A Pre-War Treasure: The Casbah as Imagined by a Decaying Eurocentrism

Wonderful performances by Lamarr and Boyer

Hedy Lamarr and Paul Henreid in The Conspirators (1944)

Clark Gable and Hedy Lamarr in Comrade X (1940)

Hedy Lamarr, Robert Taylor, and Joseph Schildkraut in Lady of the Tropics (1939)

Pedro Armendáriz, John Garfield, and Jennifer Jones in We Were Strangers (1949)

Donna Reed, Edward Arnold, and Ann Harding in Eyes in the Night (1942)

Hedy Lamarr and Walter Pidgeon in White Cargo (1942)

Sterling Hayden and Barbara Stanwyck in Crime of Passion (1956)

Charles Boyer and Greta Garbo in Conquest (1937)

Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr in Algiers (1938)

When one can't use guns, one must work with brains.

In your case, honest sir, such a preference is unavoidable.

Charles Boyer, Hedy Lamarr, and Sigrid Gurie in Algiers (1938)

Charles Boyer and Alan Hale in Algiers (1938)

Charles Boyer, Stanley Fields, and Gene Lockhart in Algiers (1938)

Charles Boyer, Hedy Lamarr, Joseph Calleia, and Joan Woodbury in Algiers (1938)

Charles Boyer and Joan Woodbury in Algiers (1938)

Charles Boyer, Alan Hale, and Stanley Fields in Algiers (1938)

Charles Boyer

Hedy Lamarr

Sigrid Gurie

John Howard Lawson

James M. Cain

Henri La Barthe

A wanted jewel thief ensconced in the Casbah meets a beautiful woman who makes him long for an escape.

John Cromwell

Algiers

Back in the Casbah

It was made just one year after Duvivier&apos;s classic ,which even Godard (Godard!)mentioned in his &quot;Pierrot LE Fou&quot;.Although I hate God&apos;Art about as much as I love Duvivier,I must admit that a film that can transcend the New Wavelet&apos;s contempt possesses something magic a la &quot;Casablanca&quot; .

I was skeptical about the lead:aristocratic Charles Boyer replacing plebeian Gabin?I was wrong :Boyer,who began his career in France after all ,was up to scratch.And I &apos;d go as far as to write that Hedy Lamarr is much more attractive than Mireille Balin in the original.

All that remains is faithful like a dog: except for the scene when an old singer (Frehel) bursting into tears when she hears one of her old recordings,all the important sequences were kept.Cromwell&apos;s directing is efficient ,although it never recaptures the intensity (and the director&apos;s pessimism) of its model ,is a good film one can recommend to people who cannot get &quot;Pepe Le Moko&quot; .

Objections: the scene of Pierrot &apos;s letter and the punishment of the informer is much too long and lacks suspense.Biggest gaffe is this ditty (&quot;C&apos;est La Vie&quot; ) which Boyer sings and which seems out of a musical :in what is primarily a film noir,it&apos;s thoroughly incongruous.

Many of the great lines of the French classic can be heard ,notably the famous &quot;I&apos;m an informer,I&apos;m not a hypocrite&quot;,and the Boyer/Lamarr pairing displays a special chemistry .The black and white makes a good use of shadows and lights.

If all the remakes were made with care like this one.....

Official Trailer

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZGVlNWYyNGYtODAzNS00YjgxLWIyZDAtNDQ4NGEzNDYzZTIzXkEyXkFqcGdeQXRyYW5zY29kZS13b3JrZmxvdw@@._V1_.jpg

It was made just one year after Duvivier's classic ,which even Godard (Godard!)mentioned in his "Pierrot LE Fou".Although I hate God'Art about as much as I love Duvivier,I must admit that a film that can transcend the New Wavelet's contempt possesses something magic a la "Casablanca" .

I was skeptical about the lead:aristocratic Charles Boyer replacing plebeian Gabin?I was wrong :Boyer,who began his career in France after all ,was up to scratch.And I 'd go as far as to write that Hedy Lamarr is much more attractive than Mireille Balin in the original.

All that remains is faithful like a dog: except for the scene when an old singer (Frehel) bursting into tears when she hears one of her old recordings,all the important sequences were kept.Cromwell's directing is efficient ,although it never recaptures the intensity (and the director's pessimism) of its model ,is a good film one can recommend to people who cannot get "Pepe Le Moko" .

Objections: the scene of Pierrot 's letter and the punishment of the informer is much too long and lacks suspense.Biggest gaffe is this ditty ("C'est La Vie" ) which Boyer sings and which seems out of a musical :in what is primarily a film noir,it's thoroughly incongruous.

Many of the great lines of the French classic can be heard ,notably the famous "I'm an informer,I'm not a hypocrite",and the Boyer/Lamarr pairing displays a special chemistry .The black and white makes a good use of shadows and lights.

If all the remakes were made with care like this one.....

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Algiers

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