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Mario Bava (31 July 1914 – 25 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist. Born to sculptor, cinematographer and special effects pioneer Eugenio Bava, the younger Bava worked with his father at the Istituto Luce in 1932. Bava met his future a young woman Iole Sergio at this school and the two got married. After expecting their first child, Bava left work at the school and becam and became an assistant cameraman for Massimo Terzano. Mario Bava worked as a cameraman between 1939 and 1960.During this period he worked with several directors including Francesco De Robertis, Mario Costa, G. W. Pabst, Steno, Mario Monicelli, Robert Z. Leonard, Pietro Francisci and Riccardo Freda which led to Bava describing this point in his career as learning "what a director must do. and more importantly, what he must not do."

Early years
Mario Bava was born in Sanremo, Liguria, Kingdom of Italy on the July 29, 1914. He was the son of Emma Bava and Eugenio Bava, with Eugenio being a sculptor and cinematographer who worked in the film industry in Italy. Bava was the second child in the family, after his sister Elena born in 1911. Mario Bava was named after Mary, mother of Jesus, who was preyed to by the family during Mario's birth. Elena described that only the mother in the family was particularly religious and always attended Sunday mass. For the first 20 years of his life, Mario was known as Nino, an affectionate form of Giovanni-after his later grandfather.

Mario Bava's son, Lamberto Bava also commented on their relationship noting that Eugenio and Mario had a "strict relationship" that "there was not much time for family. [Eugenio] was never at home, and it was not until later-when they worked together-that they established a relationship." Mario described his father as "the prototype of the Bohemian artist. He was an artist, sculptor, chemist, electrician and inventor. He spent years studying perpetual motion." as well as comparing him to Gyro Gearloose from the Donald Duck cartoon series. Mario Bava described his upbringing as growing up among "picture frames, miniature models and piles of hyposulfite. I grew up in the midst of film [...] I used to play with pieces of potassium cyanide, which I loved for its rubescent color [...] It never occurred to my father that I might have poisoned myself.". Mario Bava was an avid painter in his youth. According to Elena Bava, Bava was about to buy a shop in San Remo for his workshop Bava spent his savings on statues to attract people to the shop, but on arriving found that the location he wanted had been sold. This led to Bava dedicated himself to working in cinematography. He joined Istituto Luce in 1932 at the age of 18 to assist his father with the production of animated shorts and special effects. Bava recollected working at Instituto Luce, stating that he dedicated himself to special effects and "in those days, if you spent even two cents on an effect, everyone would go crazy. I was crazy, too; I thought of myself as the last, romantic artisan of the cinema, for whom money was always the least important factor."

in 1936, while working at Instituto Luce, Bava met a woman who worked in the editorial department, Iole Sergio. The two dated and were married on January 9, 1938. With planning for a future with his wife, Mario had himself moved from the animation and effects department to the titles department where he began work on designing the main title sequences and intermission cards for film. Bava found that Iona was pregnant and sought new work for more pay and became an assistant for camera man Massimo Terzano. It is not known precisely when Bava became Terzano's assistant or what films of his he assisted on.

1940s
Mario Bava worked as a cameraman between 1939 and 1960. During this period he worked with several directors including Francesco De Robertis, Mario Costa, G. W. Pabst, Steno, Mario Monicelli, Robert Z. Leonard, Pietro Francisci and Riccardo Freda which led to Bava describing this point in his career as learning "what a director must do. and more importantly, what he must not do." Mario Bava began to look for work outside of Terzano and became work with Roberto Rossellini. Their first film together was the short film Il tacchino prepotente. The two only worked on one more short together, La vispa Teresa. The two shorts were considered lost for decades until re-discovered in 1997. According to Bava's handwritten list of his own credits, among his other work in the late 1930s was a co-photographing work with Terzano titled The Silent Partner directed by Roberto Roberti.

