dollars for a Fast Gun

1966

Almost Blue poster
6.0

A detective suspects an unreported serial killer is preying on the population of a college town, luring in his victims through online video chats and assuming their identity after the murder.

Almost Blue

2000

Beyond Justice poster
3.8

A woman's ex-husband, who is the son of an Arab chieftain, kidnaps their teenage son and brings him back to Morocco, where the boy is to be made the leader of the tribe. The child's mother hires a mercenary to get her son and bring him back to her.

Beyond Justice

1992

Il ritorno del piccolo Lord poster
6.0

As every year, German brewery tycoon Karl Schneibel spends the summer holiday on an Italian island with his beloved grandson Christian, near the children's home run by his ma, Dr. Gioia. This year however, Christian's heart isn't in his summer fling but his lover at home, Anna, daughter of Karl's general manager Dr. Werner. Christian has a bad eye in Veronica, the woman who became Karl's much younger lover 'by travel fate', the first thing soon proved untrue. But by then, the Schneibel firm and estate have been taken over according to an elaborate conspiracy, which Christian takes on with some help from his friends.

Il ritorno del piccolo Lord

2000

Blowing Hot and Cold poster
10.0

The story of two men from opposite backgrounds and social structures who become friends. Jack Phillips is a laid-back, wry service station proprietor in a small Australian country town. His world is disrupted when a fast talking, gesticulating, vocal Italian, Nino Patrovita bursts upon the scene.

Blowing Hot and Cold

1989

The Sicilian Girl poster
6.2

Inspired to a true story, on November 5th 1991, Rita Atria a young 17-year-old Sicilian girl, goes to see an anti-Mafia judge Paolo Borsellino to denounce the Mafia system that was responsible for the murder of her father and her brother. It is the first time that such a young woman from a Mafia family rebels and betrays the Mafia. From that moment on, Rita's days are numbered. She only has nine months to live...

The Sicilian Girl

2008

Il maschio ruspante poster
7.5

Romulus, a rough but genuine country man, finds, on the occasion of a religious festival, a girl, Rema, already his kindergarten companion. In love with her since then, he welcomes with joy the invitation to follow her to Rome, convinced that the young woman wants to marry him.

Il maschio ruspante

1973

Il piccolo lord poster
6.3

11-year-old Christian lives with his Italian mother Gioia in poverty on the island of Ischia. His German father died in a rescue mission before Christian was born. The kind boy had an unremarkable and calm life until, one day, his grandfather Carl Schneibel finds him. Schneibel is a wealthy businessman who had never seen Christian before. Since the old lonely man has no heir, he decides to take Christian in and offer him a good education. Schneibel has never been on good terms with his son and never liked his son’s choice of wife, so he decides that Gioia must not come along. Despite, Gioia does not wish to obstruct her son’s future and allows him to go. Thanks to his good nature and his kind ways, Christian wins the heart of his grandfather and changes his life for the better.

Il piccolo lord

1995

Seven Times Seven poster
7.1

A gang of prison inmates escape to do a job at the Royal Mint, with only the time of the Cup Final to get back into the Scrubs.

Seven Times Seven

1968

The Beast poster
7.2

An experienced truck-driver is forced to become assistant to a young Sicilian driver. The Beast, the truck they drive around Europe, becomes their ground for mutual respect and trust.

The Beast

1974

Appointment in Beirut poster
6.0

When an international casino crime ring is planning a big score at a fixed roulette game, the casino police enlists the help of Jeff Miller, an alcoholic croupier, to nab the bad guys. Jeff is attracted to Laura, a singer at the casino, but she prefers the company of the leader of the thieving casino ring.

Appointment in Beirut

1968