Un'americana nella casbah

I've seen this film countless times on tv, usually in the 1 a.m. time slot. Am always fascinated by it somehow. There's such an authentic atmosphere of the locale, very suspicious characters, intrigue and suspense both indoors and on the streets.

The suave Charles Boyer (as Pepe, the thief) certainly grips one's attention while he becomes more mired in the plot as it unfolds. Hedy Lamarr lights up the screen with her glowing beauty, one forgets she's supposed to be acting, but is that important? Of course not. I can't imagine the story having her engaged to marry an elderly wide-girthed fellow; my goodness, for her anything's better than that! There's a youngish Leonid Kinskey also appearing as a supporting actor, along with reliable Alan Hale (formerly Robin Hood's buddy, more or less) and Gene Lockhart, whom I've never seen in such a serious role as this one.

It's a movie that stands the test of time.

Boyer doesn't actually say that, of course -- in fact, he never LEAVES the Casbah, so how could he -- but it's the general idea. I'm told this independently-produced Hollywood classic is almost a shot-for-shot remake of Duvivier's "Pepe Le Moko," from the previous year; I've never seen that one, but it's hard to believe Duvivier could have matched John Cromwell's fabulous production design, combining skillful backlot compositions with second-unit location projections, or the moody James Wong Howe photography, with the sweeping tracking shots capturing life in every corner.

The story may be no more than standard romantic hokum, but whether the filmmakers intended it or not, the movie has a wonderful existential melancholy, with Boyer's heavy eyelids viewing the world impassively, accepting his fate unquestioningly. Add to that a fine rogue's gallery of character actors (especially nice work from Gene Lockhart and Alan Hale), and you have brilliant Hollywood escapism. The judicious, sparing use of music (unusual in those Max Steiner days of underline-everything-with-a-melody) adds to the atmosphere. And it matters not a whit that Hedy Lamarr is not much of an actress here, or that every plot turn is utterly predictable.

This is a great movie well worth watching. The interaction between the leads, Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr, is nothing short of beautiful.

Other people have described the plot, the setting, and the great photography, so I will skip that. Some have written here that Algiers compares well to "Casablanca." I can't agree with that. This movie doesn't have the heroism, the larger than life situation, the love triangle. For that reason, I can't rate it more than 8 (while I rate Casablanca a 10+).

As has also been noted here, Algiers is a remake of the French movie "Pepe Le Moko". I have not seen that movie. I'm sure I will someday. Some people have written that the French movie is better, and that the lead actor there, Gabin, is more believable as a gangster. That may well be true; I will not argue it. It doesn't matter. Boyer is excellent here. His personna is completely believable to me, and, frankly, I don't much care how closely he matches authentic French gangsters. No wonder so may female movie fans fell in love with him!

The movie is made even more appealing by the secondary characters. Gene Lockart's informer is well acted. Joseph Calleia does a great job as the "native" detective who has easy access to the Casbah. Sigrid Gurie is great as the jealous courtesan. Alan Hale Sr. is great as the witty erudite criminal. The rough fellow who always says "OK" was fun. I also enjoyed the slim bodyguard dressed in white who never said anything; not sure which actor this is.

If there is a flaw, it is maybe an overall dearth of intensity. Maybe this is a question of evolving movie-making style, a difference of eras. I think we expect criminals these days to show a lot of anger, to hear a lot of nasty snarling dialogue. You aren't going to hear that in this movie.

And frankly I don't care because this is not a crime drama, it's a tragic love story. Which brings us to the main reason to see this movie. Hedy Lamarr.

What can I say? "Wow" is hardly sufficient. "Holy @#!&%" doesn't help much. Of all the beautiful actresses there have been, of all the kinds of beauty -- cute, girl-next-door, classic, sultry, innocent, exotic, hot, mysterious, haughty, bombshell, va-va-voom, ethereal -- Hedy Lamarr had the best. No she didn't have the sexiest body; she was actually a little thin. She wasn't the oh-so-appealing cute type like Meg Ryan, or the sexy bombshell like Marilyn Monroe, or the exotic Greta Garbo. This is pure human female beauty. And it's not just some portrait or statue. She speaks, she smiles, she moves. There are at least three scenes of conversations with Charles Boyer that I just can't watch often enough. By direction or not, she slightly underacts. It's been said that she really wasn't that good at acting. Could be; again, who cares? She communicates plenty to me.

