After 54 Years, What Really Happened to the Stars of This Famous French Comedy?

Louis de Funès, a true king of comedy in France and an absolute legend for countless fans who lovingly passed down his films, managed to light up millions of faces with his irresistible laughter, momentarily lifting the daily worries of his audience.

However, it’s not uncommon to find ourselves asking a simple question after the credits roll on his films: what happens next to the characters?

Salluste in the Barbary Coast

Like many French comedies, several of De Funès’s films end with a “cliffhanger,” as the saying goes. This is true for films like “Jo,” “Oscar,” and “Hibernatus,” which all conclude with a scene that suddenly throws new challenges at the protagonists, leaving us wondering what becomes of them after the final credits.

Among these quintessentially French cliffhangers, one notable example is the last scene from one of Louis de Funès’s most famous and cherished films. Rated 4.1 out of 5 stars by viewers on AlloCiné, it’s “La Folie des Grandeurs,” directed by Gérard Oury and loosely based on Victor Hugo’s play “Ruy Blas.”

After years of misadventures and scheming at the court of the King of Spain, Don Salluste (played by Louis de Funès) and his valet Blaze (portrayed by Yves Montand) find themselves sent to the Barbary Coast, a penal colony where they must turn the giant wheel of a mill to water a small plant in the middle of the Sahara.

Salluste is punished for sending a slanderous letter about the King’s wife, while Blaze faces his sentence for refusing to marry Doña Juana, a duenna played by Alice Sapritch.

What Next?

But Salluste is far from admitting defeat and has no plans to give up!

“In any case, we’re not going to rot here,” he declares while turning the wheel, addressing Blaze and all the other high-ranking Spaniards who have also ended up in the Barbary Coast.

“I have a little plan for us all to escape. We’ll return to Madrid, conspire, the king will repudiate the queen, the old lady marries the parrot, César becomes king, I marry him, and voilà, I am queen!”

Just then, a silhouette appears at the top of a dune: it’s Doña Juana, apparently determined to chase Blaze to the ends of the earth, despite his attempts to escape her grasp as he breaks free and runs through the desert.

Will Don Salluste succeed in executing his new plan? Will Blaze escape from Doña Juana? Will the two characters manage to return to Madrid? These questions, still lingering in the minds of millions of viewers, are answered only by the joyful theme music by Michel Polnareff that plays over the closing credits of “La Folie des Grandeurs.”

(Re)discover the film’s trailer…