Themes: Cons and Scams, Dangerous Attraction, Self-Destructive Romance
Main Cast: Charles Boyer, Hedy Lamarr, Sigrid Gurie, Joseph Calleia, Gene Lockhart
Release Year: 1938
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
Plot
This Hollywood remake of the French Pepe le Moko adheres so slavishly to its source that it utilizes stock footage from the original film, and even picked its actors on the basis of their resemblance to the French cast. Contrary to legend, star Charles Boyer never says "Come wizz me to zee Casbah"; as master criminal Pepe le Moko, he's already in the Casbah, a crook-controlled safe harbor which protects Pepe from the French authorities. Pepe's friendly enemy, police inspector Joseph Calleia, treats his pursuit of Pepe like a chess game, patiently waiting for his opponent to make that one wrong move. The ever-careful Pepe has the misfortune to fall hopelessly in love with tourist Hedy Lamarr (in her first American film). A combination of events, including the betrayal of Pepe by his castaway lover Sigrid Gurie and Hedy's tearful return to her ship when she is misinformed that Pepe is killed, lures the hero/villain into the open. Arrested by Calleia, Pepe begs for one last glance at his departing sweetheart. At this point in the French version, Pepe cheated the hangman by killing himself; this would never do in Production Code-dominated Hollywood, so Algiers contrives to have Pepe shot while trying to escape. Algiers was remade in 1948 as a musical, Casbah, starring Tony Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Algiers is a 1938 film directed by John Cromwell and starring Charles Boyer, Sigrid Gurie, and Hedy Lamarr. The Walter Wanger production was a remake of the successful 1937French film Pépé le Moko, which derived its plot from the Henri La Barthe novel of the same name. John Howard Lawson wrote the screenplay. The movie was a sensation because it was the first Hollywood film starring Hedy Lamarr whose stunning beauty became the main feature for moviegoers. The film is notable as one of the sources of inspiration to the screenwriters of the 1942Warner Brothers film Casablanca who wrote it with Hedy Lamarr in mind as the original female lead. According to the Turner Classic Movie channel, Charles Boyer's depiction of the main character, Pepe Le Moko, was the inspiration for the Warner Brothers animated character, Pepe Le Pew. it is now in the public domain.
Pepe Le Moko (Charles Boyer) is a notorious thief, who escaped from France after his last great heist to Algeria. Since his escape, Moko became a resident and leader of the immense Casbah, or "native quarter," of Algiers. French officials arrive insisting on Pepe's capture are met with unfazed local detectives, led by Inspector Slimane (Joseph Calleia), who are biding their time. Meanwhile, Pepe begins to feel increasingly trapped in his prison-like stronghold, a feeling which intensifies after meeting the beautiful Gaby (Hedy Lamarr), who is visiting from France. His love for Gaby soon arouses the jealousy of Ines (Sigrid Gurie), Pepe's Algerian mistress.
The 1938 movie Algiers was most Americans' introduction to the picturesque alleys and souks of the Casbah. It was also the inspiration for the 1942 Warner Brothers movie Casablanca which was written specifically for Hedy Lamarr in the female lead role. However, MGM refused to release Hedy Lamarr despite all efforts by Warner Brothers.
The invitation "Come with me to the Casbah," which was heard in trailers for Algiers but not in the film itself, became an exaggerated romantic overture promising exoticism and mystery, largely owing to its use by Looney Tunes cartoon character Pepé Le Pew, himself a spoof of Pépé le Moko. The amorous skunk used "Come with me to ze Casbah" as a pickup line. In 1954, the Looney Tunes cartoon The Cats Bah specifically spoofed Algiers, with the skunk enthusiastically declaring to Penelope the Cat, "Do not come with me to ze Casbah...We shall make beautiful musics [sic] togezzer right 'ere!"
