''A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe'' ( it, Un genio, due compari, un pollo) is a 1975

Spaghetti Western The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Damiano Damiani Damiano Damiani (23 July 1922 – 7 March 2013) was an Italian screenwriter, film director, actor and writer. Poet and director Pier Paolo Pasolini referred to him as "a bitter moralist hungry for old purity", while film critic Paolo Mere ...

and

Sergio Leone Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cin ...

, who directed the opening scene.

Plot

Joe Thanks (

Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with longtim ...

) is a genius conman. He conducts various schemes with his two friends: Half-breed Steam Engine Bill (

Robert Charlebois Robert Charlebois, OC, OQ (born June 25, 1944) is a Québecois author, composer, musician, performer and actor. Charlebois was born in Montreal, Quebec. Among his best known songs are ''Lindberg'' (the duo with Louise Forestier in particular ...

) and his girlfriend Lucy (

Miou-Miou Sylvette Herry (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Miou-Miou (), is a French actress. A ten-time César Award nominee, she won the César Award for Best Actress for the 1979 film ''Memoirs of a French Whore''. Her other films inclu ...

). Lucy loves both men, and they in turn both vie for her affection. Joe formulates an extremely elaborate plan to steal $300,000 from Major Cabot (

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...

), an Indian-hating cavalry man, and in doing so save the Indian land he is trying to steal. Every time the plan seems to be failing, Joe has another trick up his sleeve. The film climaxes with a stagecoach chase and a gigantic explosion.

Cast

as Joe Thanks *

as Lucy / Lilla *

as Major Cabot / Harris *

as Steam Train Bill / Paul Lambet *

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...

as Doc Foster *

Jean Martin Jean Martin (6 March 1922 – 2 February 2009Jean Martin
''The Guardian'', 12 February 2009

as Colonel Pembroke *

Miriam Mahler Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', Literal translation, lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophets in Judaism, prophetess and first ...

as Colonel Pembroke's daughter *

Raimund Harmstorf Raimund Harmstorf (7 October 1939 – 3 May 1998) was a German actor. He became famous as the protagonist of a German TV mini series based on Jack London's the Sea-Wolf (which was sold into many countries) and starred later on successfully in an ...

as Sergeant Milton *

Benito Stefanelli Benito Stefanelli (2 September 1928 – 18 December 1999) was an Italian film actor, stuntman and weapons master who made over 60 appearances in film between 1955 and 1991. Biography and career Stefanelli is best known in world cinema for his ...

as Mortimer *

Pietro Vida Piero Vida (5 August 1938 – 1987) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 52 films between 1959 and 1987. He was born in Venice, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Partial filmography * ''Il raccomandato di ferro'' (1959) * ''Katarsis'' ( ...

as Jerry / Jelly Roll *

Roy Bosier Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

as Jeremy *

Frederick Ledebur Friedrich Anton Maria Hubertus Bonifacius Graf von Ledebur-Wicheln ( – ) was an Austrian actor who was known for ''Moby Dick'' (1956), ''Alexander the Great'' (1955) and ''Slaughterhouse-Five'' (1972). Early life Ledebur was born in Nisko, ...

as Don Felipe *

Renato Baldini Renato Baldini (18 December 1921 – 5 July 1995) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 87 films between 1950 and 1983. He was born in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''It's Forever Springtime'' (1950) - Un carabiniere al processo ...

as Sheriff *

Mario Brega is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

as Krutscher *

Lina Franchi Lina (pronounced "Leena") is a feminine given name. Languages of origin include: English, Italian, Lithuanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Persian, Kurdish, Arabic. It is also the short form of a variety of names ending in -lina including Catalin ...

as Mary Gomez *

Mario Valgoi is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

as Thomas * Rik Battaglia as Captain *

Pietro Torrisi Pietro Torrisi (born 20 January 1940) aka "Peter McCoy" is an Italian stuntman and actor. He appeared in more than 100 films since 1960. Selected filmography References Footnotes Sources * External links * 1940 births Living peopl ...

as Mortimer henchman *

Gerard Boucaron Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this ca ...

as Town idiot * Elio Angelucci as Brothel man

Production

Parts of the film were shot at the San Juan River and

Monument Valley Monument Valley ( nv, Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, , meaning ''valley of the rocks'') is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, the largest reaching above the valley floor. It is located on the Utah-Arizona s ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Release

''A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe'' was released in West Germany on December 16, 1975 as ''Nobody ist der Größte''. The movie was also released in English under four different titles: * A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe * A Genius, Two Friends and an Idiot * Trinity is Back Again * Nobody's the Greatest These different titles feature lightly different scenarios, or longer scenes. This was due to the fact that some of the best footage was stolen, and the director refusing to pay the ransom. They had to re-shoot some scenes but lacked the time for some of them. Consequently, it became impossible to edit the movie with perfect coherence.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Genius Two Partners And A Dupe 1975 films 1970s Western (genre) comedy films Films about con artists Films directed by Damiano Damiani Films directed by Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western films Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films shot in Utah Films shot in Almería Films with screenplays by Ernesto Gastaldi English-language French films English-language German films English-language Italian films Italian Western (genre) comedy films 1975 comedy films 1970s Italian films Foreign films set in the United States