You can almost hear the cicadas singing, the nudists running on the beach of Saint-Tropez tracked by gendarmes in a camel, Italy aboard a 1964 Deville coupé, etc. It’s time travel assured thanks to the National Automobile Museum in Mulhouse which until next November 5 offers the exhibition On the move with Louis de Funes. A great opportunity to see “for real” vehicles that played a supporting role in Corniaud or the series of Gendarmes… but also to have first-hand explanations, those of Nora Ferreira, director of the Louis de Funès Museum in Saint-Raphaël and curator of the exhibition.
The scenography, neat even if it lacks a little relief, allows to circulate between the 18 most emblematic models of the cinema of Louis de Funès. And we start with the “cardboard” scene in Corniaud with the 2CV driven by Bourvil which was preparing to set off on a trip through Italy, completely atomized by the Rolls driven by Louis de Funès. Several vehicles in the exhibition are not those that were actually used in the films of Louis de Funès [notamment les deux voitures citées plus haut], however these are period models. And projections of well-chosen excerpts from the films corresponding to the vehicles presented, accompanied by onion lighting, in any case immerse the visitor in the 1970s and the most famous replicas of the actor’s films.
The stars are here
Still, the real stars of this mop with Louis de Funès are there. Starting with the 1964 Cadillac Deville, from the movie Corniaud. Without the “schnouff” hidden in the fenders and gold bumpers nor the battery filled with precious stones or the horn hiding the Youkounkoun diamond. Ditto for the red Ford Mustang 65 convertible model of 1964 seen in the Gendarme of Saint-Tropez. “It’s a rare, pre-production model, it was the first time in the world that a Mustang appeared in a film”, underlines the director of the museum Guillaume Gasser, who is already delighted with the expected success of this popular event in the “temple” of the automobile.
Another star of the collection: the 1963 Oldsmobile F-85 Cutlass convertible, light blue, the car driven by Louis de Funès in the Gendarme in Saint-Tropez. All that remains is to discover magnificent vintage cars featured in blockbuster films and sagas, such as the DS of Ghostsa Méhari of Gendarmes…, the Simca Aronde Elysée 1961 of the Summer holidays or even the incredible Checker taxi of the Adventures of Rabbi Jacob. Or, it’s a gift, the real hat worn by the “rabbi” Louis de Funès.
This without counting that in Mulhouse, this “Louvre” of the automobile as it is often said, has more than 400 prestigious vehicles, the largest and richest collection of cars in France with in particular the Schlumpf Collectionthe most beautiful and rare Bugatti cars.