Algiers (film)

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Movie
Original title Algiers
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1938
length 96 minutes
Rod
Director John Cromwell
script John Howard Lawson ,
James M. Cain
production Walter Wanger
music Vincent Scotto ,
Mohamed Ygerbuchen
camera James Wong Howe
cut Otho Lovering ,
William H. Reynolds
occupation

Algiers is an American film drama by director John Cromwell with Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr from 1938. The literary model was the novel Pépé le Moko by Henri La Barthe , which was published in 1936 in France with Jean Gabin under the title Pépé le Moko - Was filmed in the darkness of Algiers .

action

Pépé le Moko is the most notorious jewel thief in Algiers . He has been able to avoid prison again and again because the local police are unable to arrest him in the Casbah, the old labyrinthine center of the city. However, French commissioner Janvier, who is in contact with the government in Paris , is determined to capture Pépé with the help of local inspector Slimane.

Meanwhile, Pépé is increasingly fed up with the game of hide-and-seek, especially when he falls in love with the beautiful French woman Gaby, who has come to Algiers as a tourist. Inspector Slimane wants to prevent Gaby from being drawn into the matter, which is why he tells her that Pépé was killed in a car chase. When Gaby wants to leave Algiers on a ship and Pépé leaves the casbah to rush to the port and meet Gaby, his jealous Algerian lover Ines betrays him to the authorities. Arrived at the port, Pépé is arrested by Slimane and his men. When Pépé tries to run to Gaby's ship and call her, he is shot by a police officer.

background

For this Hollywood remake of the film Pépé le Moko - In the Dark of Algiers (1937) with Jean Gabin in the title role, which was very successful in France , background shots of the predecessor were used, which had been shot on original locations in Algiers . In 1948, Casbah - Verbotene Gassen was also a musical adaptation of the material with Tony Martin . John Cromwell's version was also the widely acclaimed Hollywood debut of Hedy Lamarr .

Algiers premiered on July 13, 1938 in Los Angeles and went on general distribution in the United States on August 5, 1938 . In Germany the film was not released.

Reviews

Variety found that Charles Boyer had created "an interesting portrait of a European gangster". Within the "good cast", Hedy Lamarr is in no way inferior to him. Gene Lockhart is downright "outstanding".

Awards

The film was nominated in four categories at the Academy Awards in 1939 : Best Actor (Charles Boyer), Best Supporting Actor (Gene Lockhart), Best Cinematography (James Wong Howe) and Best Production Design ( Alexander Toluboff ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. omovie.com
  2. ↑ “Charles Boyer creates an interesting portrait of a continental gangster […]. In performances by a fine cast, Lamarr comes next to Boyer in a photo finish. [...] Gene Lockhart is a stand-out. " See Algiers . In: Variety . 1938.