Algiers (1938)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

John Cromwell

Writers:

Henri La Barthe (novel)
John Howard Lawson (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 August 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

You've Got A Date With Danger, A Rendezvous With Romance In The Glamorous, Mysterious Algiers . . Make A Date Now !

Plot:

Beautiful Gaby meets a romantic jewel thief in the mysterious Casbah.

Plot Keywords:

Thief | Casbah | Jealousy | Police | Escape

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars.

Cast

Charles Boyer	...	Pepe le Moko
Sigrid Gurie	...	Ines
Hedy Lamarr	...	Gaby
Joseph Calleia	...	Inpector Slimane
Alan Hale	...	Grandpere
Gene Lockhart	...	Regis
Walter Kingsford	...	Chef Inspector Louvain
Paul Harvey	...	Comissioner Janvier
Stanley Fields	...	Carlos
Johnny Downs	...	Pierrot
Charles D. Brown	...	Max
Robert Greig	...	Giraux
Leonid Kinskey	...	L'Arbi
Joan Woodbury	...	Aicha
Nina Koshetz	...	Tania (as Mme. Nina Koshetz)

Runtime:

96 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | USA:Unrated (DVD) | Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #4331) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Algiers, Algeria

Company:

Walter Wanger Productions

Trivia:

The title for this film was the inspiration for the later movie titled Casablanca (1942).

Quotes:

Inspector Slimane: When one can't use guns, one must work with brains.
Commissioner Janvier: I prefer guns!
Inspector Slimane: In your case, honest sir, such a preference is unavoidable.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Going Hollywood: The '30s (1984)

Soundtrack:

C'est la vie

Could Gabin Have Been Better?

The tragic account of Pepe Le Moko having been filmed in France the year before with Jean Gabin as the star must have really impressed producer Walter Wanger. It's not often that a remake is made only a year later.

Jean Gabin who has been compared to Humphrey Bogart certainly would have brought a different style of Pepe Le Moko. But this film did wonders for Charles Boyer in establishing him among the first rank of American film stars.

His Pepe is suave, cunning, and deadly. Unfortunately while hanging out in the forbidden section of French Algiers known as the Casbah, Pepe has sort of built his own prison in that section. He cannot leave because the French police will grab him and a whole bunch of countries are getting in line with the French Foreign office to deport to face a slew of crimes. But in the Casbah he's untouchable as the visiting French prefect Paul Harvey finds out.

Joseph Calleia as Inspector Slimane knows the only way to capture him is to lure him out of his shelter. And the bait for that walks in with a visiting tourist from Paris played by Hedy Lamarr.

Hedy Lamarr was under contract to MGM having been brought over by Louis B. Mayer after her scandalous nude scene in the Austrian film Ecstacy. But MGM couldn't find anything for her to do, so she stayed idle drawing her weekly paycheck while a suitable property was found.

Boyer met Lamarr at a party according to The Films of Hedy Lamarr Citadel Press Series book and was taken with her. He told Walter Wanger and Wanger worked out a deal with Mayer that they could have Lamarr if Boyer did an MGM film. The one he did was Conquest with Greta Garbo. Seems to have worked out all around.

There's a lot of debate as to how good an actress Lamarr was. And in the right circumstances she could give a decent performance. The right circumstances was definitely Algiers where Boyer knew that the woman who could stir him from his safety net had to be one extraordinarily beautiful woman. No one ever questioned that about Lamarr. Algiers launched her career for American audiences with a blowout performance.

Charles Boyer was nominated for Best Actor as Pepe, but lost to Spencer Tracy in Boys Town. And Gene Lockhart as the treacherous Regis got a nod for Best Supporting Actor, but he was beaten out by Walter Brennan in Kentucky.

What's even more extraordinary is that Director John Cromwell did a magnificent job in capturing the mood and ambiance of Algiers. A few establishing newsreel shots and great sets and you would think this was done on location.

There was a third film version of Pepe Le Moko's story with Casbah starring Tony Martin. It was a musical version that fell short of establishing Martin as a big screen draw, but the songs there were some of his best selling records.

Still though Boyer does a fabulous job as Pepe, though I would some day like to see Jean Gabin's version for comparison.