Il fanciullo del West

Il fanciullo del West (transl. The Boy of the West ) is a 1943 Italian comedy film directed by Giorgio Ferroni and starring Erminio Macario. It is named after Puccini's opera La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West ) and is considered the first western parody in Italian cinema^[1] and the precursor of the Spaghetti Western genre.^[2][3]

Il fanciullo del West
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed by	Giorgio Ferroni
Written by	Leo Bomba Gian Paolo Callegari Vittorio Metz Giorgio Ferroni Silvano Castellani Vincenzo Rovi Vincenzo Talarico
Produced by	Mario Borghi
Starring	Erminio Macario
Cinematography	Sergio Pesce
Edited by	Vittorio Solito
Music by	Amedeo Escobar
Distributed by	Scalera Films
Release date	25 February 1943 (1943-02-25)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

Plot

In an imaginary country of the old west two main local families are in constant rivalry. Lolita del Fuego, courted by the head of a band of brigands, is instead in love with the scion of the rival family, Mac Carey who, through clashes, ambushes and shootings, manages to thwart the gang and to marry the girl, reconciling the two rival families.

Cast

• Erminio Macario as Mac Carey
• Elli Parvo as Lolita de Fuego
• Giovanni Grasso as Donovan
• Nino Pavese as Pedro Montes / Drake
• Adriana Sivieri as Margherita Donovan
• Egisto Olivieri as Carey
• Carlo Rizzo as Fuller
• Tino Scotti as Penna Bianca
• Nada Fiorelli as Evelina Carey
• Marisa Valli as Mary Carey
• Aldo Pini as John Donovan
• Piero Pastore as William Donovan
• Renato Capanna as Sheriff
• Vinicio Sofia as Pierre
• Giovanni Onorato as Black
• Gian Paolo Rosmino as Sorcerer
• Erminio Spalla as Factor
• Giulio Battiferri as Jim
• Luisa Agosti as Fortune-teller
• Oreste Onorato as Bandit

Release

The film was released in Italy on February 25, 1943^[4]