For a few euros more: Spain plans to revive glory days of cinema

The Spanish government wants to invest €1.6bn in the country’s film and TV industry to help economic recovery after the pandemic, reports Graham Keeley in Madrid

Clint Eastwood in the 1964 spaghetti western classic ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ (UA)

Wearing a poncho and chewing a trademark cheroot, Clint Eastwood played a tough gunfighter who brought a bit of Hollywood gold dust to Spain.

Shot in the desert of southern Spain, Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns For a Few Dollars More, A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly provided some gritty glamour at a time when Spain was isolated because of General Franco’s dictatorship.

Over half a century later, a new generation has thrilled to the antics of The Professor and his gang of thieves in the international hit, Money Heist, and other Spanish-made television series, like Elite, Veneno and The Mess You Leave Behind.