Bava continued to support Terzano into the early 1940s working on films with Corrado D'Errico. On June 10, 1940, Italy had formally declared war against the Allies of World War II, which led to Bava assisting his father back at Istituto Luce in special effects for counterfeit newsreel footage in Italy showing the Axis powers winning against the allies. Bava'd duties during wartime did not include any military service, but he occasionally photographed speeches by Benito Mussolini. Bava described Adolf Hitler as "quite mad...a silly little clown." Bava received his first work as a cinematographer credit during this period, taking over for Giuseppe Caracciolo who had fallen ill on the shooting of a propaganda film Uomini sul fondo which was released on February 13, 1941. Bava again worked with Francesco De Robertis and Giuseppe Caracciolo, who hired him again on The White Ship as a camera operator. Bava praised the style of De Robertis later, declaring him "the true father of neo-realism. Rossellini stole everything from him." Bava worked throughout the 1940s as a cinematographer on both Sant'Elena, piccola isola and Annabella's Adventure released in 1943. Tim Lucas noted that Bava's career is difficult to transcribe chronologically here as several of these films were not made in the order they were shot. Annabella's Adventure was co-written by Steno, a director who Bava would work on for several projects in the future.

Between the fall of Mussolini in July 1943 and the Allies' liberation of Rome on June 25, 1944, Cinecittà was bombed and looted making it useless for film production and had no film credits between 1944 and 1945. Bava spent the war years working in a service that sought out food across enemy lines and return to Rome with it for Italian families. Bava received this job from a man named Lamberto, who then became the godfather and namesake for Mario's only son Lamberto Bava who was born on April 3, 1944. } Bava recalled that his first job after the war was a documentary about the Christian church for director he called Gemmiti. The only film credited to Gemmiti was a feature, not a documentary, titled Montecassino nel cerchio di fuoco released in 1946 that does not credit Bava as a cameraman or cinematographer. Bava would also find work as a photographer in the occupation camp of American soldiers.

Bava's first credited work after the war were short films directed by Raffaele Saitto released in 1946. Bava also made his own short film L'orecchio, which involved using stock documentary footage of ochestra perfomrances and everday street sounds with original animation. This film is now lost. Bava's first postwar feature film he worked on was working again as the camera operator for Massimo Terzano for director Mario Costa on his film The Barber of Seville. It was Bava's last collaboration with Terzano, who died on October 18, 1947. Bava would work again wtih Costa on his film Mad About Opera relesed in 1948. Immediately after, Costa chose Bava to be the cinematographer and camera operator on his film This Wine of Love released in 1947. For the rest of 1946, Bava worked with the documentary filmmaker Pietro Francisci, shooting four of his short films and one feature, Christmas at Camp 119, that were all released in 1947. 1948 was signifigant year for Bava, where he limited his work to one feature and one short. The short was among most circulated documentaries: Carlo Castelli Gattinara's The Demon in Art, a visual essay about the paintings of 15th and 16th century Germand and Flemish paintings by artists like Pieter Brueghel, Hieronymous Bosch, Mathias Grunewald and Martin Schongauer. The feature was I pagliacci (amore tragico) released on December 2, 1948. In the film, Bava shot a sequence of an unbroken take, an uncommon shot at the time, with the only other major celebrated shot being Rouben Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from 1931. Following the work on the film, Bava became a member of the Associazione Italiana autori della fotografia Cinematografica (AIC), an Italian equivilant of the American Society of Cinematographers. Bava would later sign a non-exclusive contract with Carlo Ponti to work with Lux Film, which Bava accepted.

