The Umbrella Coup
Encyclopedia
The Umbrella Coup is a 1980 French comedy film directed by Gérard Oury
, starring Pierre Richard
, Gordon Mitchell
and Gert Fröbe
.
The creation of the film was inspired by several assassinations of Bulgaria
n dissident
s where the so-called Bulgarian umbrella
was used as a weapon. The working title of the film was Le Coup du Parapluie Bulgare.
by mistake. He takes their don for a producer, and they mistake him for a hitman with whom they had an appointment. Deluded Lecomte signs contract with them. He is supposed to kill gun dealer Otto Krampe at his birthday party in Saint-Tropez
by piercing him with a cap of the umbrella
with a built-in syringe
with potassium cyanide
. Lecomte is not aware that it has to be a real murder.
Gérard Oury
Gérard Oury was a French film director, actor and writer. His real name was Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum.- A commercially successful French filmmaker :...
, starring Pierre Richard
Pierre Richard
Pierre Richard is a popular French actor best known for the roles of a clumsy daydreamer in comedy films...
, Gordon Mitchell
Gordon Mitchell
Gordon Mitchell was an American actor and bodybuilder.-Biography:Charles Allen Pendleton was born in Denver, Colorado, and began working out in his Denver neighbourhood to deal with his tough companions. During World War II he served in the U.S...
and Gert Fröbe
Gert Fröbe
Karl Gerhart Fröbe, better known as Gert Fröbe was a German actor who starred in many films, including the James Bond film Goldfinger as Auric Goldfinger, The Threepenny Opera as Peachum, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Baron Bomburst, and in Der Räuber Hotzenplotz as Hotzenplotz.-Life:Born in...
.
The creation of the film was inspired by several assassinations of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
s where the so-called Bulgarian umbrella
Bulgarian umbrella
The Bulgarian umbrella is the name of an umbrella with a hidden pneumatic mechanism which shot out a small poisonous pellet containing ricin....
was used as a weapon. The working title of the film was Le Coup du Parapluie Bulgare.
Plot
Grégoire Lecomte, the unlucky actor anxious to find a "real job", goes to take a screen test for a role of a killer, but gets to mafiosiMafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
by mistake. He takes their don for a producer, and they mistake him for a hitman with whom they had an appointment. Deluded Lecomte signs contract with them. He is supposed to kill gun dealer Otto Krampe at his birthday party in Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez is a town, 104 km to the east of Marseille, in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. It is also the principal town in the canton of Saint-Tropez....
by piercing him with a cap of the umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
with a built-in syringe
Syringe
A syringe is a simple pump consisting of a plunger that fits tightly in a tube. The plunger can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube , allowing the syringe to take in and expel a liquid or gas through an orifice at the open end of the tube...
with potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include jewelry for chemical gilding and...
. Lecomte is not aware that it has to be a real murder.
Cast
- Pierre RichardPierre RichardPierre Richard is a popular French actor best known for the roles of a clumsy daydreamer in comedy films...
as Grégoire Lecomte - Gordon MitchellGordon MitchellGordon Mitchell was an American actor and bodybuilder.-Biography:Charles Allen Pendleton was born in Denver, Colorado, and began working out in his Denver neighbourhood to deal with his tough companions. During World War II he served in the U.S...
as Moskovitz - Valérie MairesseValérie MairesseValérie Mairesse is a French stage and film actress. She was nominated for the César Awards 1978 for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Repérages.-Selected filmography:* Tu Seras Mon Fils...
as Sylvette aka Bunny - Christine Murillo as Josyane Leblanc
- Gert FröbeGert FröbeKarl Gerhart Fröbe, better known as Gert Fröbe was a German actor who starred in many films, including the James Bond film Goldfinger as Auric Goldfinger, The Threepenny Opera as Peachum, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Baron Bomburst, and in Der Räuber Hotzenplotz as Hotzenplotz.-Life:Born in...
as Otto Krampe aka Whale - Gérard JugnotGérard JugnotGérard Jugnot is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer.Jugnot was one of the founders of the comedy troupe Le Splendid in the 1970s, along with, among others, his high-school friends Christian Clavier, Thierry Lhermitte, and Michel Blanc...
as Frédo - Vittorio CaprioliVittorio CaprioliVittorio Caprioli was an Italian film actor, director and screenwriter. He appeared in 109 films between 1946 and 1990...
as Don Barberini - Yaseen Khan as Radj Kahn
- Didier Sauvegrain as Stanislas Lefort aka Crazy
- Mike MarshallMike Marshall (actor)-Early life and career:Marshall was born in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a hospital in Hollywood, California on 13 September 1944. When his parents divorced, his father made sure that he receive an American education. He began studying Law, but he dreamed of becoming an actor. He later joined...
as The Doctor - Roger CarelRoger CarelRoger Bancharel, better known by his stage name, Roger Carel, is a French actor and voice talent, best known for his recurring film roles as Asterix or the French voice of Star Wars C3PO and the French voice of Winnie the Pooh...
as Salvatore Bozzoni - Dominique LavanantDominique LavanantDominique Lavanant in Morlaix, Finistère, is a César Award-winning French film and theatrical actress, famous for her comedy skills especially with posh and distinguished characters, like Rosalind Russell's; characters often defined by the adjective BCBG , bon chic bon genre, and which refers to a...
as Mireille - Maurice RischMaurice RischMaurice Risch is a French film and theater actor, born on 25 January 1943 in Paris.With his large expressive eyes and round face, he represents one of the recurring presences of French comic cinema...
as The Producer
External links
- The Umbrella Coup/Le Coup du parapluie at the Cinemovies site
- The Umbrella Coup overview at the New York Times