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The History of French Cinema: 1956

21/3 -

Not wishing to offend royal neighbour Prince Rainier, cinema owners in Nice cancel screenings of The Swan, his fiancée Grace Kelly’s penultimate film. [ADD]

14/4 -

Otto Preminger visits Paris to meet Françoise Sagan, author of Bonjour Tristesse, which he wants to film. [ADD]

19/4 -

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier marry in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Monaco in front of a gathering of European royalty, heads of state, and movie stars – as well as over 2,000 journalists from around the world. [ADD]

11/5 -

For the first time, the two major prizes at this year’s Cannes Film Festival are awarded to documentaries: Jacques-Yves Cousteau's Le Monde du silence (The Silent World) wins the Golden Palm, while Henri-Georges Clouzot's Le Mystère Picasso (The Picasso Mystery) wins the Special Jury Prize. [ADD]

12/9 -

Jean Renoir’s Eléna et les hommes (Paris Does Strange Things) is released.   The film stars Ingrid Bergman, with whom Renoir had wanted to work since the early 40s, Pierre Bertin,  Jean Marais and Mel Ferrer. [ADD]

28/11 -

Roger Vadim’s first film, Et Dieu... créa la femme (And God Created Woman), is released, and immediately causes a scandal because of nude scenes featuring Vadim’s young wife, Brigitte Bardot. [ADD]

11/12 -

Robert Bresson’s Un Condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le Vent souffle où il veut (A Man Escaped or The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth) is released.   François Leterrier plays Fontaine, a character based on the film’s technical advisor, André Devigny, a French resistance member who engineers an audacious escape plan from Montluc. [ADD]

Other Key French Films of 1956

The History of Cinema: 1956