Film

They Call Me Trinity

Name: They Call Me Trinity
Genre: Action, Comedy, Western
Released: 1970
Cast: Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Steffen Zacharias, Dan Sturkie, Gisela Hahn

Comedy western
Action
Light-hearted

A spaghetti western that rejects the genre's grit and cynicism in favour of pure fun. Terence Hill and Bud Spencer are two lovable drifters who stumble into protecting Mormons from land-grabbing bullies, armed with comic timing and outnumbered charm. It's silly, warm, and genuinely clever about when violence is unnecessary.

TMDb rating

3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love slapstick westerns where the gunplay is mostly a punchline and two bickering, easygoing rogues carry the whole thing with a grin, like the lighter Spaghetti Western cousins of Trinity-style comedy.

Skip it if you want a western with grit, moral weight or real menace, since the bullies are cartoonish and the brawls are staged for laughs rather than tension.

What it asks of you: Expect a loose, amiable ride of just under two hours, with long stretches of easy comic business and fistfights that linger more than the plot needs.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid1969

Two charismatic outlaws trading quips while outrunning the law. Newman and Redford's chemistry and the film's refusal to take itself seriously create the template Trinity perfects—comedy and action balanced with real affection.

But The action sequences, while fun, feel quaint now. Some find the whimsy distracts from what could be genuine tension.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid poster

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly1966

Sergio Leone's masterpiece shows why Trinity owes so much to the spaghetti western tradition. Clint Eastwood's minimalism, Ennio Morricone's score, and the sheer visual confidence make it essential viewing for understanding what Trinity playfully deconstructs.

But It's nearly three hours of deliberate pacing and moral ambiguity. The tone is grave, operatic—the opposite of Trinity's warmth. Modern viewers often find it slow.

Rio Bravo1959

John Wayne and Dean Martin share the ease and banter that Hill and Spencer perfect. Hawks' film is about people you like spending time with, using a siege as an excuse for conversation and camaraderie. It's the American western Trinity modernizes.

But It's genuinely long and repetitive—whole scenes exist just to watch the characters hang out. That's intentional, but it tests patience.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from They Call Me Trinity

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Magnificent Seven1960

Both pivot on a similar plot: outsiders arrive to save a community from stronger forces. Trinity and Bambino use humor and misdirection where the Seven use skill and nobility. Both argue that defending others matters, just with different tones.

A Hollywood western about seven men hired to protect a village. If you strip away the star power and rewatch it, it's fundamentally about why people defend the defenseless—the same moral question Trinity asks, but in earnest instead of laughter. Yul Brynner and Steve Reeves and Horst Buchholz do what Hill and Spencer do: inhabit a type and make you care.

But It plays the protection story straight, with genuine danger and sacrifice. It's Lincoln-serious where Trinity is laughing. Some find the earnestness pretentious; others find Trinity's lightness offensive to the stakes.

Support Your Local Sheriff!1969

A Hollywood western comedy that arrived the same year as Trinity. James Garner's wry charm and the film's playful subversion of genre tropes create a kindred spirit—funny without being silly, clever without being cynical.

But The humor sometimes tilts toward broad farce. It never quite finds the grace that Trinity manages between laughs and heart.

Daisy Town1971

Another European take on the western, this one French-Belgian, featuring Terence Hill again. If you loved Trinity's tone—adventure that doesn't take itself seriously, action that serves comedy—this continuation scratches the same itch with a different plot.

But It's essentially more of the same thing. If Trinity didn't work for you, this won't convert you. The sequel question always haunts it.

The Ballad of Little Jo1993

A revisionist western built on kindness and quiet subversion rather than gunplay. It shares Trinity's secret weapon: the conviction that tenderness and intelligence matter more than dominance, wrapped in a western that refuses cynicism.

But It's deliberately small and slow. The revisionism is subtle, almost melancholy. You're not getting action-comedy—you're getting something sadder and more thoughtful.

Viva! Django1971

A Terence Hill spaghetti western with that same blend of humor and heart. The chemistry and the tone place it firmly in the Trinity universe—action-comedy that prioritizes charm and wit over blood and brutality.

But It's eclipsed by Trinity in most people's memory. It feels like a slightly lesser version of the formula, not an evolution. Quality varies in prints.

They Drive by Night1940

Start with The Road to Morocco or any in Bing Crosby and Bob Hope's series. These are vaudeville-inflected comedies where the joke is the performers riffing with each other. They're Trinity's spiritual grandfather—two charismatic guys improvising their way through danger.

But They're nearly eighty years old, structured by cabaret logic instead of narrative. The references are period-specific. Patience required for comedy that doesn't explain itself.

Ratatouille2007

Both Trinity and Ratatouille are fundamentally optimistic about human (or creature) nature. Both believe in the power of charm, humor, and genuine effort over force. Both are quiet arguments for choosing kindness when you could choose cruelty, wrapped in entertainment that never feels preachy.

An animated film about a rat who becomes a chef, succeeding through joy, creativity, and genuine love for what he does. It shares Trinity's philosophical core: the world is better when people help each other because they want to, not because they're hired to. Both films are about outsiders who win by being likable and useful, by making people laugh and feel better.

But It's a Pixar film from 2007—the production, sensibility, and audience are entirely different. If you want the tone of Trinity, you won't find it here. The comparison is thematic, not experiential.