''Quax the Crash Pilot'' () is a 1941 German

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Kurt Hoffmann Kurt Hoffmann (12 November 1910 – 25 June 2001) was a German film director, the son of Carl Hoffmann. He directed 48 films between 1938 and 1971. He ran a production company Independent Film along with Heinz Angermeyer. His 1958 film ''W ...

and starring

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

, Karin Himboldt and

Lothar Firmans Lothar Firmans (1896–1964) was a German stage and film actor.Giesen p.216 Selected filmography * '' Quax the Crash Pilot'' (1941) * '' Front Theatre'' (1942) * '' Aufruhr der Herzen'' (1944) * ''Quax in Africa'' (1947) * ''Marriage in the Shado ...

. It is also sometimes translated as ''Quax the Test Pilot''. It features the popular song " Homeland, Your Stars". The film set in the 1930s before the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It is based on an aviation story by Hermann Grote about an everyday man who wins a newspaper competition that offers free flying lessons. Despite initial struggles, he gradually shows himself to be a good

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

. Much of the film was shot on location in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. Interiors were shot at the

Tempelhof Tempelhof () is a locality of Berlin within the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. It is the location of the former Tempelhof Airport, one of the earliest commercial airports in the world. The former airport and surroundings are now a park call ...

and

Babelsberg Studios Babelsberg Film Studio () (also known as Studio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world, producing films since 1912. With a total area of about and a studio area of a ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and the

Bavaria Studios Bavaria Studios are film production studios located in Munich, the capital of the region of Bavaria in Germany, and a subsidiary of Bavaria Film. History The studios were constructed in the suburb of Geiselgasteig in 1919 shortly after the Firs ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. It was followed by a sequel ''

Quax in Africa ''Quax in Africa'' () is a German comedy adventure film produced from 1943–1944 and released in 1947, directed by Helmut Weiss and starring Heinz Rühmann, Hertha Feiler, and Lothar Firmans. It is a sequel to the 1941 film '' Quax the Crash P ...

'' which was also made during the

Nazi era Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

, but not released until 1947. The film appears to have been popular with wartime ''Luftwaffe'' crews. Nightfighter pilot Wilhelm Johnen recalled it being shown at

Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), ...

airfield on the evening of his unit's first operation over the Ruhr in late March 1942.

Main cast

as Otto "Quax" Groschenbügel * Karin Himboldt as Marianne Bredow *

as Hansen, Fluglehrer *

Harry Liedtke Harry Liedtke (12 October 1882 – 28 April 1945) was a German film actor. Early life Liedtke was born in Königsberg, East Prussia as the seventh out of 12 children of a merchant. After his father's death in 1896, he grew up in an orphanage and ...

as Herr Bredow *

Elga Brink Elisabeth Margarete Biermann (born Frey, formerly Brink; 2 April 1905 – 28 October 1985), known professionally as Elga Brink, was a German film actress. Brink rose to prominence in the early 1920s, when she starred in many silent films. Her las ...

as Frau Bredow *

Hilde Sessak Hilde Sessak (27 July 1915 – 17 April 2003) was a German actress who appeared in more than ninety film and television series during her career. She appeared in a number of films during the Nazi era including ''Quax the Crash Pilot'' (1941).Reim ...

as Adelheid *

Leo Peukert Leonhard "Leo" Peukert (26 August 1885 – 6 January 1944) was a prolific German film actor and film director, appearing in more than a hundred and fifty productions between 1910 and his death in 1944. While occasionally he played a leading role i ...

as Bürgermeister *

Georg Vogelsang Georg Vogelsang (1883–1952) was a German stage and film actor.Giesen p.216 He specialised in Bavarian character parts. Selected filmography * '' The Secret of Castle Elmshoh'' (1925) * ''Three Fathers for Anna'' (1939) * '' The Eternal Spring'' ...

as Der alte Krehlert *

Beppo Brem Beppo Brem (11 March 1906 in Munich, German Empire – September 5, 1990 in Munich, West Germany) was a German film actor, who was in over 200 film and television productions between 1932 and 1990. He often played stereotypically Bavarian characte ...

as Knecht Alois *

Lutz Götz Lutz Götz (1891 – 1958) was a German stage and film actor.Richards p.375 Selected filmography * '' The Immortal Vagabond'' (1930) * ''Patriots'' (1937) * ''Legion Condor'' (1939) * '' Congo Express'' (1939) * '' Counterfeiters'' (1940) * '' A ...

as Herr Busse *

Arthur Schröder Arthur Schröder (20 February 1892 – 4 February 1986) was a German actor. Selected filmography * '' The Queen's Love Letter'' (1916) * '' Cain'' (1918) * ''Mania Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a Psychiatry, psychiatric Abnormality ...

as Flugarzt * Franz Zimmermann as Harry Peters, Flugschüler * Kunibert Gensichen as Walter Ottermann, Flugschüler * Manfred Heidmann as Ludwig Mommsen, Flugschüler * Guenther Markert as Gottfried Müller, Flugschüler * José Held as Karl Bruhn, Flugschüler

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* * 1941 films 1941 comedy films German comedy films Films of Nazi Germany 1940s German-language films German black-and-white films Films based on German novels German aviation films Terra Film films Films set in the 1930s Films shot in Bavaria Films directed by Kurt Hoffmann Films shot at Babelsberg Studios Films shot at Tempelhof Studios Films shot at Bavaria Studios 1940s German films Films scored by Werner Bochmann {{1940s-Germany-film-stub