1950s
By early 1950, Ponti had formed a working patnership with Dino De Laurentiis at Lux. The two co-founded Artisti Technici Associati (ATA). One of their productions was a film Mario Bava was a cinematographer on Miss Italia, shot in late 1949 and first released on February 15, 1950. Bava was the cinematographer and or special effects for several productions in 1950 including Quel bandito sono io! directed by Mario Soldati, the first film in which Bava was formally credited for the films special effects, Vita da cani directed by Steno and Mario Monicelli, and Il leone di Amalfi and E arrivato il cavalieri! for Francisci.} Bava was a cinematographer for the 1951 film Cops and Robbers, a film that was among the highest grossing films of the year in Italy and Best screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival as well as the Nastro d'argento for actor Totò. Bava never worked with Totò again, not finding him particularly likable. Bava worked continued with other films released in 1951, including Amor non ho, pero... pero... one of the many films he shot with actress Gina Lollobrigida, and work with comedian Aldo Fabrizi. Bava and Fabrizi got along so well that he shot several of his films, including The Passaguai Family and its two sequels La Famiglia Passaguai fa fortuna, and Papa diventa Mama. Bava's last film released in 1952 was Sunday Heroes, which performed poorly in the box office. For Bava's next project, he worked with director Freda for the first time on Sins of Rome released in January 1953, where Bava shot the gladiator fight scene in the film. Freda praised Bava's work on the scene, stating it became "something even Kubrick would not even dreamt of." The next film Bava worked on was his last with Mario Costa, Perdonami! was released in February 1953, one the most commercially successful films Bava photographed during this period. Other works Bava shot for included Il viale della speranza for Dino Risi which did not perform well in the Italian box office On High School (1954), Bava reportedly left the set to work on other projects leaving the film to be shot by Corrado Bartoloni. Lucas noted that from 1954 on, Bava's work becomes impossibly to chart definitively, as he is occasionally credited in some forms and not in others. Other work Bava went on to in 1954 included Cose da pazzi by G. W. Pabst, where he was brought in to take over for cinematographer Gabor Pogany. The last feature released that Bava is officially credited on in 1954 was Graziella and They Stole a Tram. Lucas has suggested that Bava may have been involved in shooting of Ulysses as the cinematography and special effects bare similarity to Bava's own style and Attila, where actor and screenwriter Fiorenoz Fiorentini had stated that Bava was summoned by director Francisci to provide trick shots, build maquettes of castles and execute glass mattes.

In 1955, Bava was credited with work on Buonanotte... avvocato! and Non c'è amore più grande, both comedy films by Giorgio Bianchi. By 1956, Bava had stopped working on short form documentaries as he had found employment through his work on about three to four films a year. In 1956, he filmed only two short documentaries: Fernando Pisani's Alto Lazio pittoresco and Viviana Pasqualini's Copiando la natura. Bava reflected on the release of the film Nero's Weekend noting his own guilt on not working as production began late due to script problems. While waiting for the film to start, he would receive several offers to shoot on films. The final production Bava worked on that was released in 1956 was Roland the Mighty for Francisci. During production of Riccardo Freda's Beatrice Cenci (1956), Bava and Freda discussed developing a horror film. Freda approached film producer Luigi Carpentieri, promising that his script could pass the censors and could be filmed in 12 days. This convinced the producer who allowed Freda to create what became I Vampiri. Freda's deal with his producers failed when he left the set on the 12th day of production. After an argument with the producers, Freda left the production allowing Mario Bava to step in to finish the film in the next two days. Reasons for Freda leaving production differ and range from Freda having a misunderstanding with the producers to Bava stating that Freda was taking too long to make the film. Bava's ending was different than Freda's initial ending, which involved finding the heroine hanged. Among the changes Bava made to finish the film included changing the supporting character of the journalist becoming the lead and removing a subplot about a dismembered criminal who returns to life on being reassembled. Bava also extended other portions of the film with stock footage and montages of newspaper presses. Following I Vampiri, Bava began work on Hercules (1958) which began filming in June 1957, completing in August. English-language prints only credit Bava for the lighting and special effects on the film, while his efforts on the film were more accurately described as the director of photography. Bava would also make suggestions to the film, such as the shape of actor Steve Reeves' beard, while Freda went as afar to state "It was Bava's work that ws responsible for Francisci's success, because he would sit on set and fall asleep, while Bava would set to work creating the special effects shots, blocking the scenes and rehearsing the actors." On the films relese, the film grossed 887.5 million lire, an amount Lucas declared to be "an almost unheard-of success for an Italian picture." and having it become "one of the most commercially successful Italian films of all time" Bava's next film was shot for director Giorgio Bianchi titled Citta di notte, released in March 6, 1958. The film was not a financial success in Italy, grossing only 31 million lire.{sfn|Lucas|2013|p=211}} In early 1958, Bava began work on The Day the Sky Exploded which was released in September 4, 1958. Although credited to Paolo Heusch, cast member Ivo Garrani stated the film was completely directed by Bava, a statement reiterated by Armando Govoni. The film grossed 150 million lire in Italy. Bava's next project was Hercules Unchained shot between June and August 1958 for a February 14, 1959 release. Most of the original crew was brought in the film. During production of the film, Bava met producer Massimo De Rita who would become an important collaborator in the future. The film was even more successful than the previous Hercules film, earning 900 million lire in Italy. Freda recalled that Bava complained to him about the films he made for Francisci, which he felt he was not getting enough credit for. This led to Freda giving him the ultimatium: if Bava did not stop collborating with Francisci, he would never work Bava again. Freda would only work with Francisci again for one more film: The Siege of Syracuse (1959), one of the many film Bava shot for 1959, along with The White Warrior, Caltiki – The Immortal Monster and The Giant of Marathon. The latter film had its directorial work disputed as Freda left directing the film in two days. Bava described Caltiki – The Immortal Monster as "my very first film", while noting that Freda had fled the set "because everything was falling to pieces. I managed to carry it out, patching it up here and there". Film director Luigi Cozzi clarified this statement, noting Bava spoke about the film, stating that "I did not direct Caltiki. The director of that movie is Freda. Only at a certain point, after principal shooting ended, Freda started editing the picture and then he had a big argument with the producer [...] Then Freda walked out." For The Giant of Marathon, the director Jacuqes Tourneur was set to direct for eight weeks, but after he railed against what he deemd as unacceptable working conditions, he left the picture leading to the film to be completed by Mario Bava and producer Bruno Vailati. After Bava had assisted in completing several films uncredited, Massimo de Rita suggested led to Galatea's president, Lionello Santi, offering Bava the opportunity to make a film for foreign markets.

