Delusions of Grandeur

Intended as a parody of Victor Hugo's tragic drama RUY BLAS, the story takes place in 17th-century Spain as a corrupt, money-grubbing tax collector, Don Salluste (Louis de Funes), hatches a plan for revenge after being fired and driven into exile by the Queen (Karin Schubert). Eager for her public humiliation, Salluste recruits his inept manservant, Blaze (Yves Montand), to pose as an aristocratic casanova and seduce the Queen--only to have the couple fall unexpectedly in love in a deliriously farcical turnaround. (official distributor synopsis)