Pépé le Moko (1937)

Fréhel: Tania

Photos 

Quotes 

• Tania : When I feel down, I change eras.

  Pépé le Moko : Change eras?

  Tania : I think of my youth. I look at my old photo and imagine it's a mirror. I put on one of my old records, from the days when I'd sell out the Paris music halls. I'd go on stage against a country backdrop with a red spotlight on my pale face, and I'd sing.

  [singing] 

  Tania : Some people dream of America, As they see it at the cinema, A magnificent land they swear, Our Paris just can't compare. That kind of talk makes them bold, When they feel blue and want to holler, But they just end up hungry and old, In New York scrounging for a dollar. Among the criminals and outcasts, And emigrants with broken pasts, They sing of Paris at last, Where's my windmill on Place Blanche? My tobacco shop, my corner café? When every day was a new chance? Where are all the friends who made my day? Where are the dance halls where we'd meet? The songs the accordionist would play? Where are the places where we could eat, Without a cent in our pockets to pay? Where are they now?

• Tania : I have a face that men just like to hit.

• Tania : He never talks. He acts.

  Inspecteur Slimane : He beats you?

  Tania : Yes, it relaxes him.

  Inspecteur Slimane : And since you're a woman, you take it without complaining.

  Tania : I've always been beaten. When I did music halls, my crooner boyfriend used to slap me around because I was more popular.

• Tania : She's a walking ice palace. The sparklers she's got on her!

• Pépé le Moko : Make sure everything looks right. I want cushions and ashtrays, and vases with flowers.

  Tania : No problem.

  Pépé le Moko : An water the flowers with eau de cologne.

  Tania : I'll use my "Reve de Java"! It smells like violets.

  Pépé le Moko : And put out a table with two settings. I'll handle the grub and the juice.

  Tania : All this for his new bird!

  Pépé le Moko : She's no bird!

  Tania : Why? Birds are nice.

  Pépé le Moko : Sure, my turtledove!