Algiers (1938)

Algiers
Directed by Clarence Brown
Written by John Howard Lawson and James M. Cain based on the novel by Henri La Barthe
1938/USA
Walter Wanger Productions
Repeat viewing; YouTube

[box] Gaby: If I can’t see Paris when I open my eyes in the morning, I want to go right back to sleep.[/box]

This remake of Pepe Le Moko does not hold a candle to the original.

This film is virtually a shot-for-shot remake of Pepe Le Moko (1937).  Only the ending has been slightly changed.  Briefly, Pepe Le Moko (Charles Boyer) is a notorious jewel thief who is hiding out in the Casbah of Algiers where he is surrounded by local friends and impossible to apprehend.  Inspector Slimane (Joseph Calleia) is biding his time, knowing that Pepe will eventually crack.  To speed the process along, Slimane introduces Pepe to Gaby (Hedy Lamarr), who suddenly makes him very homesick for Paris.  With Alan Hale as a fence and Gene Lockhart as an informant.

It is eerie how much this film looks like the original.  Key scenes are staged exactly the same.  However, Charles Boyer is no Jean Gabin and cannot convey his sense of longing and frustration.  In addition, acting was not Hedy Lamarr’s forte.  Walter Wanger attempted to destroy all copies of Pepe Le Moko at the time this was made.  Fortunately for us, he was not able to do so.

Algiers was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor (Boyer), Best Supporting Actor (Lockhart), Best Cinematography (James Wong Howe), and Best Art Direction (Alexander Toluboff).

Clip – Boyer and Lamarr