Julien Duvivier directed Pépé le Moko, a film that combines elements of French poetic realism and those of film noir.
It stars Jean Gabin, then at the peak of his career, in one of his best and most iconic roles, based on a novel of the same name by Henri La Barthe.
Grade: A-
A sampler of French poetic realism, the tale recounts the trapping of a gangster on the run in Algiers, who believes (or rather deludes himself) that he is safe from arrest in the Casbah.
Pépé le Moko is a notorious thief who has been hiding in the labyrinthine Casbah for nearly two years. Despite the police’s awareness of his presence, they have been unable to capture him due to the community’s support and its intricate layout.
Pépé’s life in the Casbah becomes monotonous, but leaving would result in his arrest. Meanwhile, Inspector Slimane, portrayed by Lucas Gridoux, forms an unusual relationship with Pépé and vows to arrest him if he ever tries to leave.
One night, Pépé meets Gaby (Mireille Balin), and falls for her. Slimane realizes Pépé’s attraction to Gaby and brings her to the Casbah to see Pépé.
At the same time, Régis, a Casbah resident, collaborates with the police and proposes a plan to use Pépé’s friend Pierrot as bait to lure him out of the Casbah.
Tension between Pépé and Régis boils over when Pierrot goes missing, and Pépé confronts Régis.
Gaby and Pépé meet in the Casbah again and spend a night together. However, when Pierrot dies, Régis is killed, and Gaby leaves without saying goodbye.
Pépé spirals into a nervous breakdown, but Ines keeps him in the Casbah by lying about Gaby’s whereabouts.
Pépé writes a letter to Gaby, which he asks Carlos to deliver to her hotel. When Pépé is later informed that Gaby is leaving Algiers after being told he was dead by Slimane, he leaves the Casbah to find her.
Ines tells Slimane about Pepe’s plan, leading to his arrest at the harbor.
In the last, inevitably tragic scene, Pepe watches the ship take Gaby away and commits suicide with a knife.
Principal photography for the film occurred at a replica of the Casbah at Joinville-le-Pont, near Paris, and only exterior shots were filmed in Algiers.
With little to no location shooting, Jacques Krauss’ work was central to the production of the film. At that time in French cinema, shooting on sets was preferred to location shooting because of the artistic control it gave to designers such as Krauss.
Duvivier created a sense of realism despite filming on a set, introducing the Casbah with documentary style footage. This included long establishing shots of the Casbah in its entirety along with shorter shots that showed the chaotic atmosphere.
Also, Duvivier included longer shots when focusing on characters. This technique made scenes feel like they were happening in real time.
Another element of the production was its film noir style. Multiple shots include the shadow of venetian blinds or other pieces of Krauss’ set design that obscure characters with shadows, which is a common effect used in film noir.
Jean Gabin was a skilled singer and there are moments when he sings songs relevant to his character and the story. Fréhel, another skilled singer, also sings as her character.
Pepe le Moko is one of the earliest and most evocative film noir. Most scholars mark the film to be a crucial and noteworthy work of French cinema.
Intertextuality
The film served as inspiration for Grahame Greene’s screenplay for Carol Reed’s 1949 masterpiece, The Third Man. It alsi bears many similarities with the American film Casablanca, which was released in 1943 and won the Best Picture Oscar.
Due to the arrival of the Second World War and the film’s dark nature, French authorities were concerned over its “demoralizing influence” and decided to bar citizens from viewing the film.
The U.S. opening of the film had been delayed for four years by Walter Wagner, the producer of Algiers, (U.S. release date March 3, 1941 compared to the French release in 1937 due to his purchase of the rights to the film within America.
The film was remade in America in 1938 as Algiers, starring Hedy Lamarr and Charles Boyer, and again in 1948 as Casbah, a musical starring Tony Martin, Märta Torén, Yvonne de Carlo, and Peter Lorre.
The character’s French accent and womanizing nature, as portrayed by Charles Boyer in the 1938 remake, inspired the name and comic premise of the Looney Tunes cartoon character, Pepé Le Pew, which was introduced in 1945.
Cast
Jean Gabin as Pépé le Moko
Gabriel Gabrio as Carlos
Mireille Balin as Gaby Gould, the beautiful Parisienne
Saturnin Fabre as Le Grand Père
Fernand Charpin as Régis
Lucas Gridoux as Inspecteur Slimane
Gilbert Gil as Pierrot
Marcel Dalio as L’Arbi
Charles Granval as Maxime
Gaston Modot as Jimmy
René Bergeron as Inspecteur Meunier
Paul Escoffier as Chief Inspecteur Louvain
Roger Legris as Max
Jean Témerson as Gravèr
Robert Ozanne as Gendron
Philippe Richard as Janvier
Georges Péclet as Barsac
Line Noro as Inès
Fréhel as Tania
Olga Lord as Aïcha
Renée Carl as La mère Tarte