1960s
In late 1958, the British film Dracula was released in Italy to what film historian and critic Roberto Curti described as a "tremendous success". As Bava had worked on on Hercules, Caltiki – The Immortal Monster and The Giant of Marathon, Galatea's Nello Santi offered Bava the opportunity to make a film for foreign markets. Bava felt that since Dracula was so popular at the time, he should make a horror film. Bava's choice of a story was Nikolai Gogol's "Viy", first published in the 1835 collection Mirgorod. Bava used to read it to his children before their bedtime. Bava's first outline of the film is dated September 1959 and titled Il Vij. It was about four pages long and closer to Gogol's original story. Shooting for his film Black Sunday began on March 28, 1960. Black Sunday was released theatrically in Italy as La maschera del demonio on August 11, 1960 where it's success was described by Curti as "rather limited". On its released in the United States, Black Sunday grossed $14,750 in its first week at the Allen Theatre, which topped its distributor's previous record holders by 35 per cent. According to Mario Bava's son Lamberto Bava, that after Black Sunday producers began asking his father for more genre films.

Following the release of Black Sunday, Bava's next film as director was the sword-and-sandal film Hercules in the Haunted World. The film was about the characters Hercules and his freinds Theseus and Telemachus who journey into Hades to find a cure for Hercule's partner Deianara who held captive by King Lico. The film was released in Italy in November 16, 1961. In the same year, Bava filmed the viking-themed film Erik the Conqueror was was released on December 7.

Prior to working on The Girl Who Knew Too Much, Bava had taken a six-month break after filming the last of the special effects shots for his previous film Erik the Conqueror. Bava spent this extended period reading mystery and horror magazines. He pondered retiring from directing and thought he might only return to work on special effects for film. Bava was convinced to return to directing by Samuel Arkoff and Jim Nicholson, who had begun co-producing Italian films for release in the United States. The Girl Who Knew Too Much was the first film in this venture for Arkoff and Nicholson's company American International Pictures. The Girl Who Knew Too Much was first released on February 10, 1963. The film grossed less than $27,000 on its opening and only weekend and failed to cover its own production cost. It was the least commercially successful picture in Bava's directorial career. On it's release in the United States, it was re-titled The Evil Eye and partially re-scripted. In February 1963, American International Pictures made a deal with the Italian film production company Galatea that they would contribute to a minimum of nine co-productions in the next eight years. This included Bava's next film, Black Sabbath, an anthology film that was made at the end of production of The Girl Who Knew Too Much during an eight-week period between February and March 1963.

Personal life
Despite the predominant amount of his directorial career being involved in horror films, Bava's friends, family and co-workers would attest that he was a very sensitive man and was afraid of the dark. In an interview, Bava proclaimed that "terror fascinates and attracts me, but for no particular reason. Perhaps it's a question of psychology [...] to make a film of this kind helps me overcome my own fears."