Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Maidgethma Wonderfully offbeat film!

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

iamyuno2 Reminiscent of - and perhaps a precursor to - Casablanca, this pre-Casablanca movie has all of the atmosphere of the later film it might have inspired for all I know, and a great story line and cast of actors to boot. While it doesn't quite rise to the greatness of Casablanca, it is a fine film in its own right, and a must-see film, for many reasons, not to mention the fine performance put in by Charles Boyer (perhaps his best film next to Gaslight and Love Affair - two other must- see films). With the darkness almost of a film noire movie, you can almost smell the exotic spices undoubtedly wafting down the cramped streets of Algiers' worst neighborhoods as the incredibly taught action plays out. A nail-biter as well as a tragic romance, you won't be disappointed!

sddavis63 Pepe le Moko, played by Charles Boyer, is some sort of international criminal mastermind wanted in countries throughout Europe, and to stay free he holes himself up in the Casbah, a mysterious part of Algiers where even the police are reluctant to go, until a senior officer is sent from Paris to capture le Moko once and for all. For le Moko, although the Casbah allows him to remain out of police custody, it also becomes a sort of prison at the same time - a place he can't leave, because the moment he does, he knows he'll be arrested.Boyer's performance was good, and I can understand why he was nominated for an Oscar. He captures the essence of such a character - a perfect combination of very dangerous and yet very classy at the same time. The movie itself, unfortunately, was quite a letdown. A number of parts of the story seemed inconsistent, of which I'll mention two. First was the idea that the police wouldn't enter the Casbah. That was stated pretty clearly at the beginning of the film by the local commander, and yet repeated references in the movie suggest that in fact the police did enter the Casbah fairly regularly. So, neither the suggestion by Commissioner Janvier that the police wouldn't enter, nor the statement by Inspector Slimane (also a decent performance by Joseph Calleia) that they could get into the Casbah but not out seemed to make much sense. I also found it difficult to believe that le Moko - hardened criminal mastermind that he was - could be so quickly swept off his feet by Gaby (Hedy Lamarr) to the point where he entertains the local populace by singing love songs and then leaves the Casbah to find her, essentially giving himself up. I understand the irony of the final few scenes, of course, as Pepe leaves the freedom of his prison (the Casbah) only to find real freedom in his capture (because he's shot and killed by the police.) I just found it impossible to believe that someone like le Moko would fall into such a trap.This is worth watching for Boyer, and to a lesser extent Calleia, but the story is disappointing and inconsistent. 3/10

writers_reign After reading several of the comments on this one my immediate reaction was they've got to be kidding; to give them a break it appears that most of them hadn't seen the great Duvivier movie Pepe Le Moko which was released the previous year. We tend to think of Hollywood retreads of French Classics as something comparatively new but they were at it seventy years ago and they've yet to equal let alone eclipse even one French original. Adding insult to injury the credits nowhere mention that this in fact is virtually a scene-for- scene, shot-for-shot remake with the odd minor change here and there - like the ending and omit all mention of the great Henri Jeanson who supplied the dialogue for the original classic. The only thing that Charles Boyer and Jean Gabin had in common was that both were French; Gabin was, at times, a cross between Bogie and Cagney whilst Boyer is a cross between a second-rate baritone and Narcissus. Okay, it's well shot and some of the support is out of the right bottle but all of that applies to the original plus, of course, the definitive Pepe in Gabin. Like the man said, if it ain't broke ...

Jem Odewahn Cromwell's ALGIERS is basically a shot-by-shot English language remake of the French film PEPE LE MOKO (1937). This is not to say it is an unworthy remake- quite the contrary. With the smoldering Charles Boyer (nominated for Best Actor) as the French-born criminal hiding out in the depths of the Casbah, and the stunningly beautiful Hedy Lamarr as the engaged French tourist who he falls for, ALGIERS is extremely worthwhile viewing. Cromwell's capable and creative direction, impressive production and set detailing and the smoky black-and-white atmosphere photographed by stalwart James Wong Howe all make ALGIERS a fine film. It obviously influenced Curtiz's much-lauded CASABLANCA with it's depiction of the crowded, bustling exotic Casbah.The film hangs on the premise of career criminal Boyer allowing himself to fall for a woman, placing him in danger as he dares to venture out of the confining, yet safe, Casbah in a moment of passionate madness. Lamarr, in supreme close-up represents everything that the homesick Boyer longs for. His initial interest in her is for her jewelery, yet in a series of stunning, stunning shots he instead focuses on Hedy's tantalizing mouth instead of the sparkling jewels dripping off her wrists. Cromwell films the romance in forbidden snatches, with Boyer and Lamarr heating up the screen in their roles. In the film's most erotic moments Boyer, endlessly reminded of his longed-for homeland by Lamarr, likens the sound of her heartbeat to a subway train and the smell of her dark hair to the underground.Boyer becomes an intensely tragic figure as the film progresses, with his final scene (the film's finest) extremely memorable and oft-imitated. Boyer, lured out of "ze Casbah" by his passion, finds a sad, departing (endlessly beautiful) Lamarr staring out at the Moroccan shoreline from her ship. Boyer, handcuffed, screams out her name, running towards her, rattling on the gates that bar him. He is shot and killed, yet in the end is "free". Wonderfully presented.