''Troublemakers'' ( it, Botte di Natale, also known as ''The Fight Before Christmas'') is a 1994

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 ...

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 o ...

. It is the last pairing of

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 ...

(who also directed) and Bud Spencer.

Plot

Travis, a gunslinger receives a letter from his mother Maw, asking him to bring his brother Moses and his family to a Christmas reunion and to give them an unknown treasure she claims to have inherited it from his father. Moses is a bounty hunter, who is angry at Maw, for letting his stolen horses loose, forcing Travis to set up a plan. Travis saves an outlaw named Sam Stone from being hanged and teams up with his brother to catch him. When the brothers stay at Moses' family's house, Travis gives them plans to get to Maw's. When they head off the next morning, Moses' family heads on their way to Maw's. While passing some time at a town, Travis gets into a fist fight with a man, named Dodge and his gang, who were teasing a young woman. Moses unwillingly comes and helps Travis finish them off. The woman, Bridget invites the brothers to have cookies and tea with her and her sister, Melie. After leaving and setting up camp, Travis finds Stone and gang, talking about robbing a bank, the next day at noon. The next day, the brothers plan a trap to catch Stone. The plan backfires when they come in at the wrong time. The sheriff and his deputy mistake Travis and Moses as part of Stone's gang and arrest them. Bridget bails Travis out, revealing that Stone took their beloved bear. When Moses is sentenced to

hang Hang or Hanging may refer to: People * Choe Hang (disambiguation), various people * Luciano Hang (born 1962/1963), Brazilian billionaire businessman * Ren Hang (disambiguation), various people Law * Hanging, a form of capital punishment Arts, ...

the next morning, Travis tries to free him in the same way he freed Stone (shooting the

noose A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot tightens under load and can be loosened without untying the knot. The knot can be used to secure a rope to a post, pole, or animal but only where the end is in a position that the loop can ...

.) A dog attacks Travis and Moses is hanged, but due to his enormous size, he destroys the

gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

. Moses survives with only a few splinters. He comes up with a plan to catch Stone, but the plan fails and they are captured. Travis reveals to Stone that he saved his life, and Stone lets them go. Moses comes up with plan B, which works. When Moses falls asleep, Travis frees Stone and Stone dummy-ties him. Moses abandons Travis, but he hitches a ride from nearby

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest fe ...

Indians. Moses' son, Junior wants to buy a horse for his father. He heads to town and is captured by Stone, who learns of the Christmas reunion. Travis and Moses reunite and wait for Stone's next move. Junior escapes and follows the brothers. He camps out for the night. Junior wakes up and finds himself face-to-face with a

western diamondback rattlesnake The western diamondback rattlesnake or Texas diamond-backWright AH, Wright AA. (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). . (''Crotalus atrox'') is a rattlesnake species and member of the viper family, ...

. He attempts to flee but gets bitten on the leg. He manages to ride to Travis and Moses' camp. The brothers take him to Bridget's and Melie's. Bridget injects Junior with a serum that neutralizes the venom. Travis reveals the reunion, angering Moses. Moses is about to fight with Travis, but Junior warns them about Stone's plan. Before leaving, Bridget and Travis share a kiss. The brothers finally arrive at Maw's and discover that she is holding Stone captive. Moses' family, Travis, Bridget and Melie all share a Christmas dinner as a family. However, the sheriff, deputy, Dodge and his gang plan to kill them but drop their guns when they are hypnotized by the night sky's beauty. A giant fist fight occurs between the two groups, involving the family winning. One of the daughters calls the event "The Fight Before Christmas." The next morning, Maw reveals that the treasure is where their hearts are, much to Stone's dismay. Maw then leaves for

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

and all the people have their picture taken by the photographer.

Cast

as Travis * Bud Spencer as Moses * Boots Southerland as Sam Stone *

Ruth Buzzi Ruth Ann Buzzi ( ; born July 24, 1936) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She has appeared on stage, in films, and on television. She is best known for her performances on the comedy-variety show ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 ...

as Grandma Maw *

Jonathan Tucker Jonathan Moss Tucker (born May 31, 1982) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the films ''The Virgin Suicides'' (1999), '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (2003), ''Hostage'' (2005), '' In the Valley of Elah'' (2007), '' The Ruins'' ( ...

as Moses Junior *

Neil Summers Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish '' Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. ...

as Dodge *

Anne Kasprik Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

as Bridget * Eva Hassmann as Melie * Ron Carey as Sheriff Fox *

Fritz Sperberg Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridolin a ...

as Deputy Sheriff Joey *

Radha Delamarter Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...

as Janie * John David Garfield as Photographer * Paul Ukena,

Tom Eiden Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, Bo Gray,

Ottaviano Dell'Acqua Ottaviano ( nap, Uttajano) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about east of Naples and is located in the Vesuvian Area. Ottaviano was in Roman times a hamlet of houses within ...

as The outlaws * Forrie J. Smith, Steven G. Tyler,

Massimiliano Ubaldi Massimiliano is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Massimiliano Alajmo (born 1974), Italian chef *Massimiliano Allegri (born 1967), Italian footballer and manager *Massimiliano Ammendola (born 1990), Italian fo ...

as The cowboys *

Paloma von Broadley Paloma may refer to: Arts and media * "Paloma", a song by Mika from ''My Name Is Michael Holbrook'' (2019) * ''Paloma'' (film), a 2022 film by Brazilian director Marcelo Gomes * ''Paloma'' (novel), by Kristine Kathryn Rusch * ''Paloma'' (TV s ...

as Jessica *

Samantha Waidler Samantha (or the alternatively Samanta) is primarily used as a feminine given name. It was recorded in England in 1633 in Newton Regis, Warwickshire. It was also recorded in the 18th century in New England, but its etymology is uncertain. Specul ...

as Mary Lou * Kevin Barker,

Brian Barker Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word m ...

, Charlie Barker,

Pilar O'Connel Pilar, Portuguese and Spanish for pillar, may refer to: People * Pilar (given name), a common abbreviation of ''María del Pilar'', including a list of people so named * Pilar (surname), a list of people surnamed Pilar or del Pilar Places Argen ...

l, Sarah Waidler,

Lauren Myers Lauren may be a given name or surname.The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurentius. ...

, Natasha Goslow as The sons *

Patrick Myers Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

as Patrick *

Jess Hill Jesse Terrill Hill (January 20, 1907 – August 31, 1993) was an American athlete, coach, and college athletics administrator who was best known for his tenure as a coach and athletic director at the University of Southern California (USC). His c ...

as Telegraph clerk * Geoffrey Martin as Executioner * Lou Baker as Preacher *

Michael Huddleston Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

: Blacksmith * Adam Taylor: Blackjack * Sommer Betsworth: Girl

External links

* * {{Bud and Terence 1994 films 1990s Western (genre) comedy films 1990s Christmas films Spaghetti Western films Italian Western (genre) comedy films 1990s English-language films English-language Italian films English-language German films 1990s Italian-language films Films directed by Terence Hill Films scored by Pino Donaggio Terence Hill and Bud Spencer Films about siblings 1994 comedy films 1994 multilingual films Italian multilingual films American multilingual films German multilingual films American Western (genre) comedy films German Western (genre) comedy films

Plot

Cast

See also

External links