Casbah

I was 15 when I first saw this film. Tony Martin played Pepe le Moko. I wanted to be like him. Because when you're 15 you think of how lucky you must be to play opposite beautiful girls such as Yvonne De Carlo and Marta Toren. These three actor/actresses had much more talent than they were given credit for. Tony seems cast perfectly as the gangster, yet no director gave him another chance in that type of roll. Unfortunately the gorgeous Marta Toren died several years later. But Yvonne carried on, appearing in other good films and the Munsters TV series. I hear she is now living in California. Good luck to her. Thanks for the memories (especially Casbah)

I've watched this movie many, many times and I truly love it. Tony Martin, as Pepe LeMoko, plays a suave, fascinating and very sexy jewel thief who is wanted by the police but is protected by everyone in the Casbah to the point that they will not let the police arrest Pepe and remove him from its confines. Marta Toren, in the role of Gaby, is a very beautiful, classy and mysterious lady visiting the Casbah who meets Pepe. Pepe finds her so extremely different from anyone he has ever met in the Casbah and she also finds him fascinating (what women wouldn't?). It's easy to see how they become attracted to each other and the sparks start flying. Yvonne DeCarlo plays Inez, Pepe's long-time girlfriend who tries to break up Pepe and his new interest. The supporting cast, including Peter Lorre and Thomas Gomez, are well-cast and believable in their roles.

The music is wonderful and Tony Martin's voice is too. It's truly one of my favorite movies of that era.

If you don't recall seeing this featured in any of the "That's Entertainment" anthologies, it's because this black-and-white postwar romance with songs is considerably darker and more sophisticated than the usual Hollywood musical. A considerable improvement over the 1938 Americanization of "Pepe Le Moko," the logy Charles Boyer vehicle "Algiers," this not only integrates a few well-chosen musical numbers featuring Martin, Yvonne de Carlo and the Katherine Dunham Dancers into the old story, but adds a refreshing note of humor and playfulness. Martin isn't bad at all as the surly, sexy gangster Pepe, who was always one-dimensional anyway. Peter Lorre is the dream Slimane that he should have played ten years earlier in the Boyer film (though Lorre's often credited as being in "Algiers," it was actually Joseph Calleia who played Slimane in that film), and Marta Toren's bittersweet siren is seductively reminiscent of Valli in "The Third Man."

Pepe Le Moko is a great film role. Jean Gabin introduced the character to screen in the same named French Flick in 1937.

Charles Boyer brought the moody mobster to Hollywood's ALGIERS in 1938.

But in 1948, Tony Martin and director John Berry collaborated to create the most dramatic and entertaining version of the downfall of the exiled jewel thief in CASBAH.

Casbah is a film very alive with energy, style, suspense and romance. Brilliant casting; Tony Martin plays the suave thief with easy conviction and delivers the Harold Arlen songs skill, charm and gusto.

Marta Toren was arguably the most beautiful woman in films, prior to the arrival of Audrey Hepburn.

Peter Lorre...I can't believe how powerful his complex performance is as the dedicated policeman, committed to the capture of the thief who became also his friend.

Yvonne De Carlo, Douglas Dick, Katherine Dunham, acting, singing, dancing, love, passion, treachery...where is this great film on DVD? John Berry and Jules Dassin were contemporary artists and spirits. Their films even show a similarity of style and influence, possibly each upon the other.

They were also fingered as American Pinko Fellow Travelers right about this time and both moved to England. Dassin prevailed and prospered, probably with some initial support from Darryl F. Zanuck. Berry also prevailed, but without achieving anything like Dassin's level of success or recognition. Still, CASBAH, for my money is, value for value, the most under-acknowledged film out of Hollywood.

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.