Camillo Tanio Boccia (15 June 1911 – 12 March 1982), was an Italian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

active between the 1950s and the early 1970s. From 1960 onwards, he was regularly credited as Amerigo Anton.

Career

Born in

Potenza Potenza (, also , ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania). Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one ...

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

, he started as a dancer and choreographer in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in the 1930s, later moving on to act in regional, dialectal stage plays. He had a small role in ''

Variety Lights ''Variety Lights'' ( it, Luci del varietà) is a 1951 Italian romantic drama film produced, directed and written by Federico Fellini and Alberto Lattuada and starring Peppino De Filippo, Carla Del Poggio, and Giulietta Masina. The film is about a ...

'' (1951) by

Alberto Lattuada Alberto Lattuada (; 13 November 1914 – 3 July 2005) was an Italian film director. Career Lattuada was born in Vaprio d'Adda, the son of composer Felice Lattuada. He was initially interested in literature, becoming, while still a student, a mem ...

and

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

, his first and sole performance as a film actor. Boccia directed 20

low-budget film A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

s in his career. He is best known for his work in the

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

genre, particularly peplum, in the early 1960s with films such as '' Caesar the Conqueror'' (1962), '' Samson Against the Pirates'' (1963) and ''

Hercules of the Desert ''Hercules of the Desert'' ( it, La valle dell'eco tonante/ ''Valley of the Thundering Echo''), aka ''Maciste and the Women of the Valley'', is a 1964 Italian peplum film directed by Tanio Boccia and starring Kirk Morris.Michele Giordano. ''Giga ...

''(1964). In 1965 he directed the spy adventure ''

Agente X 1-7 operación Océano ''Agente X 1-7 operazione Oceano'' ( es, Agente X 1-7 operación Océano) is a 1965 Italian-Spanish spy film adventure directed by Tanio Boccia.Blake, Deal Plot Professor Calvert has invented a revolutionary formula which make it possible t ...

''. His films, generally rated as B or

Z movie Z movies (or grade-Z movies) are low-budget films with production qualities lower than B movies. History and terminology The term "Z movie" arose in the mid-1960s as an informal description of certain unequivocally non-A films. It was soon adopte ...

s, always met negative reception and Boccia was often mocked in the

Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios we ...

environment, earning the nickname of "Italian

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...

" after his death. However, he has been re-evaluated in recent years, since his works, albeit rather poor, are considered "not at all the kind of cinematic disasters", and appreciated for his creativity in order to solve complicated situations, due to the low budget he had to work with. He was also labeled as the "Italian

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

" for his ability to make a movie in a short time with low financial resources. He died in 1982 in

Selected filmography

* ''

Drama on the Tiber ''Drama on the Tiber'' (Italian: ''Dramma sul Tevere'') is a 1952 Italian drama film directed by Tanio Boccia and starring Renato Baldini, Aldo Fiorelli and Bianca Doria. The plot centres around a widow named Sora Rosa with two sons, Aldo and Br ...

'' (1952) * ''

The Conqueror of the Orient ''The Conqueror of the Orient'' (Italian:''Il conquistatore dell'Oriente'') is a 1960 Italian adventure film directed by Tanio Boccia and starring Gianna Maria Canale, Rik Battaglia and Irène Tunc.Hughes p.36 It is set several centuries ago ...

'' (1960) * ''

Triumph of the Son of Hercules ''Triumph of the Son of Hercules'' ( it, Il trionfo di Maciste) is a 1961 Italian peplum film directed by Tanio Boccia and starring Kirk Morris.Michele Giordano. ''Giganti buoni''. Gremese Editore, 1998. . Plot Cast * Kirk Morris as Macis ...

'' (1961) * '' Caesar the Conqueror'' (1962) * ''

Samson and the Sea Beast ''Samson and the Sea Beast'' ( it, Sansone contro i pirati, also known as ''Samson Against the Pirates'') is a 1963 Italian peplum film directed by Tanio Boccia. The plot centres around a pirate terrorising the Antilles. He plunders ships, slaugh ...

'' (1963) * ''

Samson vs. the Giant King ''Samson vs. the Giant King'' ( it, Maciste alla corte dello zar, also known as ''Giant of the Lost Tomb'' and ''Atlas Against the Czar'') is a 1964 Italian fantasy-peplum film directed by Amerigo Anton. The czar Nicolas sends a secret mission ...

'' (1964) * ''

Desert Raiders ''Desert Raiders'' (Italian: ''Il dominatore del deserto'') is a 1964 Italian adventure film directed by Tanio Boccia and starring Kirk Morris, Rosalba Neri and Hélène Chanel. It was one of a large number of peplum films made during the era. ...

'' (1964) * ''

Terror of the Steppes ''Terror of the Steppes'' ( it, I predoni della steppa, also known as ''The Mighty Khan'') is a 1964 Italian adventure film written and directed by Tanio Boccia and starring Kirk Morris. Plot Cast * Kirk Morris as Sandar Khan * Moira Orfe ...

'' (1964) * ''

The Revenge of Ivanhoe ''The Revenge of Ivanhoe'' ( it, La rivincita di Ivanhoe) is a 1965 Italian adventure film directed by Tanio Boccia. Cast * Rik Van Nutter(credited as Clyde Rogers) as Ivanhoe * Gilda Lousek as Rowena of Stratford * Andrea Aureli as Bertrand ...

'' (1965) * ''

Agente X 1-7 operazione Oceano ''Agente X 1-7 operazione Oceano'' ( es, Agente X 1-7 operación Océano) is a 1965 Italian-Spanish spy film adventure directed by Tanio Boccia.Blake, Deal Plot Professor Calvert has invented a revolutionary formula which make it possible to ...

'' (1965) * '' Kill or Be Killed'' (1966) * ''

Kill the Wicked! ''Kill the Wicked!'' ( it, Dio non paga il sabato, also known as ''God Does Not Pay on Saturday'' and ''Kill the Wickeds'') is a 1967 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Tanio Boccia and starring Larry Ward and Rod Dana. This movie passes ...

'' (1967)

References

External links

* 1911 births 1982 deaths People from Potenza Italian film directors 20th-century Italian screenwriters Italian male screenwriters 20th-century Italian male writers {{Italy-film-director-stub