This semi-musical remake of "Pepe Le Moko" and the American remake "Algiers" focuses heavily on the obsession for Marta Toren by Casbah thief Pepe (played here by Tony Martin in one of his few real "acting" assignments) and makes the den of thieves and cut throats truly a claustrophobic prison for its hero. He's more than content (at first) to remain in this ghetto, that is until the exotic Toren shows up much to the chagrin of the sultry Yvonne DeCarlo, his long-time mistress who is instantly filled with fury. Algiers inspector Peter Lorre, a pal of LeMoko's in the Casbah, warns him never to leave, but love for Toren will open a Pandora's Box that leads to betrayal and eventually Martin's downfall.The songs barely last a minute each (if that) but two stand out-the Oscar Nominated "For Every Man There's a Woman" and the ensemble "Horray For Love!" which in the 1980's some ABC advertising executive approved for use as its daytime soap promotional music theme. There's also a rare film appearance of the legendary Katherine Dunham (as a café proprietor) and her dance troop which depicts an accurate view of the black population in Northern Africa and the Arab world.Compared to the first two excellent versions, a musical version seems unnecessary, but what has been produced is actually quite enjoyable. Then, there's the lovely DeCarlo, free from Salome's dance and Scherezade's song, getting to sing an embittered verse of "For Every Man There's a Woman" simply to harass the love-lorn Martin. This was long before she got to sing "I'm Still Here!" on Broadway in the original "Follies", and anybody who has heard the cast recording of "Follies" will agree that here she has not been dubbed like other future stars on Broadway (most notably Angela Lansbury) were in movies at this time. DeCarlo is excellent in her cynicism, trying to hide her love for Martin but showing definite heartbreak in her eyes. Lorre is excellent as the law enforcement officer who is actually on LeMoko's side but knows ultimately he'll have no choice but to place Martin under arrest. Toren is lovely but bland, but Martin shows more depth in his character than you'd expect from him.

Pepe le Moko (Tony Martin) is wanted by the French and local police in Algeria where he has his hideout in the Casbah. However in order to get him, the police have to infiltrate the Casbah to bring him in. Casbah is the Algerian word for fortress and that is the problem that the police have. They have 2 approaches - Louvain (Thomas Gomez) takes a direct route by storming in and arresting him - this fails as it has on every occasion before - because everyone in the Casbah is on Pepe's side and he always escapes. Slimane (Peter Lorre) from the local police is more streetwise and befriends Pepe while maintaining that he will one day arrest him. The 2 opposite thinking inspectors need to collude to bring him out of the Casbah in order to make the arrest. They do this by sending an old prison-friend Carlo (Douglas Dick) to betray him and lure him out with a love interest Gaby (Marta Toren).Yvonne de Carlo who plays Inez, Pepe's girlfriend, is my favourite of the cast with Peter Lorre and Thomas Gomaz also standing out. Yvonne de Carlo also manages to pull off singing her song and turns it into one of the memorable scenes as she mocks Pepe's behaviour in it. The other moments of singing are not necessary with Tony Martin bursting randomly into song and providing moments of hilarity as he does so - "Oh no - he's singing again. What for?" This film has a great setting and it's a shame that the two lead women did not have a scene together where they could confront each other. There is some crazy chicken-killing voodoo ritual dancing that is also thrown into the mix and despite the ending being utterly unconvincing, this is an enjoyable film.

When Tony Martin was discharged from the Navy he was looking for a vehicle that would reestablish him as a top musical lead in Hollywood and decided that a musical adaption of Algiers was just the ticket. He gathered a good supporting cast and the results, while entertaining were a mixed bag.The best thing that Casbah had going for it was the great musical score that Harold Arlen and Leo Robin wrote for this picture. Four numbers were sung by Martin and co-star Yvonne DeCarlo. Every one of them became a big hit and were a staple of Tony Martin's nightclub act for years. Hooray for Love, What's Good About Goodbye, For Every Man There's A Woman, and It Was Written in the Stars are the songs that Martin does. The last one was identified by Ella Fitzgerald as her favorite Harold Arlen tune and one she insisted on including in her Harold Arlen songbook album. The score greatly benefited Tony Martin's singing career, but he never did reach the heights on screen as a musical leading man. Acting wise Peter Lorre steals the show as the wily, serpentine Inspector Slimane. Lorre's Slimane is charming, cunning, and treacherous as he uses all of his "little gray cells" to bring down arch criminal Pepe Le Moko, played by Martin who is unassailable in the Casbah section of Algiers.Yvonne DeCarlo is the tobacco shop owner who's crushing out on Martin and I'm sure that given the location of the story, one could probably get more than tobacco to smoke from her place. The other lead is the jet setting Marta Toren who Martin is panting after and forces him to make a life or death decision. Toren was extraordinarily beautiful woman in the Hedy Lamarr tradition who after a short stay in Hollywood went back to Europe and died there way too young of leukemia in 1957.If you are a fan of Tony Martin's singing as I am, this is an absolute must. Martin had not yet met and married Cyd Charisse who became wife number two. I think the film might really have been a classic had she done it with Tony. As it is she never did anything together while she was at MGM with her husband and we're the worst for it.

This strange little item is a remake of the 1938 film "Algiers" which starred Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr, which itself was a remake of a French film of the previous year, called "Pepe LeMoko." The 1938 version made stars of Boyer and Lamarr; Tony Martin (who was married to dancer Cyd Charisse) and Marta Toren were not so lucky. Both were physically attractive enough but lacked the panache and charisma to capture the movie going public's loyalty. DeCarlo held her own in the film in a secondary role in a period when Universal was trying to figure out what to do with her -- the camp era was over -- no more "Salome" or "Sheherazade" for her. She did some fine work in film noir during this time -- "Brute Force" and "Criss Cross" in particular. (If you look real close at the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe -- you might spot a young dancer named Eartha Kitt who made quite a name for herself a bit later, as a singer.)