Main Cast: Jean Gabin, Mireille Balin, Line Noro, Lucas Gridoux, Gabriel Gabrio
Release Year: 1937
Country: FR
Run Time: 87 minutes
Plot
Pepe le Moko (Jean Gabin) is a well-known criminal mastermind who eludes the French police by hiding in the Casbah section of Algiers. He knows he is safe in this labyrinthine netherworld, where he is surrounded by his fellow thieves and cutthroats. Police inspector Slimane (Lucas Gridoux), who has developed a grudging respect for Pepe, bides his time, waiting for Pepe to try to leave the Casbah. When Gaby Gould (Mirielle Balin), a Parisian tourist, falls in love with Pepe, the inspector hopes to use this relationship to his advantage. He tells Gaby that Pepe has been killed, knowing that the heartbroken girl will return to Paris -- and that Pepe will risk everything to go after her. The French Pepe le Moko was remade in the US as Algiers, which followed the original so slavishly (except for changing its ending) that the American producers were able to utilize generous amounts of stock footage from the French film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Pépé le Moko is among the most influential films of the 20th century, a precursor of both 1940s film noir and late 1940s neo-realism. The film quickly generated international acclaim, and it was responsible for director Julien Duvivier's leaving Europe to make films in Hollywood. The film's greatest strengths are its atmospheric visual richness and strong lead performances from Jean Gabin and Mireille Balin. There have been several remakes, though the film's influence has been much wider than that. The setting, ambience, and some of the characters of Casablanca, for example, owe much to Pepe Le Moko, as do numerous English-language crime films. Duvivier's work in Hollywood was of moderate success, as were his later European films, but Pépé le Moko represents the high point of his career. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
Saturnin Fabre - Grandfather; Fernand Charpin - Regis; Marcel Dalio - L'Abri; Gaston Modot - Jimmy; Gilbert Gil - Pierrot; René Bergeron - Inspector Meunier; Renee Carl - Mother Tarte; Frehel - Tania; Charles Granval - Maxime Kleep; Robert Ozanne - Gendron; Georges Péclet - Barsac; Phillipe Richard - Inspector Janvier; Jean Temerson - Gravere; Frank Maurice - An Inspector; Roger Legris - Max
Credit
Julien Duvivier - Director, Marguerite Beauge - Editor, Vincent Scotto - Composer (Music Score), Mohamed Yguerbouchen - Composer (Music Score), Jacque Krauss - Production Designer, Jules Kruger - Cinematographer, Marc Fossard - Cinematographer, Raymond Hakim - Producer, Robert Hakim - Producer, Robert Vernay - Set Designer, Julien Duvivier - Screenwriter, Henri Jeanson - Screenwriter, Roger D'Ashelbe - Screenwriter, Jacques Costant - Screenwriter, Roger D'Ashelbe - Book Author, M. Ashelbe - Book Author
The film is based on Henri La Barthe's novel of the same name; La Barthe contributed to the screenplay under the pseudonym 'Détective Ashelbé'.
Pépé le Moko is an example of the 1930s French movement known as poetic realism, which combines gritty realism with occasional flashes of unusual cinematic tricks. The film is often seen as an early precursor of film noir.
English author Graham Greene in a review of the film stated "One of the most exciting and moving films I can remember seeing... Raises the thriller to a poetic level!" According to a BBC documentary, it served as inspiration for Greene's acclaimed novel, The Third Man.
Morrissey uses excerpts of the film in the song You Were Good in Your Time on his 2009 album Years of Refusal.
