Algiers (1938) was directed by John Cromwell. It stars Charles Boyer as Pepe le Moko, a famed Parisian jewel thief, who now lives in the Casbah with his gang. He's safe in the native quarter, because it's full of alleys and passageways, and the population admires and protects him.Pepe has a lover, Ines, played by the lovely Sigrid Gurie. A police inspector, Slimane, considers Pepe his friend. However, as he tells Pepe, he'll arrest him some day.The situation is stable until a beautiful young French woman named Gaby, played by Hedy Lamarr, enters the Casbah and Pepe's life. Gaby is a kept woman, and is soon to be a rich man's trophy wife. She is beautiful as only Lamarr could be beautiful.We know Pepe will fall in love with her, and we know he will leave Ines for Gaby, but we don't know what will happen after that. (Well, we sort of know, but we're not supposed to know.)Boyer and Lamarr are ideal for their parts. However, I was equally impressed by Joseph Calleia as Slimane. He is a man who lives in both worlds--the Casbah and the police headquarters. He fits in in both worlds, but he's not fully trusted in either one.In the 21st Century, this movie is definitely dated. For example, it was completed at a time when the fact that one of the gangsters beats his wife is taken as a matter of course. (Some things have improved in the last 75 years.)However, as melodrama, Algiers is definitely a success. Boyer and Lamarr have the right chemistry, and the plot, if predictable, will still hold your attention.We saw the movie on DVD, where it worked very well. If you can't find it in a revival theater, see it on the small screen. You'll enjoy the film and you'll be glad you watched it.P.S. Boyer never says, "Come with me to the Casbah." In fact, Pepe is tired of the Casbah, and would rather be in Paris. Still, the quotation has a life of its own, and gives us a sense of how popular the film must have been in its day.

The exotic locale and mysterious characters invite the inevitable comparison to "Casablanca", though my reading of other reviews on this board would suggest that the more appropriate comparison to Bogart's film would be the French original, "Pepe le Moko". Since I haven't seen that one (at least yet), I'll have to confine my comments strictly to "Algiers".To my mind, the picture doesn't approach the all around sense of romantic intrigue offered by Bogey and Bergman, but in the interest of full disclosure, "Casablanca" is my favorite film of all time, so one could say I have some bias. Leonid Kinskey is but the thinnest of threads between the pictures, having appeared in both, and it's interesting how similar his mannerisms and affectations are here even though he's portraying an Arab. The film probably could have used more signature character types like Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Claude Rains, because even though Pepe's goons seemed a rugged bunch, they just didn't appear charismatic enough for the Casbah, 'a melting pot for all the sins of the Earth'. I guess since I've seen Alan Hale and Gene Lockhart in so many other pictures, I couldn't shake the idea that they were just terribly miscast here.As for the ladies, Hedy Lamarr always succeeds in creating romantic tension in her films, but for my money (at least in this picture), Pepe needed to have his head examined for turning his back on Sigrid Gurie's Ines. I'm pretty sure 'smokin' hot' was never used to describe an actress in the Thirties, but it's the 2010's now, and that's how I see it. I get the whole business about Pepe feeling trapped for two years in the Casbah, and feeling lucky enough to make a break for it, but it didn't seem so bad that Ines was around to offer a shoulder and whatever else to ease the boredom.Anyway, I'll be putting in my request at the local library for a copy of "Pepe le Moko" to compare and contrast as other reviewers have done. On balance though, "Algiers" has it's merits as an intriguing story with an exotic flair. Given the finale, one is led to consider that if Mister Rick and Ilsa Lund would always have Paris, the story of Pepe and Gaby leads one to ask what might have been.

Pepe le Moko, played by Charles Boyer, is some sort of international criminal mastermind wanted in countries throughout Europe, and to stay free he holes himself up in the Casbah, a mysterious part of Algiers where even the police are reluctant to go, until a senior officer is sent from Paris to capture le Moko once and for all. For le Moko, although the Casbah allows him to remain out of police custody, it also becomes a sort of prison at the same time - a place he can't leave, because the moment he does, he knows he'll be arrested.Boyer's performance was good, and I can understand why he was nominated for an Oscar. He captures the essence of such a character - a perfect combination of very dangerous and yet very classy at the same time. The movie itself, unfortunately, was quite a letdown. A number of parts of the story seemed inconsistent, of which I'll mention two. First was the idea that the police wouldn't enter the Casbah. That was stated pretty clearly at the beginning of the film by the local commander, and yet repeated references in the movie suggest that in fact the police did enter the Casbah fairly regularly. So, neither the suggestion by Commissioner Janvier that the police wouldn't enter, nor the statement by Inspector Slimane (also a decent performance by Joseph Calleia) that they could get into the Casbah but not out seemed to make much sense. I also found it difficult to believe that le Moko - hardened criminal mastermind that he was - could be so quickly swept off his feet by Gaby (Hedy Lamarr) to the point where he entertains the local populace by singing love songs and then leaves the Casbah to find her, essentially giving himself up. I understand the irony of the final few scenes, of course, as Pepe leaves the freedom of his prison (the Casbah) only to find real freedom in his capture (because he's shot and killed by the police.) I just found it impossible to believe that someone like le Moko would fall into such a trap.This is worth watching for Boyer, and to a lesser extent Calleia, but the story is disappointing and inconsistent. 3/10

Cromwell's ALGIERS is basically a shot-by-shot English language remake of the French film PEPE LE MOKO (1937). This is not to say it is an unworthy remake- quite the contrary. With the smoldering Charles Boyer (nominated for Best Actor) as the French-born criminal hiding out in the depths of the Casbah, and the stunningly beautiful Hedy Lamarr as the engaged French tourist who he falls for, ALGIERS is extremely worthwhile viewing. Cromwell's capable and creative direction, impressive production and set detailing and the smoky black-and-white atmosphere photographed by stalwart James Wong Howe all make ALGIERS a fine film. It obviously influenced Curtiz's much-lauded CASABLANCA with it's depiction of the crowded, bustling exotic Casbah.The film hangs on the premise of career criminal Boyer allowing himself to fall for a woman, placing him in danger as he dares to venture out of the confining, yet safe, Casbah in a moment of passionate madness. Lamarr, in supreme close-up represents everything that the homesick Boyer longs for. His initial interest in her is for her jewelery, yet in a series of stunning, stunning shots he instead focuses on Hedy's tantalizing mouth instead of the sparkling jewels dripping off her wrists. Cromwell films the romance in forbidden snatches, with Boyer and Lamarr heating up the screen in their roles. In the film's most erotic moments Boyer, endlessly reminded of his longed-for homeland by Lamarr, likens the sound of her heartbeat to a subway train and the smell of her dark hair to the underground.Boyer becomes an intensely tragic figure as the film progresses, with his final scene (the film's finest) extremely memorable and oft-imitated. Boyer, lured out of "ze Casbah" by his passion, finds a sad, departing (endlessly beautiful) Lamarr staring out at the Moroccan shoreline from her ship. Boyer, handcuffed, screams out her name, running towards her, rattling on the gates that bar him. He is shot and killed, yet in the end is "free". Wonderfully presented.