Riccardo Freda Explained

Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror, giallo and spy films.

Freda began directing I Vampiri in 1956.^[1] The film became the first Italian sound horror film production.

Biography

Riccardo Freda was born in 1909 in Alexandria, Egypt to Italian parents.^[2] Freda attended school in Milan where he took art classes at the Centro Sperimantale. After school he took on work as a sculptor and art critic.

Film career

Freda first began working in the film industry in 1937 and directed his first film Don Cesare di Bazan in 1942. Freda began directing I Vampiri. I Vampiri was the first Italian horror film of the sound era, following the lone silent horror film Il mostro di Frankenstein (1920) A wave of Italian horror productions did not follow until Mario Bava's film Black Sunday was released internationally.^[3]

Freda died on 20 December 1999 in Rome.

Filmography

Notes

• ^a Freda has denied having taken part in writing the script for this film, despite being credited.
• ^b Freda was originally to direct the film but stated that he walked off the set on the first day of shooting.
• ^c Freda name is not in the credits but some sources state he directed several battles scenes in the film, which Freda denies.
• ^d Freda name is not in the credits but some sources state he edited the naval battle scenes in the film, which Freda denies.
• ^e Freda has claimed to have shot the entire film.

References

Bibliography

• Book: Curti , Roberto . Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957–1969 . . 978-1-4766-1989-7 . 2015 .
• Book: Curti , Roberto . Riccardo Freda: The Life and Works of a Born Filmmaker . . 978-1476628387 . 2017 .
• Book: Paul, Louis . Italian Horror Film Directors . McFarland . 2005 . 978-0-7864-8749-3.
• Book: Shipka, Danny . Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960–1980 . McFarland . 2011 . 978-0-7864-4888-3 .

Notes and References

1. I Vampiri. 2013. 24. Jones, Alan. booklet. Arrow Films. FCD756.
2. Web site: Riccardo Freda. AllMovie. 20 April 2017. Erickson. Hal. Hal Erickson (author). https://web.archive.org/web/20120524211953/http://www.allmovie.com/artist/riccardo-freda-p90464. 24 May 2012.
3. Web site: 10 Great Italian Gothic Horror Films. British Film Institute. 23 April 2015. 30 July 2015. Gallant. Chris.