You have a point Moviesceleton...Wallach, seeing how iconic GBU has become, he probably sees many flaws in his acting.  But this is probably because he has matured over the years and is unfairly picturing how he would do it now, which would probably be great but I thing the anxiousness and energy of his youth when it was filmed makes Tuco much more believable to those of us who have seen it. Plus he knows how to command a scene much better now..(check out his short uncredited scene from "Mystic river"...magic)

I like your view CJ.  And as far as the "under the coach" theory...it only makes sense, Blondie was in no condition to take the long way around and if he did in fact come around from the side he would have run right into Tuco.  And if that had happened, Tuco would have either kicked him unconscious or shot him dead because at that moment all his dreams of riches were fresh in his head...kinda like winning the lotto for him.

The horse incident with his hands behind his back, The train incident where he almost got decapitated and the shovel incident where LVC almost sliced his head off.  Eli was very Lucky. But Tuco was born lucky and those that do not understand that do not understand Tuco.  Whaaauwaaawaaawahwah.

I hope it doesn't happen in my lifetime.  I was going to go to the pyramids in Egypt but I heard they did a remake of one in Las Vegas...ha hah 

Blondie either crawled next to the coach so as to grab on to the side of it because his energy was pretty well spent, so Tuco didn't see him in his haste to get some water. Or Blondie rawled under the coach because of the shade it afforded him and then did a pop-goes-the-weasel of BC.  I like the second scenario because thatwould allow Blondie to hear Tuco and BC talking.  Which would support an unpopular theory of mine that Blondie knew both the name on the grave AND the cemetery.  He just needed Tuco to get him there in his condition. Kick that one around...

I my be new to this wonderful board...but I have found my home.  I'm so glad to be a part of all this.
I hope i can be a great addition to this site. I know I will.  TGTBATU is by far the greatest movie of all time. To all of you veteran Sergio Leone Web Board members...thank you and leave a seat open for me.

I don't think SL had to much to do with any humor displayed by Wallach.  It was just Wallach understanding the role better than any one else connected with the film...It was a case of Wallach taking the role "and running with it" and that's exactly what he did. Those who think SL had anything to do with Tuco's humor...no nothing about Tuco.

Is it true?  No one know anything about Tommie? Say it ain't so...

Oh, he could read.  Probably not as fast as the others but he could read.  Good survivors have a few distinct traits...being able to find themselves out of a jam, finding food or shelter when they are hungry or need a place to sleep for example. If reading enabled him to be a better rat then he would learn to faster then most.  His instincts and abilities are much sharper than either Blondie's or Angel Eyes.  He probably  had trouble with the "KN" and the "IO" combinations

I wonder id LVC threw ths shovel with the hand that was missing part of a finger...it could have altered his aim... or maybe his aim was true and like a good MLB pitcher he was just throwing a brush-back...hmmm.

Tuco almost didn't make it to the shootout.  He was almost dropped by a flying shovel.
Blondie gave a square shovel to Tuco for digging while Angel Eyes gave a spade (Devil reference?). When Blondie threw his it missed Tuco by a foot and a half, on the other hand When Angel Eyes threw his shovel it missed Tuco's head by... I'm guessing 1 5/8"...I think it caught Tuco off guard because he was leaning into the thrown shovel....OK at the most 1 3/4".

Oh yea. I alost forgot to mention that he also wrote the Christmas song..."I saw Mommie Kissing Santa Claus" . And I think he did some lyric work for the movie "Magnolia".   

Tuco never exacted his revenge a few months later... His fate remains a secret known only by a few.
It was one of his sons who attempted revenge against Blondie's son but both were gunned down by Angel Eyes' daughter.

I agree about feeling sorry for him at that moment.  The acting was so good at that moment that you believe there actually was a Tuco.   And what a beautiful line..."It's all ours, Blondie!" The first time there was any feeling of an honest partnership?  The beauty of the scene is that Blondie isn't moved at all when Tuco asks if he's joking.  I guess "the Good" isn't such a saint at that moment...Any way if I was there watching this happen I still wouldn't trust Tuco, even if his hand WERE tied behind his back and his neck WAS cuddled by a rope and even if he just HAPPENED to be standing on a tombstone in the shape of a cross.  Those who trust Tuco...no nothing about Tuco! 

Not only did he act his way out of a paper bag in the portrayal of a Mexican bandit, he did so while making us believe it was a Mexican from that time period. In much the same way Daniel Day Lewis portrayed an early New Yorker in "The Gangs of New York".  Eli's mannerisms and underlying confidence of a Mexican who enjoys the freedom that the new "West" offers coupled with his lack of "Soul" and detachment for others who play in the same game as the one he's chosen, is what makes his performance so astounding.  You immediately see Eli as "Tuco" and believe Toco is real during the whole movie.  He is the reason, in my opinion, that the GBU movie is 346 times better that FFD and 459 times better that FFDM. Oh yea...and a big reason why GBU is the greatest movie ever made in the entire history of cinema from the dawn of mankind to right this second.