7.5/10
3,170
31 user 34 critic

French Cancan (1955)

Not Rated | | Comedy, Drama, Musical | 16 April 1956 (USA)
French Cancan Poster
This comedy drama from Jean Renoir chronicles the revival of Paris' most notorious dance as it tells the story of a theater producer who turns a humble washerwoman into a star at the Moulin Rouge.

Director:

Jean Renoir

Writers:

Jean Renoir (adaptation), André-Paul Antoine (idea)

Stars:

Jean Gabin, Françoise Arnoul, María Félix | See full cast & crew »
Reviews

On Disc

at Amazon

Photos

See all 52 photos »
Learn more

More Like This 













◄ Prev 6 Next 6 ►

Next »
Elena and Her Men (1956)
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X  

Polish countess Elena falls in love to a Frensh radical party's candidate, a general, in pre world war I Paris, but another officer pines for her.

Director: Jean Renoir
Stars: Ingrid Bergman, Jean Marais, Mel Ferrer
Next »
The Golden Coach (1952)
Comedy | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

In Peru in the eighteenth century. Camilla, the star of a theater company, hesitates between three men. The Viceroy gives her his magnificent golden coach. A young Spanish officer suggests ... See full summary »

Director: Jean Renoir
Stars: Anna Magnani, Odoardo Spadaro, Nada Fiorelli
Next »
La Bête Humaine (1938)
Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

In this classic adaptation of Emile Zola's novel, a tortured train engineer falls in love with a troubled married woman who has helped her husband commit a murder.

Director: Jean Renoir
Stars: Jean Gabin, Julien Carette, Simone Simon
Next »
Le déjeuner sur l'herbe (1959)
Comedy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Etienne Alexis, a candidate for president of the new Europe, is a scientist promoting artificial insemination for social betterment and therapy to eliminate passion. His wealthy household (... See full summary »

Director: Jean Renoir
Stars: Paul Meurisse, Charles Blavette, André Brunot
Next »
The Elusive Corporal (1962)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X  

An upper-class corporal from Paris is captured by the Germans when they invade France in 1940. Assisted and accompanied by characters as diverse as a morose dairy farmer, a waiter, a myopic... See full summary »

Director: Jean Renoir
Stars: Jean-Pierre Cassel, Claude Brasseur, O.E. Hasse
Next »
Toni (1935)
Crime | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

In the 1920s, the Provence is a magnet for immigrants seeking work in the quarries or in agriculture. Many mingle with locals and settle down permanently - like Toni, an Italian who has ... See full summary »

Director: Jean Renoir
Stars: Charles Blavette, Celia Montalván, Jenny Hélia
Next »
The Lower Depths (1936)
Crime | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

A charismatic thief makes friends with a bankrupt baron who comes to live in the thief's slum. Meanwhile the thief seeks the love of a young woman, who is held emotionally captive by her slumlord family.

Director: Jean Renoir
Stars: Jean Gabin, Suzy Prim, Louis Jouvet
Next »
The River (1951)
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

Three adolescent girls growing up in Bengal, India, learn their lessons in life after falling for an older American soldier.

Director: Jean Renoir
Stars: Patricia Walters, Nora Swinburne, Esmond Knight
Next »
La Marseillaise (1938)
Drama | History | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A news-reel like movie about early part of the French Revolution, shown from the eyes of individual people, citizens of Marseille, counts in German exile and, of course the king Louis XVI, ... See full summary »

Director: Jean Renoir
Stars: Pierre Renoir, Lise Delamare, Louis Jouvet
Next »
Le Plaisir (1952)
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

Three separate stories about the same thing: pleasure.

Director: Max Ophüls
Stars: Jean Gabin, Danielle Darrieux, Simone Simon
Next »
Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932)
Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

A bookseller saves a tramp from drowning and shelters him, but the tramp's odd behavior starts to wear everyone down.

Director: Jean Renoir
Stars: Michel Simon, Marcelle Hainia, Sévérine Lerczinska
Next »
La Chienne (1931)
Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

A woman and her pimp exploit a painter for money.

Director: Jean Renoir
Stars: Michel Simon, Janie Marèse, Georges Flamant
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Gabin ... Henri Danglard
Françoise Arnoul ... Nini
María Félix ... Lola de Castro de la Fuente de Extremadura 'La Belle Abbesse'
Anna Amendola Anna Amendola ... Esther Georges
Jean-Roger Caussimon ... Baron Walter
Dora Doll ... La Génisse
Giani Esposito ... Prince Alexandre
Gaston Gabaroche Gaston Gabaroche ... Oscar, le pianiste
Jacques Jouanneau Jacques Jouanneau ... Bidon
Jean Parédès Jean Parédès ... Coudrier
Franco Pastorino Franco Pastorino ... Paulo, le boulanger
Michèle Philippe Michèle Philippe ... Eleonore
Michel Piccoli ... Le Capitaine Valorgueil
Albert Rémy ... Barjolin
France Roche France Roche ... Beatrix
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

Henri Danglard, proprietor of the fashionable (but bankrupt) cafe 'Le Paravent Chinois' featuring his mistress, belly dancer Lola, goes slumming in Montmarte (circa 1890) where the then-old-fashioned cancan is still danced. There, he conceives the idea of reviving the cancan as the feature of a new, more popular establishment...and meets Nini, a laundress and natural dancer, whom he hopes to star in his new show. But a tangled maze of jealousies intervenes... Written by Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

jealousy | dance | moulin rouge | 1890s | nightclub | See All (44) »

Taglines:

Eclair Lab digital restoration 2010

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
Edit

Details

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

16 April 1956 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

French Cancan See more »

Filming Locations:

Studios Joinville, Joinville-le-pont, Val-de-Marne, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Franco London Films,Jolly Film See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (1956)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The on-screen singer of "La complainte de la Butte" is not Cora Vaucaire (credited in the titles) as she was deemed not good-looking enough to appear on film, so Italian actress Anna Amendola was put in front of the camera and mimed to the song... See more »

Quotes

Lola de Castro de la Fuente de Espramadura 'La Belle Abbesse': I was born at Sidi Bel Abbes in the land of beautiful women...
See more »

Connections

Featured in Voyage à travers le cinéma français (2016) See more »

Soundtracks

Le Gros Chat
Performed by Philippe Clay
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Refreshing French Twist
8 July 2001 | by GHMey – See all my reviews

There are frames in this film that could be Renoir paintings with vivid colors against muted backgrounds. The humorous combination of sexual honesty and innocence is refreshing in this fifties film and makes palatable the old story line of the ingenue that becomes a star. The can-can number at the end seems realistic and exciting but not over the top as in an American dance sequence.
10 of 13 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 31 user reviews »
Getting Started | Contributor Zone »

Contribute to This Page

Stream Trending Movies With Prime Video

Enjoy a night in with these popular movies available to stream now with Prime Video.

Start your free trial


Clear your history

Recently Viewed