Tagarchief: Terence Hill

A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Damiano Damiani
Written by: Damiano Damiani, Ernesto Gastaldi, Fulvio Morsella
Cast: Terence Hill, Miou-Miou, Robert Charlebois, Patrick McGoohan

Year / Country: 1975, Italy, France, West Germany
Running Time: 118 mins.

By the 70’s, the spaghetti western had almost become a parody of itself. The serious violent westerns were barely released outside of Italy, while comedy-westerns such as the ‘Trinity’ movies were immensely popular internationally. Genre originator Sergio Leone decided to make the ultimate parody himself in 1973. This became My Name is Nobody, starring Terence Hill. It was a box office hit. In 1975 Leone produced the loose sequel called A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe, also known as Nobody’s the Greatest. While it was once again popular at the box office due to Hill and Leone’s involvement, the critics didn’t like it. And understandably so.

Hill essentially reprises his Nobody role. His character Joe Thanks is a genius conman. Together with his friends Steam Engine Bill (Robert Charlebois) and Lucy (Miou-Miou) he cooks up an elaborate plan to steal 300.000 dollars from the Indian-hating Major Cabot (Patrick McGoohan). Whenever things are about to go wrong, Joe, the genius, knows exactly what to do.

Leone came up with the idea for the plot after seeing Las Valseuses, starring Miou-Miou, who he then cast as Lucy. Besides producing, Leone also directed the opening scene. The rest of the film is directed by Damiano Damiani, who made one of the greatest spaghetti’s in 1966: A Bullet For the General. This was the last western Leone worked on. He was disappointed with the result and chose to remain uncredited. I can’t blame him. This is pretty much a mess and most of the jokes miss their mark.

Like in all of Leone’s projects, the original score is composed by Ennio Morricone. The very electric score in this film is one of the few things it has going for it. His adaptation of Für Elise, combined with the wailing from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a beautifully constructed highlight. That is basically it though. One can only conclude that by this time, the spaghetti western was truly dead.

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Biography: Damiano Damiani (1922, Pasiano, Italy) is an Italian screenwriter, director and actor. He won awards for several of his films, such as the Mafia drama The Pizza Connection. In the eighties he also made the renowned mini-series La Piovra (The Octopus) about a prosecutor’s battle with the Mafia. This successful series ran for eight series on RAI Uno and turned out to be one of Italy’s bestselling series abroad.

Filmography (a selection): The Hit Man (1960), Lipstick (1960), The Empty Canvas (1963), Strange Obsession (1966), A Bullet for the General (1966), The Day of the Owl (1968), The Most Beautiful Wife (1970), How to Kill a Judge (1974), A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe (1975), Goodbye and Amen (1977), A Man on His Knees (1978), The Warning (1980), The Octopus (1984, mini-series), The Pizza Connection (1985), The Inquiry (1986), Massacre Play (1989), Angel With a Gun (1992), Killers on Holiday (2002)

Trinity Is STILL My Name!

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


Director: Enzo Barboni
Written by: Enzo Barboni
Cast: Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Yanti Somer, Enzo Tarascio

Year / Country: 1971, Italy
Running Time: 112 mins.

They Call Me Trinity, the first ‘Trinity’ film, was a major financial success and made Terence Hill and Bud Spencer international stars. This follow-up was an even greater success. It became the top-grossing Italian film of all time upon release.

In this sequel, Trinity (Hill) and his older brother Bambino (Spencer) want to make name for themselves as outlaws. This is the last wish of their dying father. They also promise him to work together from that point on.

Bambino takes the lead and the two brothers head north. Their plan to become outlaws doesn’t go too smoothly. They get mixed up in unsuccessful robbery’s, crooked card games and a massive scheme involving a monastery. They also pretend to be federal agents, which is not good for their outlaw status.

The first ‘Trinity’ film was no Citizen Kane, but for a comedy-western it was fair enough. Trinity Is STILL My Name! isn’t all that great honestly. While Hill and Spencer function better and better as a comic duo, it’s the writers that drop the ball here. There is no story and the dialogues are weak.

Mostly, the writers depend on running gags to raise a few laughs. Some are okay: ‘don’t call me Bambino’, but some – like the farting baby – are terrible. There are also fewer of the slapstick fights that made the first movie entertaining, although it ends similarly with a major brawl.

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Biography: Enzo Barboni (1922, Rome – 2002, Rome) was originally a cinematographer, but later turned to writing and directing as well. In 1966 he shot Django, which became one of the archetypes of the spaghetti western. His second film They Call Me Trinity was also a massive trendsetter for the comedy-western and launched the careers of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. He also directed the sequels Trinity Is STILL My Name! and Sons of Trinity, which was his final movie. Barboni is often credited under his pseudonym E.B. Clucher.

