''Taxi for Tobruk'' (French: ''Un taxi pour Tobrouk'') is a 1961

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Denys de La Patellière Denys de La Patellière (8 March 1921 in Nantes, France–21 July 2013) was a French film director and scriptwriter. He also directed Television series. of 92. Filmography as director * 1955 : '' Les Aristocrates'', with Pierre Fresnay * ...

and starring

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

, Lino Ventura and

Hardy Krüger Hardy Krüger (; born Eberhard August Franz Ewald Krüger; 12 April 1928 – 19 January 2022) was a German actor and author, who appeared in more than 60 films from 1944 onwards. After becoming a film star in Germany in the 1950s, Krüger increa ...

. It was made as a co-production between France, Spain and West Germany.Hammer p.149 The story takes place during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in the North African desert at the

Battle of El Alamein There were two battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in North Africa, in Egypt, in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein. * First Battle of El Alamein: 1–27 July 1942 * Secon ...

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

took place in

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city g ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art director

Paul-Louis Boutié Paul-Louis Boutié (1910-2004) was a French art directorCoates-Smith & McGee p.96 who designed the sets for many film productions in postwar France cinema. Selected filmography * '' Beautiful Star'' (1938) * '' The Acrobat'' (1941) * '' Gringal ...

Cast

as Le capitaine Ludwig von Stegel * Lino Ventura as le brigadier Theo Dumas *

Maurice Biraud Maurice Biraud (3 March 1922 – 24 December 1982) was a French film actor. He appeared in 90 films between 1951 and 1982. Biraud was born on 3 March 1922 in Paris. He married actress Françoise Soulié in 1956. He died on 24 December 1982 i ...

as François Gensac *

as Samuel Goldmann *

Germán Cobos Germán Sánchez Hernández-Cobos (7 July 1927 – 12 January 2015) was a prolific Spanish actor in a variety of European films. He was married to Visitación Peralta. He was born on 7 July 1927 in Sevilla. He was known for playing Arturo Torres ...

as Jean Ramirez * Ellen Bahl as Frau von Stegel * Roland Malet as Convict with Ramirez *

Carlos Mendy Carlos Mendy (1929-2002) is a Uruguayan-born stage, film and television actor.Soria p.179 He first moved to Argentina and then on to Spain where he enjoyed his greatest success. He is sometimes credited as Carlos Mendi. Selected filmography * ''B ...

as German Soldier in Desert with von Stegel * Jacques Préboist as Convict with Ramirez *

Lorenzo Robledo Lorenzo Robledo (3 July 1918 – September 2006) was a Spanish film actor, who made over 85 appearances in film between 1956 and 1982. He is a familiar face in Italian westerns, having appeared in a total of 32 Spaghetti Western films throughou ...

as German Soldier in Desert with von Stegel *

Dominique Rozan "Dominique" is a 1963 French language popular song, written and performed by the Belgian female singer Jeannine Deckers, better known as Sœur Sourire ("Sister Smile" in French) or The Singing Nun. The song is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-born ...

as Parisian on the Champs-Elysées *

Fernando Sancho Fernando Sancho Les (7 January 1916 – 31 July 1990) was a Spanish actor. Biography He was born in Zaragoza, in Aragon, Spain on 7 January 1916 and died at Hospital Militar Gómez Ulla in Madrid on 31 July 1990 from a liver failure during o ...

as German Corporal in the Oasis * Enrique Ávila as German Soldier Playing Cards

References

Bibliography

* Hammer, Tad Bentley. ''International Film Prizes: An Encyclopedia''. Garland, 1991.

External links

* 1961 films French adventure films West German films 1960s French-language films German war drama films French war drama films 1961 drama films Films directed by Denys de La Patellière North African campaign films Films with screenplays by Michel Audiard War adventure films French World War II films Films shot in Almería Gaumont Film Company films 1960s French films German World War II films Spanish World War II films 1960s German films {{1960s-France-film-stub