He started his career by directing mostly low-budget sword and sandal movies. Among his first Spaghetti Westerns were the films "Grand Canyon Massacre" (1964), which he co-directed (under the pseudonym, Stanley Corbett) with Albert Band, as well as "Minnesota Clay" (1965), his first solo directed Spaghetti Western. Corbucci's first commercial success was with the cult Spaghetti Western "Django", starring Franco Nero, the leading man in many of his movies. He would later collaborate with Franco Nero on two other Spaghetti Westerns, "Il Mercenario" or "The Mercenary" (a.k.a. "A Professional Gun") (1968) - where Nero played Sergei Kowalski, a Polish mercenary and the film also starring Tony Musante, Jack Palance and Giovanna Ralli - as well as "Compañeros" (1970) a.k.a. "Vamos a matar, Companeros", which also starred Tomas Milian and Jack Palance. The last film of the "Mexican Revolution" trilogy - "The Mercenary" and "Compañeros" being the first two in the installment - was "What Am I Doing in the Middle of the Revolution?" (1972).