Aldo Lado

Aldo Lado (5 December 1934 – 25 November 2023) was an Italian film and television director, screenwriter and author.^[1] He was known internationally for his contributions to the giallo genre during the 1970s, through his films Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971) and Who Saw Her Die? (1972). Several of his films are considered cult classics.

Aldo Lado
Born	(1934-12-05)5 December 1934 Fiume, Italy (present-day Rijeka, Croatia)
Died	25 November 2023(2023-11-25) (aged 88) Rome, Italy
Other names	George B. Lewis
Occupations	Director screenwriter author
Years active	1968–2023

Biography

Aldo Lado was born in Fiume, Italy (today Rijeka, Croatia) on 5 December 1934.

Lado came up through the film industry as an assistant director, notably to Bernardo Bertolucci on The Conformist (1970).^[2] After writing the story for the 1971 giallo The Designated Victim, he made his directorial debut later that year with Short Night of Glass Dolls. Lado took the job after two previous directors, Maurizio Lucidi and Antonio Margheriti, fell through.^[3] The film was a success, and he followed it with another giallo, Who Saw Her Die?.

Lado's subsequent films were in a variety of genres, including drama (Woman Buried Alive,^[4] The Cousin), romance (La cosa buffa), and horror (Last Stop on the Night Train). In 1979, he directed the Star Wars cash-in The Humanoid, for which he was credited under the George Lucas-esque pseudonym "George B. Lewis".^[5] In 1981, he directed the Alberto Moravia adaptation La disubbidienza.

In 2013, after a 20-year hiatus, he directed the film Il Notturno di Chopin.

Lado published his first short story in 2016, in the anthology Nuovi delitti di lago. In 2017 he published I film che non vedrete mai ('The films you will never see'), a compilation based on Lado's own unproduced screenplays.

Lado died at his home in Rome on the morning of 25 November 2023, at the age of 88.^[6][7][8][9]

Legacy and recognition

In 2024, Vespertilio Awards founded the Aldo Lado Award. The award is given to the film that best reflects the maestro's ideas and views on cinema.^[10]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Notes
1971	Short Night of Glass Dolls
1972	Who Saw Her Die?
	La cosa buffa
1973	Woman Buried Alive
1974	The Cousin
1975	Last Stop on the Night Train
1976	Born Winner
1979	The Humanoid
1981	La disubbidienza
1987	Scirocco
1989	Rito d'amore
1992	Alibi perfetto
1993	Venerdì nero
1994	La chance
2013	Il Notturno di Chopin

Television

Year	Title	Notes
1978	Il prigioniero	Television film
1979	Il était un musicien	1 episode
1980	Delitto in Via Teulada	Television film
1982	La pietra di Marco Polo
1986	I figli dell'ispettore	Television film
1991	La stella del parco	13 episodes

Bibliography

• Il gigante e la bambina, in Nuovi delitti di lago, Morellini Editore, 2016, ISBN 978-88-6298-439-3
• Cold Case sul Lago Maggiore, in Delitti di lago, vol. 3, Morellini Editore, 2017, ISBN 978-88-6298-493-5
• I film che non vedrete mai, Angera Films, 2017, ISBN 978-88-942777-0-8
• Un pollo da spennare, Angera Films, 2018, ISBN 978-88-942777-2-2
• Hotel delle cose, Angera Films, 2018, ISBN 978-88-942777-6-0
• Il mastino, Angera Films, 2018, ISBN 978-88-942777-4-6
• Ombre scure sotto la Rocca di Angera, in Delitti di lago, vol. 4, Morellini Editore, 2020, ISBN 978-88-6298-744-8
• Storie di donne: MIRIAM, Edizioni Angerafilm 2020, ISBN 979-12-80098-01-6
• IL RIDER, Edizioni Angerafilm 2020, ISBN 979-12-80098-00-9
• Storie di donne: COSTANZA, Edizioni Angerafilm 2021, ISBN 979-12-80098-02-3
• Il tombarolo in Delitti di Lago 5, Morellini Editore 2021, ISBN 9788862988650
• Il luccio in Delitti di Lago 7, Morellini Editore 2023, ISBN 9791255270782