Sergio Garrone, a notable Italian filmmaker, was born in Rome, Italy in 1925. He is a quintessential example of a journeyman Italian exploitation filmmaker, capitalizing on popular cinematic trends throughout his career. Garrone initially began his career as a screenwriter and assistant director before making his solo directorial debut with the spaghetti Western, If You Want to Live... Shoot!, in 1968.
Following his directorial debut, Garrone went on to helm several other notable spaghetti Westerns, including Three Crosses Not to Die (1968),Django the Bastard (1969),and Quel maledetto giorno della resa dei conti (1971). In the early 1970s, Garrone shifted his focus to the horror genre, directing two films featuring Klaus Kinski: Lover of the Monster (1974) and The Hand That Feeds the Dead (1974).
Garrone achieved his greatest notoriety in the late 1970s with the Nazisploitation films SS Experiment Love Camp (1976) and SS Lager 5: L'inferno delle donne (1977),both of which were shot back-to-back using a recurring cast and crew. As a freelance screenwriter, Garrone contributed to a diverse range of films, including lowbrow sex comedies, spaghetti Westerns, and mystery thrillers.
In the 1980s, Garrone wrote scripts for women-in-prison films, such as Hell Behind the Bars (1984) and Detenute violente (1984),before retiring from the film industry. It is reported that Garrone went on to open his own restaurant in Rome, Italy, where he remains to this day.
