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)

Surprisingly good remake of Pepe Le Moko with crooner Tony Martin giving a good account of himself as the cool, ultra-popular master criminal who enjoys a spurious life of liberty in the maze-like Casbah. Journeyman director John Berry does a good job of creating a sultry, claustrophobic atmosphere, and while the songs are largely unnecessary they don't really slow things down too much.

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.)

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."

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.