| The Umbrella Coup | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gérard Oury |
| Written by | Gérard Oury Danièle Thompson |
| Starring | Pierre Richard Gordon Mitchell Gert Fröbe |
| Music by | Vladimir Cosma |
| Distributed by | Gaumont |
| Release date(s) | 8 October 1980 |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
The Umbrella Coup (French: Le Coup du parapluie) 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 Bulgarian dissidents where the so-called Bulgarian umbrella was used as a weapon. The working title of the film was Le Coup du Parapluie Bulgare.
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 mafiosi 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.