Down along the shadowy, labyrinthine alleyways of the Casbah, a notorious bastion in French Algiers that harbors criminals, the viewer is introduced to a remarkable thief and lover, Pepe Le Moko (the charismatic Boyer, a reigning screen sex symbol in 1938). Wanted for stealing jewels,
Boyer has fled pursuing Parisian police and taken refuge in the Casbah. Calleia is the crafty French detective who plays a waiting game, watching for the moment the wanted man will step from the Casbah into the arms of his officers. Boyer grows restless, longing for the grand life of Paris,
resenting the mooning woman who is devoted to him (Gurie). Lamarr, a dazzling Parisian tourist slumming among criminals, walks into his life and, even though she is engaged, invents excuses to slip back into the Casbah to meet Boyer. The film follows Boyer's and Lamarr's involvement to its
fatalistic conclusion, and their love scenes are definitive examples of smoldering continental passion.
Lamarr's role made her an international star, though she subsequently failed to live up to the promise of her debut. Strong supporting performances are contributed by Calleia and Lockhart, the latter's portrayal of an informer garnering him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Director
Cromwell reshot this movie almost scene-for-scene from the earlier French version, PEPE LE MOKO, directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Jean Gabin. The film was remade in 1948 as CASBAH with Tony Martin and Yvonne De Carlo. Oddly enough, the expression "Come wiz me to the Casbah" was never
uttered onscreen in ALGIERS. leave a comment
