Algiers (1938)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

John Cromwell

Writers:

Henri La Barthe (novel)
John Howard Lawson (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 August 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

You've Got A Date With Danger, A Rendezvous With Romance In The Glamorous, Mysterious Algiers . . Make A Date Now !

Plot:

Beautiful Gaby meets a romantic jewel thief in the mysterious Casbah.

Plot Keywords:

Thief | Casbah | Jealousy | Police | Escape

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars.

Cast

Charles Boyer	...	Pepe le Moko
Sigrid Gurie	...	Ines
Hedy Lamarr	...	Gaby
Joseph Calleia	...	Inpector Slimane
Alan Hale	...	Grandpere
Gene Lockhart	...	Regis
Walter Kingsford	...	Chef Inspector Louvain
Paul Harvey	...	Comissioner Janvier
Stanley Fields	...	Carlos
Johnny Downs	...	Pierrot
Charles D. Brown	...	Max
Robert Greig	...	Giraux
Leonid Kinskey	...	L'Arbi
Joan Woodbury	...	Aicha
Nina Koshetz	...	Tania (as Mme. Nina Koshetz)

Runtime:

96 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | USA:Unrated (DVD) | Canada:G (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #4331) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Algiers, Algeria

Company:

Walter Wanger Productions

Trivia:

The cast and credits are based on the 98-minute print shown on Turner Classic Movies, but the AFI Catalogue lists slightly different changes which suggest that their print may have been a re-release. In the AFI Catalogue listing, Sigrid Gurie's name is above the title with the rest of the cast list the same. The crew credits are identical, except that James Wong Howe is credited for "photography" instead of "director of photography." The latter terminology was rare in 1938, but not unheard of.

Quotes:

Pepe le Moko: You're beautiful. That's easy to say. I know that other people have told you. But what I'm telling you is different, see? For to me you're more than that.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Going Hollywood: The '30s (1984)

Soundtrack:

C'est la vie

Clouded by intrigue, aglow with ill-starred romance

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.