Massimo Dallamano

Renowned cinematographer, writer, and director Massimo Dallamano became a celebrated figure of giallo cinema in both Europe and the United States. Born in Milan, Italy in 1917, Dallamano first began his career as a cameraman working on commercials. He eventually became a trusted and respected cinematographer, beginning with 1946's "Inquietudine" (1946). He would go on to shoot films like "Mistress of Treves" (1952), "Killers of the East" (1954), and "The Nights of Lucretia Borgia" (1959), eventually developing his own signature style defined by details like opening a film with a low angle shot. By the late '50s, Dallamano began taking a more active role behind the camera, directing the documentary "Tierra mágica" (1959) in 1959, but he continued to work as a cinematographer as well, famously shooting the classic Spaghetti Western "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964) under the name Jack Dalmas in 1964. By the time he directed his first feature film however, "Bandidos" (1967), Dallamano had decided to write and direct full time. He wrote and directed such memorable giallo films as "Dorian Gray" (1970), "What Have You Done to Solange?" (1972), and "Colt 38 Special Squad" (1976) before he died tragically in a car accident in Rome in 1976. He was 59 years old.