Writing

Duccio Tessari

Born — Died

1926-10-11 — 1994-09-06

Place of birth

Genoa, Italy

Known for

Writing

Credits

44 titles

Duccio Tessari was an Italian director, screenwriter and occasionally actor, considered one of the fathers of spaghetti westerns. Born in Genoa, Tessari started in the fifties as documentarist and as screenwriter of Peplum films. In 1964 he co-wrote Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, one year later he gained an impressive commercial success and launched the Giuliano Gemma's career with A Pistol for Ringo and his immediate sequel, The Return of Ringo. He later touched different genres and worked in RAI TV, directing some successful TV-series. He died of cancer in Rome, at 68. He was married to actress Lorella De Luca.

Known for

A Fistful of Dollars poster
7.8

The Man With No Name enters the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among the three Rojo brothers and sheriff John Baxter. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold intended to pay for new weapons is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, the stranger inserts himself into the middle of the long-simmering battle, selling false information to both sides for his own benefit.

A Fistful of Dollars

1964

Tony Arzenta poster
6.1

A mob hitman wants to retire, but his bosses don't think that's a good idea. Complications - and many bloody shootouts - ensue.

Tony Arzenta

1973

Romulus and Remus poster
5.3

Twin brothers were raised by wolves, revolt against tyranny in pre-Roman Italy and then come to a parting of the ways as they lead their people toward the founding of a new city, the founders of Rome.

Romulus and Remus

1961

A Pistol for Ringo poster
6.3

Giuliano Gemma stars as a cool, cocky mercenary enlisted by a sheriff to infiltrate a ruthless gang of outlaws. Ennio Morricone provided the score to this early spaghetti western hit.

A Pistol for Ringo

1965

A Train for Durango poster
5.2

Two buddy adventurers witness a train-robbery and are then hunting the robbed gold and they also robbed Helen.

A Train for Durango

1968

Zorro poster
6.6

A newly arrived governor finds his province under the control of the corrupt Colonel Huerta. To avoid assassination by Huerta, he pretends to be weak and indecisive so Huerta will believe he poses no threat. But secretly he masquerades as Zorro, and joins the monk Francisco and the beautiful aristocrat Hortensia in their fight for justice against Huerta and his soldiers.

Zorro

1975

Film credits

Behind the camera

A Fistful of Dollars poster
7.8

The Man With No Name enters the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among the three Rojo brothers and sheriff John Baxter. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold intended to pay for new weapons is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, the stranger inserts himself into the middle of the long-simmering battle, selling false information to both sides for his own benefit.

A Fistful of Dollars

1964

Tony Arzenta poster
6.1

A mob hitman wants to retire, but his bosses don't think that's a good idea. Complications - and many bloody shootouts - ensue.

Tony Arzenta

1973

Romulus and Remus poster
5.3

Twin brothers were raised by wolves, revolt against tyranny in pre-Roman Italy and then come to a parting of the ways as they lead their people toward the founding of a new city, the founders of Rome.

Romulus and Remus

1961

A Pistol for Ringo poster
6.3

Giuliano Gemma stars as a cool, cocky mercenary enlisted by a sheriff to infiltrate a ruthless gang of outlaws. Ennio Morricone provided the score to this early spaghetti western hit.

A Pistol for Ringo

1965

A Pistol for Ringo poster
6.3

Giuliano Gemma stars as a cool, cocky mercenary enlisted by a sheriff to infiltrate a ruthless gang of outlaws. Ennio Morricone provided the score to this early spaghetti western hit.

A Pistol for Ringo

1965

A Train for Durango poster
5.2

Two buddy adventurers witness a train-robbery and are then hunting the robbed gold and they also robbed Helen.

A Train for Durango

1968

Zorro poster
6.6

A newly arrived governor finds his province under the control of the corrupt Colonel Huerta. To avoid assassination by Huerta, he pretends to be weak and indecisive so Huerta will believe he poses no threat. But secretly he masquerades as Zorro, and joins the monk Francisco and the beautiful aristocrat Hortensia in their fight for justice against Huerta and his soldiers.

Zorro

1975

Puzzle poster
5.7

In London, A man who has amnesia attempts to uncover the truth about his identity. A menacing individual accuses him of betrayal, and soon more pieces of his puzzling past begin to fall in place.

Puzzle

1974

Puzzle poster
5.7

In London, A man who has amnesia attempts to uncover the truth about his identity. A menacing individual accuses him of betrayal, and soon more pieces of his puzzling past begin to fall in place.

Puzzle

1974

Seven Guns for the MacGregors poster
5.4

Ranch owner MacGregor has seven sons and oldest Gregor leads his brothers to Las Mesas, a small town where they want to sell horses. They get into trouble with local people who are related with evil Santillana. After getting imprisoned and losing their horses they decide to go after Santillana's gang.

