| Algiers | |
|---|---|
1938 US Theatrical Poster |
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| Directed by | John Cromwell |
| Produced by | Walter Wanger |
| Written by | John Howard Lawson (screenplay) James M. Cain (additional dialogue) |
| Starring | Charles Boyer Sigrid Gurie Hedy Lamarr |
| Music by | Vincent Scotto Mohamed Ygerbuchen |
| Cinematography | James Wong Howe |
| Editing by | Otho Lovering William H. Reynolds |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | June 28, 1938 |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Algiers is a 1938 American drama film directed by John Cromwell and starring Charles Boyer, Sigrid Gurie, and Hedy Lamarr. 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. John Howard Lawson wrote the screenplay.
The film 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 Brothers film Casablanca 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 Brothers animated character, Pepe Le Pew. The movie is now in the public domain.[1]
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Pepe Le Moko (Charles 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 (Joseph 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 (Hedy Lamarr), who is visiting from France. His love for Gaby soon arouses the jealousy of Ines (Sigrid Gurie), Pepe's Algerian mistress.
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.
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 which was written specifically for Hedy Lamarr in the female lead role. However, MGM refused 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!"