Algiers is a 1938 American drama film directed by John Cromwell (director) and starring Charles Boyer, Sigrid Gurie, and Hedy Lamarr.< name="tcm"></> Written by John Howard Lawson, the film is about a notorious French jewel thief hiding in the labyrinthine native quarter of Algiers known as the Casbah. Feeling imprisoned by his self-imposed exile, he is drawn out of hiding by a beautiful French tourist who reminds him of happier times in Paris. The Walter Wanger production was a remake of the successful 1937 French film
Pépé le Moko, which derived its plot from the Henri La Barthe novel of the same name.< name="afi"></>
Algiers was a sensation because it was the first Hollywood film starring Hedy Lamarr, whose stunning beauty became the main feature for film audiences. The film is notable as one of the sources of inspiration to the screenwriters of the 1942 Warner Bros. film
Casablanca (film) who wrote it with Hedy Lamarr in mind as the original female lead. According to the Turner Classic Movie channel, Charles Boyer's depiction of the main character, Pepe Le Moko, was the inspiration for the Warner Bros. animated character, Pepe Le Pew. In 1966, the film entered the List of films in the public domain in the United States due to the claimants failure to renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.<></>
Plot
Pepe Le Moko (Boyer) is a notorious thief, who escaped from France after his last great heist to Algeria. Since his escape, Moko became a resident and leader of the immense Casbah, or "native quarter," of Algiers. French officials arrive insisting on Pepe's capture are met with unfazed local detectives, led by Inspector Slimane (Calleia), who are biding their time. Meanwhile, Pepe begins to feel increasingly trapped in his prison-like stronghold, a feeling which intensifies after meeting the beautiful Gaby (Lamarr), who is visiting from France. His love for Gaby soon arouses the jealousy of Ines (Gurie), Pepe's Algerian mistress.
Cast
- Charles Boyer as Pepe le Moko
- Sigrid Gurie as Ines
- Hedy Lamarr as Gaby
- Joseph Calleia as Inspector Slimane
- Alan Hale, Sr. as Grandpere
- Gene Lockhart as Regis
- Walter Kingsford as Chef Inspector Louvain
- Paul Harvey (actor) as Commissioner Janvier
- Stanley Fields (actor) as Carlos
- Johnny Downs as Pierrot
- Charles D. Brown as Max
- Robert Greig as Giraux
- Leonid Kinskey as L'Arbi
- Joan Woodbury as Aicha
- Nina Koshetz as Tania
Reception
The film earned a profit of $150,466.< name="wagner"/>
=Academy Awards=
- Academy Award for Best Actor (nomination) – Charles Boyer
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (nomination) – Gene Lockhart
- Academy Award for Best Art Direction (nomination) – Alexander Toluboff
- Academy Award for Best Cinematography (nomination) – James Wong Howe
Radio adaptation
Algiers was dramatized as an hour-long radio play on two broadcasts of Lux Radio Theater, first on July 7, 1941 with Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr, second on December 14, 1942 with Boyer and Loretta Young.
In popular culture
The 1938 movie
Algiers was most Americans' introduction to the picturesque alleys and souks of the Casbah. It was also the inspiration for the 1942 Warner Brothers movie
Casablanca (film) which was written specifically for Hedy Lamarr in the female lead role. However, MGM used to release Hedy Lamarr despite all efforts by Warner Brothers.
The invitation "Come with me to the Casbah," which was heard in trailers for
Algiers but not in the film itself, became an exaggerated romantic overture promising exoticism and mystery, largely owing to its use by
Looney Tunes cartoon character Pepé Le Pew, himself a spoof of Pépé le Moko. The amorous skunk used "Come with me to ze Casbah" as a pickup line. In 1954, the
Looney Tunes cartoon
The Cats Bah specifically spoofed
Algiers, with the skunk enthusiastically declaring to Penelope the Cat, "Do not come with me to ze Casbah...We shall make beautiful musics [sic] togezzer right 'ere!"
See also
- Casbah (film) (1946)
- The Battle of Algiers (1966)
- List of American films of 1938
- List of films in the public domain
Category:1938 films
Category:Films directed by John Cromwell
Category:English-language films
Category:American films
Category:1930s romantic drama films
Category:Gangster films
Category:Black-and-white films
Category:American remakes of French films
Category:Films set in Algiers
Category:Films shot in Algeria
Category:United Artists films