They Call Me Trinity (1970)

I mentioned in my last review of a spaghetti western that it came close to comedy. Now I've seen one that actually has comedy among its genres listed on IMDb and Wikipedia.

The title character (Terence Hill), who's never called by any name except in the first scene, wanders into a town where his brother, Bambino (Bud Spencer), happens to be impersonating a sheriff while waiting to reunite with a fugitive gang. Bambino resents Trinity's laziness and proclivity to fights, but he'll take what help he can get to settle a conflict involving pacifistic Mormon settlers (who seem more like Amish to me), a land-grabbing major (Farley Granger), and some Mexican bandits out to take undue advantage of hospitality.

Yeah, Bambino has a few principles after all. He gets really cranky when things don't go his way, but he usually does right by others when he's not robbing the rich. Trinity himself seems to be in a sort of spiritual flux, contemplating joining the Mormons despite his recent history. It's not clear how much of a criminal he's been, but he has been dubbed "the Right Hand of the Devil," with Bambino as the Left Hand.

OK, that may have more to do with their abilities. Trinity makes the fastest draw I've ever seen outside of a cartoon (a special effect?) and shows perfect accuracy even when shooting behind himself without looking. Bambino's also handy with a gun, but more than that, he's a powerhouse, able to win a brawl against about ten men single-handedly and rarely reacting to a punch in the face.

This surreal quality is not the primary source of humor to my eyes. I prefer the misunderstandings, the unlikely developments, the smooth victories, the attitudes, and the occasional good turn of phrase. At several points, I found myself grinning if not chuckling.

TCMT can also be enjoyed on a less facetious level. The action is pretty thrilling, despite an old-school G rating. I didn't foresee exactly what course the plot would take. And Trinity's time with two Mormon ladies is...pretty intriguing.

I won't call TCMT a superb example of the spaghetti western subgenre, but it did make my evening. It has persuaded me to put the sequel, Trinity Is Still My Name, on my queue.