Balduin, das Nachtgespenst

its virtue - the lead actors. the basic sin - the story. or, more exactly, the improvisation of a chaotic story who has the chance to ignore de Funes and Gabin for a sort of humor who is far to be the most inspired. but it remains a nice film for the small details, for the admirable effort of the actors, for the Exploration of a Jean Gabin who gives a not ordinary side of his art and for the genius of comedy of Louis de Funes .

Le tatoué starts of with a lot of funny details and scenes but after about half an hour the pace drops. Lots of banter and outright crazy nonsense. Racist at times (it is hard to imagine this was considered bon ton in 1968), funny when De Funès is at his usual best. And the weird sensation at one moment when we clearly hear the soundtrack from the Pink Panther movies in the soundtrack. And the ending goes nowhere at all. It is difficult to imagine that 60s movie public was okay with this sort of plot less craziness that you expect 30 years earlier with Laurel and Hardy. A nice film for LdF fans, but when you are not: don't bother with it.

When a movie reunites the greatest and most iconic French actor: Jean Gabin and the funniest and most popular of the day: Louis de Funès, you expect fireworks of laughs resulting from the interactions between these two messieurs, but in the case of "The Tattoo", it's almost on the level of an armadillo's fart. There are a few funny moments popping up here and there, the film had a great visual look and a jazzy score, but its drought of gags makes it one of the least rewatchable De Funès movies… again, there are some good scenes but hey, you can find them on Youtube and life is too precious to endure this, even for the sake of nostalgia.

That a film joining two monuments of cinema get so embarrassingly bad has at least one merit, it shows that a good premise doesn't make a good movie, success is never written in advance, and neither was the script actually, which I was surprised to learn was canceled because neither Gabin and De Funès liked it, so it was written on the job, with the shooting. Actually, it's almost a miracle that the film could be made, by the standards of its non-existing script, it is decent. It is even decent by the numbers, the film attracted more than three millions of viewers which is not the best score from Gabin or De Funès but it was still enough to belong to the Top 10 of 1968, it's like the top billing was already a guarantee of success.

So it's a case of empty-full glass, induced by a few guilty pleasures. As a matter of fact, the film gets slightly better near the end as you can feel the chemistry growing between the two characters and you enjoy the interactions rather than their importance to the plot, the restaurant scene doesn't add much but it happens to be the most memorable part along with the ice skating, but just when you end the film with the illusion that there was something between Gabin and De Funès, you learn that both didn't get along. Whatever it was, it might explain why this was their last collaboration, and why in the crucial scene where Gabin's character said he started to like De Funès', I couldn't buy it.

Gabin wasn't without a comical nature of his own and by overplaying the angry patriarch, he could even be a match for De Funès, but the actor who was known for his tantrums was actually the cooler one and it was difficult to see De Funès playing the supporting role, and it says a lot when his best scenes are without Gabin, one involving the two foreign businessmen and that inspired the IMDb picture of the actor, and a few interesting moments with his wife (who's not Claude Gensac anyway). The rest of the time, De Funès is begging Gabin to give him the tattoo and Gabin spends his time shouting and yelling and screaming, you could tell the pains the screenwriters had to fill the moments. There is a reason why this is not the first title to come to mind when you think of De Funes and Gabin's movies.

I'm just into a Gabin's phase and the more I appreciate the actor, the more I see how he and De Funès couldn't match, and I appreciate De Funès, too. They just have too larger-than-life personalities to share the screen in a complementary way, a "lite" version De Funès doesn't work, not when it's mixed with a red-bull version of Gabin. Other scenes are really awkward and according to director Denys de La Pattelière, it's only during the editing that they realized they weren't as good, some bizarre moments involving the African butler made me cringe because they were offensive without being funny, and even what could have been a funny little suspenseful moment was ruined by a rip-off of the Pink Panther theme, that was so outrageous, I hope it was meant as a homage.

There's no other thing to say, this is a film to watch on the basis that there are two great actors, for pure historical value, but that's all, both actors made better films, so don't waste your time with this one, the best scenes are on Youtube, and if the director, the writer, and the two main concerned ones didn't enjoy it, why should you?

I do like both Gabin and Funès. Both together are pretty much a waste of time. Firstly, the plot is completely absurd, up to idiocy, at least with the two Americans. It still could be funny, would it not be the meet-up of two larger-than-life characters. They both work hard on keeping the other down. Just watched Funès 'Oscar' last night and was laughing with tears. The Tattoo has a bunch of funny scenes, but isn't funny throughout.

Just do something more worthwhile with your time.

The tattoo is a lesser-known gem in Louis de Funès' filmography, and it's a pleasant surprise for anyone looking to explore more of his work. The film stars de Funès alongside Jean Gabin, and the chemistry between the two is fantastic. Gabin plays an old soldier with a rare tattoo that becomes the focus of a humorous and unpredictable story.

The dynamic between de Funès' high-energy antics and Gabin's gruff, no-nonsense demeanor creates a perfect comedic contrast that keeps the audience engaged. The film is filled with clever dialogue, funny situations, and a story that is both unique and entertaining.

It's a film that may not be as well-known as some of de Funès' other works, but it's definitely worth watching. I give the tattoo an 8/10 for its originality, humor, and the excellent performances of its lead actors. It's a delightful film that showcases a different side of de Funès' comedic range.