Seven Guns for the MacGregors

1966

Don't Turn the Other Cheek poster
5.6

A spaghetti western in which three adventurers team up during the Mexican Revolution. Mary O'Donnell, a radical Irish journalist, wants to foment a peasant revolt in Mexico. She enlists the help of a seedy bandit, Lozoya, by saving him from a death sentence in Utah. They meet a man calling himself Prince Dmitri Vassilovich Orlowsky, who claims to be a Russian prince, not to mention a man of the cloth. Wallach pretends to be a Mexican folk hero. The trio crosses the border, the two men seeking a cache of gold while O'Donnell pursues her revolution.

Don't Turn the Other Cheek

1971

The Return of Ringo poster
6.3

Once again billed as Montgomery Wood, Giuliano Gemma plays a civil war soldier who returns to his family land to find his family decimated, his property taken over by a family of Mexican bandits and his fiancee about to marry the Mexican gangster behind all this. Bent on revenge, he goes undercover disguised as a Mexican and discovers he has a daughter!

The Return of Ringo

1965

The Return of Ringo poster
6.3

Once again billed as Montgomery Wood, Giuliano Gemma plays a civil war soldier who returns to his family land to find his family decimated, his property taken over by a family of Mexican bandits and his fiancee about to marry the Mexican gangster behind all this. Bent on revenge, he goes undercover disguised as a Mexican and discovers he has a daughter!

The Return of Ringo

1965

The Bloodstained Butterfly poster
6.1

When a young female student is savagely killed in a park during a thunderstorm, the culprit seems obvious: TV sports personality Alessandro Marchi, seen fleeing the scene of the crime by numerous eyewitnesses. The evidence against him is damning... but is it all too convenient? And when the killer strikes again while Marchi is in custody, it quickly becomes apparent that there's more to the case than meets the eye...

The Bloodstained Butterfly

1971

The Bloodstained Butterfly poster
6.1

When a young female student is savagely killed in a park during a thunderstorm, the culprit seems obvious: TV sports personality Alessandro Marchi, seen fleeing the scene of the crime by numerous eyewitnesses. The evidence against him is damning... but is it all too convenient? And when the killer strikes again while Marchi is in custody, it quickly becomes apparent that there's more to the case than meets the eye...

The Bloodstained Butterfly

1971

Hercules in the Haunted World poster
6.6

Upon his return from battle in the previous film, the great warrior Hercules learns that his lover, Daianara, has lost her senses. According to the oracle Medea, Dianara's only hope is the Stone of Forgetfulness which lies deep in the realm of Hades. Hercules, with two companions, Theseus and Telemachus, embarks on a dangerous quest for the stone, while he is unaware that Dianara's guardian, King Lico, is the one responsible for her condition and plots to have the girl for himself as his bride upon her revival.

Hercules in the Haunted World

1961

Colossus and the Amazon Queen poster
4.8

Two muscle-men come up against a tribe of Amazon women.

Colossus and the Amazon Queen

1960

Alive or Preferably Dead poster
6.5

Two brothers, Monty and Ted, will inherit $300,000 if they manage to live together for six months.

Alive or Preferably Dead

1969

Alive or Preferably Dead poster
6.5

Two brothers, Monty and Ted, will inherit $300,000 if they manage to live together for six months.

Alive or Preferably Dead

1969

The Last Days of Pompeii poster
6.2

Glaucus, a demobilized centurion returns home to Pompeii to find his father murdered by a gang of black-hooded Christian robbers that terrorizes the city and he decides to investigate the matter while the nearby volcano threatens to erupt.

The Last Days of Pompeii

1959

Death Occurred Last Night poster
6.2

A chief police inspector investigates the disappearance of a 25-year-old woman, the daughter of a lonely widower. After she turns up dead, the cops race to find the killers before the grieving father does

Death Occurred Last Night

1970

Death Occurred Last Night poster
6.2

A chief police inspector investigates the disappearance of a 25-year-old woman, the daughter of a lonely widower. After she turns up dead, the cops race to find the killers before the grieving father does

Death Occurred Last Night

1970

Goliath and the Vampires poster
6.3

Maciste's village is attacked by pirates. The women, including Maciste's fiancee Guja, are carried off to Salmanak, where dwells the lair of the blood drinking Kobrak. Maciste vows to rescue them.

Goliath and the Vampires

1961

Messalina poster
5.6

Messalina was the Roman noblewoman who inveigled ageing emperor Claudio into marriage. Once ensconced on the throne, Messalina launched a reign of terror that shook the empire to its very foundations. The subject of countless film treatments, Rome's most villified empress is herein played by British actress Belinda Lee.

Messalina

1960

Safari Express poster
5.1

John and Howard work in a company named Safari Express booking tourists on safaris. Their lives are turned upside down when they encounter a beautiful blonde wandering in the jungle who doesn't know who she is. They also discover uranium and what appear to be some well-mannered simians.

Safari Express

1976

Tex and the Lord of the Deep poster
4.8

Based on the adventures of the hero Tex from the comic strip by Bonelli. An interesting spaghetti-western/fantasy movie that blends magic and mythology with six-guns and stagecoaches.

