EDITOR’S NOTE: They Call Me Trinity was on the CBS Late Movie on December 23, 1976..
The Spaghetti Western Database is my guide when I watch these movies and they say this about They Call Me Trinity: “…often described as the film that destroyed the spaghetti western and saved the Italian movie industry. In Italy, the movie even linguistically marks the end of an era. Whereas the diehard Westerns were called spaghetti Westerns, the Trinity movies and the numerous imitations they spawned would be called fagioli Westerns. Fagioli (= beans) refers to the obsession with food, notably beans, both Trinity movies express.”
Terence Hill, who plays Trinity, is nothing like the dark heroes in the rest of the Italian West. Sure, there’s some violence in this movie, but by the end, it’s become an actual comedy, and you care more about the characters than what they’ll do or who they’ll kill.
Director Enzo Barboni wrote the original story and screenplay for the film. Which was supposedly much darker than what ended up being in this movie. Producer Italo Zingarelli suggested the inclusion of a brother, which is how Bambino (Bud Spencer) comes in.
The original idea was for Peter Martell and George Eastman to be the brothers, but Hill and Spencer were popular after God Forgives… I Don’t!, Ace High and Boot Hill (which was rereleased as Trinity Rides in some areas). This wasn’t just big in Italy; it was huge in France and Germany.
Again, unlike every Italian cowboy before him, Trinity doesn’t come into town dragging a coffin or tall in the saddle. He’s sleeping, lounging as his horse drags him somewhere new. His first meeting in the movie is with bounty hunters who have an injured Mexican with them. Trinity takes their prisoner and kills the others when they try to shoot him in the back. He’s nearly superhuman in his ability to draw and shoot, which is the opposite of his laconic demeanor.
Similarly, Bambino is the sheriff, someone who can shoot just like Trinity, but he is a burly man twice his size and someone who is ill-tempered, whereas Trinity is full of smiles and kind words. All they have in common is that when they need to kill someone, it’s second nature to them. It’s what they do best.
Bambino became the law when he accidentally killed the man riding to town to take that role. No, his scam is taking that job until his gang arrives. He has to deal with a lot, like Major Harriman (Farley Granger), who is trying to run the Mormons off their land so that he can use it for his prize horses. Unbranded horses, so that means someone — someone like Trinity and Bambino — can make a lot of money stealing them.
Despite being called the Right and Left Hands of the Devil, the two keep doing the right thing, Maybe it’s because he’s fallen for two angelic Mormon girls and is thinking about marrying them both. Or perhaps Trinity just sees protecting these peaceful Mormons as the right thing to do, even convincing his brother and his henchmen to show them how to fight.
Of course, they’re successful. Trinity also learns that being a Mormon means working hard, so he lies back down and lets his horse take him somewhere, maybe further west, perhaps somewhere that he can annoy his half-brother some more.
“You may think he’s a sleepy-type guy; he always takes his time. Soon, I know you’ll be changing your mind when you’ve seen him use a gun.”
I know that I should be protective of the rougher movies of the genre, but I have to confess that I loved every moment of this movie. It’s pure joy on film, from the arguments between Trinity and Bambino to the fact that Trinity looks at beans like most Western heroes look at money.
If you ever wonder what I want for Christmas, it’s this Trinity action figure.
You can watch this on Tubi.
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