Léo Joannon

Who was Léo Joannon?

Léo Joannon was a French writer and film director. Born in Aix-en-Provence, Joannon was originally a law student who became a novelist and journalist before entering the film industry in the 1920s as a cameraman.

Joannon first attracted international attention in early 1939 during the production of S.O.S. Mediterranean, when his attempts to include shots of a German naval ship docked in the port of Tangier created a diplomatic incident between the pre-World War II French and German governments. The film later won the Grand Prix du Cinema Français.

Joannon is best known to international audiences as the director of the comedy film Atoll K, which was the final motion picture starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Among his other films were Le Defroque and Fort du Fou/Outpost in Indochina.

Joannon died in Neuilly-sur-Seine.