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algiers | Year: 1938 Directed: - John Cromwell Actors/Actresses: - Charles Boyer - Hedy Lamarr Algiers This 1938 film is a remake of a infinitely superior French film Pepe La Moko, which starred Jean Gabin. Charles Boyer takes Gabin's old role as a notorious jewel thief who hides out in the Casbah in Algiers. Boyer, possibly a better actor than Gabin, is reduced to giving hot, passionate looks at the inhumanly beautiful Hedy Lamarr, who plays a Parisienne Society Beauty that Boyer falls for. Lamarr, with her slurry German-English hardly sounds like she's from Paris however. In short, this is a pure Hollywood remake, sacrificing eveything to glamour, with the over-made up actors and actresses. Even the sets look ... (the incopetent lighting gives it all away). But that isn't to say the picutre isn't entertaining; the pleasures are held mainly in the camp division. Welcome to my World: The Casbah This film is very intelligent. I liked the plot and the dialog was very good, witty and clever.I loved the shadow and light in the casbah. I think this film was perfect for black and white. Mysterious,hidden and devious is what the color and Casbah portray, following the lines of the story. Boyer is so perfect in his role as Pepe Le Moko, jewel thief, hiding in the Casbah so as not to get arrested and extradited to his hometown, Paris, France. How he misses his home but if he goes out of the Casbah he is sure to get captured. He meets the beautiful and regal Hedy Lamarr, honest and forthright. She represents his home and he falls in love. One scene really got the emotions down pat, it showed Boyer going crazy from being trapped in the Casbah, the drums beating, the furor of his trapped feeling, you can see the panic mounting in him. This really was a wonderful movie! They based the cartoon character of Pepe Le Pue on Pepe Le Moko. Ending was also quite original and different. Some of the film is old and may cut out sometimes but still I didn't care this was a really great movie! I long to visit the Casbah!!<BR>Lisa Nary Great movie / average DVD I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed "Algiers". The combination of plot, atmosphere, music, and great character acting moved the film right along and kept my interest. It's easy to see that this is what Warner Brothers had in mind when they made "Casablanca", and while "Casablanca" is a much better film, "Algiers" certainly does not deserve to sink into oblivion. Charles Boyer does a fine job as a charming Parisian jewel thief hiding out in the "casbah" of Algiers (then a French colony); Hedy Lamarr, as the slumming tourist, is also very good. There are good supporting actors in most of the other parts, including Alan Hale (senior), father of Alan Hale (junior) who was "Skipper" on TV's "Gilligan's Island". Gene Lockhart, as the betrayer, is also a standout. The "casbah" itself, part North African/part Hollywood, is also a star here. Lots of good set design and camerawork (James Wong Howe). I was curious about the music: it's partially credited to "Mohammed Igarbouchen" (a.k.a. Mohamed Ygerbuchen) and I found that he also did the music for the French "Pépé le Moko" of which "Algiers" was a re-make. -- A word about the DVD: millions of dollars were not spent to restore picture and sound quality and provide lots of extras. Too bad. This DVD, from Alpha Video, is just the movie. The overall quality is not pristine. There are some scratches on the film and some noise on the soundtrack. A film from 1938 could look and sound a lot better. It looks like what's on the DVD probably came from a made-for-TV print, because the picture is slightly enlarged to completely fill the screen. This is obvious at the beginning when part of the credits text is off the edge of the screen. Still, as of this time, this is your only chance to get "Algiers" on DVD, and Alpha Video offers it at a bargain price; my recommendation is "buy it". Buy Algiers at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Algiers Search with the Priority Search Engine on Algiers This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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