Sergio Martino

Sergio Martino (born 19 July 1938 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre.

Martino is the brother of producer Luciano Martino (who died in 2013). They collaborated frequently in their respective professions. Their grandfather was director Gennaro Righelli.

Martino worked for both the big screen as well as for Italian television where he does most of his current work.

He often worked with actress Edwige Fenech who in the 1970s was married to his brother Luciano. He also worked with a lot of genre actors such as George Hilton (married to his cousin), Ivan Rassimov and Claudio Cassinelli, as well as famed Italian screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi.

Martino's pseudonyms include: Julian Barry, Martin Dolman, Serge Martin, Christian Plummer, George Raminto.

Selected filmography

Giallo films

• The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh / Lo strano vizio della signora Wardh (1970) aka Blade of the Killer, Next!, The Next Victim, starring George Hilton, Edwige Fenech and Ivan Rassimov; written by Ernesto Gastaldi
• The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (1971) aka La coda dello scorpione / Tail of the Scorpion, starring George Hilton and Anita Strindberg; written by Ernesto Gastaldi
• All the Colors of the Dark / Tutti i colori del buio (1972) aka Day of the Maniac, starring George Hilton, Ivan Rassimov and Edwige Fenech; written by Ernesto Gastaldi
• Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key / Il tuo vizio è una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave (1972), aka Eye of the Black Cat, Gently Before She Dies, Excite Me!, starring Edwige Fenech and Ivan Rassimov; written by Ernesto Gastaldi
• Torso (1973) aka I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale / The Bodies Bear Traces of Carnal Violence, starring Suzy Kendall, written by Ernesto Gastaldi
• Too Young to Die (1975) aka Morte sospetta di una minorenne / The Suspicious Death of a Minor, starring Claudio Cassinelli, Mel Ferrer and Lia Tanzi
• The Scorpion with Two Tails (1982) aka Assassinio al cimitero etrusco / Murder in the Etruscan Cemetery, starring Claudio Cassinelli, Marilù Tolo, John Saxon and Van Johnson
• Mozart Is a Murderer / Mozart È un Assassino (1999) starring Enzo De Caro, Daniela Scarlatti and Augusto Fornari

Exploitation and sci-fi works

• Mondo Sex (1969) (Italian: Mille peccati... nessuna virtù) narrated by Edmund Purdom
• The Mountain of the Cannibal God / La montagna del dio cannibale (1978) aka Slave of the Cannibal God, aka Primitive Desires, with Ursula Andress and Stacy Keach (featured real animal mutilation)
• Island of the Fishmen / L'isola degli uomini pesce (1979) starring Barbara Bach, Claudio Cassinelli and Richard Johnson; U.S. prints were retitled Something Waits in the Dark or Screamers, and were heavily re-edited with extra added American footage from a never-released amateur horror film called Tales That Will Rip Your Heart Out.
• The Great Alligator River (1979) aka Il fiume del grande caimano / River of the Great Alligator, starring Barbara Bach and Mel Ferrer
• 2019, After the Fall of New York / 2019 – Dopo la caduta di New York (1983) starring Michael Sopkiw and Luigi Montefiore
• Hands of Steel (1986) aka Vendetta dal futuro/ Vendetta From the Future, aka Fists of Steel, aka Atomic Cyborg, starring Luigi Montefiore, John Saxon and Claudio Cassinelli. (*Note: Claudio Cassinelli was killed in a helicopter crash during the making of this film.)
• Queen of the Fishmen / La regina degli uomini pesce (1995) aka Queen of the Fish Men, made for Italian TV; never shown in the USA

Spaghetti westerns

• Arizona Colt Returns (1970)
• Mannaja (A Man Called Blade) (1977), starring Maurizio Merli and John Steiner.

Crime dramas

• The Violent Professionals (1973) aka Milano trema—La polizia vuole giustizia; starring Luc Merenda and Richard Conte
• Chopper Squad (1975) aka Silent Action, aka La polizia accusa: il Servizio Segreto uccide; starring Luc Merenda and Mel Ferrer
• Gambling City (1975) aka La città gioca d'azzardo, aka The Cheaters; starring Luc Merenda and Dayle Haddon

War films

• Casablanca Express (1989) Glenn Ford, written by Ernesto Gastaldi

External links

• Sergio Martino at the Internet Movie Database
• Sergio Martino at AllMovie
• Sergio Martino – Italy's Unsung Exploitation King an article on the director's varied genre work.