León Klimovsky
León Klimovsky Dulfán was an Argentine film director, screenwriter and producer notable for his work during the classical era of Argentine cinema. He was known mainly for his work in Spanish cinema during the 1960s and '70s.
Early life
Klimovsky was born in Buenos Aires, to Jewish emigrant parents from the Russian Empire. His brother, Gregorio Klimovsky, was a noted mathematician and philosopher. Klimovsky originally trained to be a dentist, but his real passion was always the cinema. He pioneered the Argentine cultural movement known as cineclub and financed the first Argentine movie theater to show art movies. He also founded Argentina's first film club in 1929.Career
After participating as scriptwriter and assistant director of 1944's Se abre el abismo, he filmed his first movie, an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Player. He also worked on adaptations of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo and Ernesto Sabato's The Tunnel.During the 1950s, Klimovsky settled in Spain, where he became a full-time "professional" director. He directed many Spaghetti Westerns, Euro War and exploitation films, filming in Mexico, Italy, Spain and Egypt. Horror film fans best remember him for his contributions to Spain's horror film genre, beginning with La Noche de Walpurgis, the film that is said to have started the Spanish horror film boom of the 1970s. Klimovsky directed famed Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy in no less than 9 films in the 1970s, while also directing other classic horror films such as "The Strange Love of the Vampires", "The Dracula Saga" and "The Vampires' Night Orgy". Naschy complimented Klimovsky's workmanlike attitude and abundant energy, but he always felt that Klimovsky rushed through many of their projects together, never allowing for sufficient retakes.
León Klimovsky always dreamt of doing great mainstream movies but ended up doing commercial exploitation films, but he had no remorse, as cinema was a vocational mandate for him. He retired from directing in 1979, at age 73.
In 1995, at age 89, he won the "Honor Award" from the Spanish Film Directors Association. He died the following year in Madrid from a heart attack.
Filmography
;DirectorEl jugador Se llamaba Carlos Gardel La guitarra de Gardel Marihuana La vida color de rosa Suburbio El pendiente El túnel La Parda Flora The [Count of Monte Cristo (1953 film)|El conde de Montecristo] / The Count of Monte Cristo Tres citas con el destino El juramento de Lagardere El Tren Expreso La pícara molinera Viaje de novios Gli amanti del deserto, Miedo Viaje de novios Un indiano en Moratilla Llegaron los franceses Salto a la gloria S.O.S., abuelita Gharam fi sahraa Un bruto para Patricia El hombre que perdió el tren Ama Rosa- La paz empieza nunca Un tipo de sangre La danza de la fortuna Torrejón City Todos eran culpables Horizontes de luz Escuela de seductoras Los siete bravísimos Ella y el miedo Fuera de la ley Escala en Tenerife Aquella joven de blanco La colina de los pequeños diablos Dos mil dólares por Coyote El bordón y la estrella
- Pochi dollari per Django A Ghentar si muore facile Una chica para dos Un hombre vino a matar Hora cero: Operación Rommel No me importa morir Pagó cara su muerte Un dólar y una tumba Los hombres las prefieren viudas Quinto: non ammazzare La noche de Walpurgis/ Walpurgis Night El hombre que vino del odio Reverendo Colt Un dólar para Sartana 1971)La casa de las chivas Dr. Jekyll y el Hombre Lobo / Dr. Jekyll and the Wolf ManLa orgía nocturna de los vampiros/ The Vampires' Night Orgy La saga de los Drácula aka The Dracula Saga, 1973)La rebelión de las muertas / Vengeance of the Zombies, 1973)El talón de Aquiles Odio mi cuerpo El mariscal del infierno/ The Devil's Possessed Una libélula para cada muerto/ A Dragonfly for Each Corpse Mean Mother, co-directed with Al Adamson.Muerte de un quinqui/ Death of a Hoodlum Tres días de noviembre Secuestro/ Kidnapped Gritos a medianoche Último deseo/ The People Who Own the Dark ¿Y ahora qué, señor fiscal? El transexual El extraño amor de los vampiros/ The Strange Love of the Vampires Laverna La doble historia del Dr. Valmy Violación fatal La barraca
- La paz empieza nunca Y el cuerpo sigue aguantando Todos eran culpables Horizontes de luz Los siete bravísimos Escala en Tenerife La colina de los pequeños diablos Un dólar y una tumba Una señora llamada Andrés Odio mi cuerpo
;Assistant directorSe abre el abismo