Filmography: The Unholy Four (1970), They Call Me Trinity (1970), Trinity is STILL My Name! (1971), A Man from the East (1972), Even Angels Eat Beans (1973), Charleston (1974), Crime Busters (1977), The Odd Squad (1982), Go for It (1983), Double Trouble (1984), They Call Me Renegade (1987), Speaking of the Devil (1991), Sons of Trinity (1995)

They Call Me Trinity

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Enzo Barboni
Written by: Enzo Barboni
Cast: 5, Farley Granger

Year / Country: 1970, Italy
Running Time: 106 mins.

A man on a stretcher is carried through the desert by his horse. He doesn’t get up until he reaches Wells Fargo. This lazy bum is called Trinity. There is more to him than meets the eye. He is also known as the Devil’s right hand and he has the fastest gun in the West.

After saving a Mexican’s life, he goes to meet his brother Bambino, who is pretending to be the local sheriff. Bambino is the Devil’s left hand with a gun as fast as Trinity’s. Together they take on a band of outlaws that, under command of a corrupt mayor, want to drive a community of Mormon farmers from their land.

They Call Me Trinity is a significant movie for two reasons. Firstly, it initiated the Western-Comedy craze that swept Italy for a while. Secondly, this is the film that turned the duo Hill / Spencer into international stars, especially in Europe.

It also set the tone for many future Hill / Spencer collaborations: many brawls (with extremely LOUD sound effects), humorous dialogues and slapstick action. For its genre, it is pretty violent (Hill shoots a man in his crotch in one scene) and there is plenty of obscenity in the dialogues.

All in all, They Call Me Trinity is a fair vehicle for Spencer and Hill to show off their considerable (comedic) talents. Also features a fitting musical score by Franco Micalizzi.

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Biography: Enzo Barboni (1922, Rome – 2002, Rome) was originally a cinematographer, but later turned to writing and directing as well. In 1966 he shot Django, which became one of the archetypes of the spaghetti western. His second film They Call Me Trinity was also a massive trendsetter for the comedy-western and launched the careers of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. He also directed the sequels Trinity is STILL My Name! and Sons of Trinity, which was his final movie. Barboni is often credited under his pseudonym E.B. Clucher.

Filmography: The Unholy Four (1970), They Call Me Trinity (1970), Trinity is STILL My Name! (1971), A Man from the East (1972), Even Angels Eat Beans (1973), Charleston (1974), Crime Busters (1977), The Odd Squad (1982), Go for It (1983), Double Trouble (1984), They Call Me Renegade (1987), Speaking of the Devil (1991), Sons of Trinity (1995)

My Name is Nobody

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Tonino Valerii
Written by: Fulvio Morsella, Ernesto Gastaldi
Cast: Henry Fonda, Terence Hill, Jean Martin, R.G. Armstrong

Year / Country: 1973, Italy, France, West Germany
Running Time: 111 mins.

New Mexico, 1898. The Legendary gunslinger Jack Beauregard (Henry Fonda) wants to leave the Wild West behind him and retire to Europe. But the strange loner Nobody (Terence Hill) wants his personal hero to go out in style. He sets everything in motion, so Jack can take on the infamous Wild Bunch.

During the seventies, the Italian comedy-western became a way more popular genre than the more serious spaghetti’s. Master of the spaghetti western Sergio Leone and his team then decided to make the ultimate ‘joke’ western themselves. The casting of comedy man Hill and old westerner Ford, makes clear the contrast between the old dying West and the new West.

Although some of the slapstick comedy feels forced and somewhat copied from the ‘Trinity’ films, producer Leone and director Tonino Valerii still managed to create a successful homage to the genre. This is largely due to the excellent chemistry between the two leads and the classic musical score by Ennio Morricone. The brilliant composer parodies everything in his score, from Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries to his own Harmonica theme. It became one of his most popular scores.

There are also plenty of inside jokes; the bad guys are named ‘The Wild Bunch’; Sam Peckinpah’s name is on a tombstone; the excessive use of duster coats; etc. Leone also directed the opening scene himself, which is a direct homage to the famous opening scene of his classic Once Upon a Time in the West.

Altogether, My Name is Nobody is a fine testament to the glory of the spaghetti western as well as the Hill / Spencer comedy days of the Italian Wild West.

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Biography: Tonino Valerii (1934, Teramo, Italy) was born as Antonio Valerii. In 1964, he worked as an uncredited assistant director for Sergio Leone on A Fistful of Dollars. In 1966 he made his directorial debut with spaghetti western Taste For Killing. He would direct about fifteen films in his career, but will be most remembered for his westerns, including My Name is Nobody and A Reason To Live, A Reason To Die!.

Filmography (a selection): Taste for Killing (1966), Days of Wrath (1967), The Price of Power (1969), A Girl Called Jules (1970), My Dear Killer (1972), A Reason to Live, a Reason to Die! (1972), My Name is Nobody (1973), The Hired Gun (1976), Sahara Cross (1977), T.I.R. (1984, TV-episodes), Savage Attack (1986), Unscrupulous (1986), Sicilian Connection (1987), Vacation in Hell (1997)