Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The (1964)

17-year-old shopkeepers daughter Geneviève Emery (Catherine Deneuve) and 20-year-old mechanic Guy Foucher (Nino Castelnuovo) are in love, but Geneviève’s mother (Anne Vernon) – who runs an umbrella shop in Cherbourg – won’t allow them to marry as Guy has yet to complete his compulsory military service.

Geneviève is heartbroken when Guy leaves for his army service in colonial Algeria and is upset to have received only one letter from him in two months – especially as she has discovered she is pregnant with his baby.

Her mother’s solution to the situation is to marry Geneviève off (unhappily) to the kindly and wealthy diamond merchant Roland Cassard (Marc Michel).

It’s an unusual screen musical as all the dialogue in the film – originally titled Les Parapluies de Cherbourg – is sung without a single line spoken. All the actors were dubbed by professional singers.

It rains constantly throughout the film, but vivid breathtaking bubblegum colours are abundant, and everything looks beautiful and supremely romantic.

Director Jacques Demy (who also wrote the script) and composer Michel Legrand spent a year preparing the film and three months shooting. The film won the Golden Palm at the 1964 Cannes International Film Festival.

The film later served as the inspiration for Damien Chazelle’s La La Land (2016).

Geneviève Emery
Catherine Deneuve
Danielle Licari (singing voice)
Guy Foucher
Nino Castelnuovo
José Bartel (singing voice)
Madame Emery
Anne Vernon
Christiane Legrand (singing voice)
Roland Cassard
Marc Michel
Georges Blaness (singing voice)
Madeleine
Ellen Farner
Claudine Meunier (singing voice)
Tante Élise
Mireille Perrey
Claire Leclerc (singing voice)
Aubin
Jean Champion
Bernard
Pierre Caden
Jean
Jean-Pierre Dorat
Michel Legrand (singing voice)
Ginny
Jane Carat
François Foucher
Hervé Legrand
Monsieur Dubourg
Harald Wolff

Director
Jacques Demy

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