Best known for co-directing Libido, one of the early 1960s giallo which kick-started a revival in the genre, Vittorio Salerno also directed two excellent crime features No, The Case is Happily Resolved starring Enzo Cerusico and Riccardo Cucciolla and Fango Bollente (The Savage Three) starring Joe Dallesandro and brother Enrico Maria Salerno.

Working closely with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, Libido’s other co-director, they also helped discover another rising star of Italian cinema, Giancarlo Giannini.

With a number of western screenplays also under his belt – some of which he’d actually forgotten he’d even written – his most popular creation was probably the Sartana character who went on to appear in over 30 films which screened all around the globe in the 1960s and 70s – and none of which made him any money.

Rest in Peace Vittorio Salerno (1937-2016)