So applaud it for the plot, the photography, the great secondary characters, the wonderful Charles Boyer. And drink a toast to Hedy Lamarr.

"Algiers" is director John Cromwell's remake of the French film, "Pepe Le Moko" which appeared only a year earlier. The Gallic flick starred Jean Gabin, then and now one of the truly great actors to emerge from that country. So Cromwell took a risk giving the lead role of jewel thief Pepe to young actor Charles Boyer. The risk paid off - and continues to do so as this fascinating prewar movie is readily available on budget-priced DVD.

Pepe is wanted in metropolitan France for stealing jewelry but not, apparently, for any crimes of violence. He's hunkered down in Algiers's famous "casbah," the native quarter whose name is evocative of mystery and, of course, sensuality. Pepe seems to be a sort of Great White Crime Boss in the native quarter where locals both protect and respect him. It's never clear how he ascended to that height.

Pepe has a beautiful lover, Ines, played by the truly gorgeous Sigrid Gurie. Legend has it that "Algiers" was to be the vehicle to propel this Scandanavian actress to wide fame but in reality her film career was rather short. The winner in this case, besides Boyer, was newcomer Hedy Lamar whose role as Gaby is central to Pepe's loss of control over his small world and, eventually, of himself.

Gaby arrives in Algiers engaged to a fat, vulgar borderline-loathsome older man who clearly regards her as a trophy bought and paid for. Why she needed this creep isn't clear. What is clear is her falling in love with Pepe who abandons the devoted and clinging Ines for this right-off-the-boat hothouse beauty.

A Parisian police official is in Algiers (Algeria, a French colony for those who don't know history) determined to collar Pepe. His forays into the casbah meet with no success and quiet derision from both the locals and some of the French police who understand that the casbah is honeycombed with escape routes and populated with folks eager to thwart the gendarmerie. A very interesting character is Inspector Slimane, Joseph Calleia. Amused by the foolish antics of his superior, Slimane knows the casbah and in his own way is determined to bring Pepe to justice. His mission isn't kept from Pepe and the two have a cordial relationship with the cop telling the crook that eventually he will be the cause of his own downfall.

Sarcastic, witty and observant, Slimane is an arresting character (pun intended). It's not clear if he's a native gone over to the police or a Frenchman who has jumped the reservation and found a more comfortable life straddling two cultures. There's something almost Russian in his outlook and words.

"Algiers" ends with a famous scene that while not at the level of the closing moments of "Casablanca" nonetheless rightfully shares pride of place with that all-time great movie.

Boyer is powerful in a role in which, through circumstances he could have controlled but didn't, he slides into a mortal abyss.

A must-see movie for anyone interested in prewar films that reflect an actually racist view of non-European life at once almost ridiculous but at the same time dramatically engaging.

And let's not forget yesterday's lunacies: Cromwell, a director with many films under his belt, was blacklisted through most of the 50s and his career never rebounded from that extra-legal punishment for non-crimes.

8/10

No, Charles Boyer never said, "Take me to the Casbah." That is just as false as "Play it again, Sam," a line from a film that will come to mind when watching this one.

Boyer (Conquest, Fanny, Gaslight) picked up his second Oscar nomination for this film. He plays a jewel thief that has found a haven in the Casbah in French Algiers. He has a hot girlfriend in Sigrid Gurie, but he sees Hedy Lamarr and it is all over. he falls head over heels and spends languid afternoon reminiscing about a Paris that he can never see again.

Director John Cromwell, who had his career ruined by McCarthy fascist in the 50s, did a very good job of presenting the excitement of the Casbah and the attempts by the French police to trap Boyer. He was ably assisted by the sets decorated by Alexander Toluboff (Stagecoach, Vogues of 1938) and the cinematography of James Wong Howe (The Rose Tattoo, Hud), who along with Toluboff received an Oscar nomination for this film, the first of ten in his career.

Just like Kong, it wasn't man, but beauty killed the beast. In this case, the beauty of Hedy Lamarr proved to be the death of Boyer in an ending that will again remind one of Casablanca.