Tosca is a 1941 Italian historical drama film directed by Carl Koch and starring Imperio Argentina, Michel Simon and Rossano Brazzi. It is an adaptation of Victorien Sardou's play La Tosca and its subsequent opera version, Tosca, composed by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It was released in the United States as The Story of Tosca.It was shot at the Scalera Studios in Rome with location shooting also taking place around the city. The film's sets were designed by the art director Gustav Abel.Jean Renoir was originally hired as the film's director, and was encouraged to make the film by the French government as part of an effort to encourage Italy to remain neutral in the Second World War. However, he left Rome following Italy's entry into the war and the film was completed by the German director Carl Koch.In 1943 it was released in Spain (where Imperio Argentina was a major star) by the film studio Cifesa.