Tex and the Lord of the Deep

1985

Tex and the Lord of the Deep poster
4.8

Based on the adventures of the hero Tex from the comic strip by Bonelli. An interesting spaghetti-western/fantasy movie that blends magic and mythology with six-guns and stagecoaches.

Tex and the Lord of the Deep

1985

The Scapegoat poster
6.4

Il Fornaretto di Venezia (US TV title: The Scapegoat) is a 1963 Italian film directed by Duccio Tessari who co-wrote screenplay with Marcello Fondato, based on novel by Francesco Dall'Ongaro. It tells the story of 16th century's Venice where a young worker is sentenced to death on the suspicion of attacking a noble.

The Scapegoat

1963

The Scapegoat poster
6.4

Il Fornaretto di Venezia (US TV title: The Scapegoat) is a 1963 Italian film directed by Duccio Tessari who co-wrote screenplay with Marcello Fondato, based on novel by Francesco Dall'Ongaro. It tells the story of 16th century's Venice where a young worker is sentenced to death on the suspicion of attacking a noble.

The Scapegoat

1963

Marco Polo poster
4.5

Italian explorer rescues the daughter of the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, meets a hermit who has invented gunpowder and builds a cannon.

Marco Polo

1962

Dangerous Pleasures poster
5.3

Two married women on vacation decide to see who the better seductress is. When the local authorities investigate the death of a local prostitute, their husbands do what they can to avoid trace of scandal and any implication that their wives are involved. Cracks in their relationships are revealed as is the hedonism and hypocrisy amongst the bourgeoise.

Dangerous Pleasures

1965

Dangerous Pleasures poster
5.3

Two married women on vacation decide to see who the better seductress is. When the local authorities investigate the death of a local prostitute, their husbands do what they can to avoid trace of scandal and any implication that their wives are involved. Cracks in their relationships are revealed as is the hedonism and hypocrisy amongst the bourgeoise.

Dangerous Pleasures

1965

The Revenge of Hercules poster
5.3

A warrior returning home to his country must battle giant bats, three-headed dogs and a vicious dragon to save his wife, and his people, from the machinations of an evil ruler.

The Revenge of Hercules

1960

Kiss Kiss... Bang Bang poster
7.9

Kirk Warren, a former spy, is to be executed because he tried to steal a million dollars. But he is saved by Colonel Smithson because Sir Wilcox has prepared a mission for him. Warren has to steal a secret formula in Switzerland and try to expose the real identity of Mr. X. Kirk leaves London and Alina, his girl, together with three clumsy friends to accomplish his not so secret mission. But Kirk's great love is always a million dollars and not a secret formula.

Kiss Kiss... Bang Bang

1966

Kiss Kiss... Bang Bang poster
7.9

Kirk Warren, a former spy, is to be executed because he tried to steal a million dollars. But he is saved by Colonel Smithson because Sir Wilcox has prepared a mission for him. Warren has to steal a secret formula in Switzerland and try to expose the real identity of Mr. X. Kirk leaves London and Alina, his girl, together with three clumsy friends to accomplish his not so secret mission. But Kirk's great love is always a million dollars and not a secret formula.

Kiss Kiss... Bang Bang

1966

Three Tough Guys poster
5.1

Isaac Hayes plays as Lee in his feature film debut, as Father Charlie and himself solve a bank robbery mystery that stretches across the city. After Lee is removed from the force due to $1,000,000 being stolen from the bank Father Charlie helps him to gain revenge for the loss of one of his friends.

Three Tough Guys

1974

Per amore... per magia... poster
7.0

There was once upon a time the Grand Duchy of Forilalì where Aladdin lived. After taking part in many robberies, he decided to turn honest for the love of the beautiful Princess Esmeralda. But his intention lasted only a few days. Afterward he found himself in jail with his old companions. They were freed by the magician Magrebì and in a night of lunar eclipse, Aladdin found a magic lamp. He succeeded in cleaning his sister Adalgisa's house with the help of the genie and then, with no help at all, to marry Esmeralda. But evil powers were in action.

Per amore... per magia...

1967

Per amore... per magia... poster
7.0

There was once upon a time the Grand Duchy of Forilalì where Aladdin lived. After taking part in many robberies, he decided to turn honest for the love of the beautiful Princess Esmeralda. But his intention lasted only a few days. Afterward he found himself in jail with his old companions. They were freed by the magician Magrebì and in a night of lunar eclipse, Aladdin found a magic lamp. He succeeded in cleaning his sister Adalgisa's house with the help of the genie and then, with no help at all, to marry Esmeralda. But evil powers were in action.

Per amore... per magia...

1967

The Revolt of the Slaves poster
5.8

A rich man's daughter (Rhonda Fleming) sides with a Christian rebel during the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Revolt of the Slaves

1960

No artwork available
8.0

A beautiful witch is sent to Earth by the devil to capture the souls of a group of ambitious men.

Baciami Strega

1985