morrison-dylan-fan Deciding to watch over 100 French films over the next few months,one of the main goals that I set was to track down as many titles from auteur film maker Julien Duvivier.Looking on Amazon UK for Duvivier flicks that have officially come out on DVD,I spotted a work credited as the "first ever" Film Noir!,which led to me excitingly getting ready to meet Pépé le Moko. The plot:Constantly moving in order to stop the police catching him,gangster Pépé le Moko decides to go into hiding in the overcrowded Casbah quarter of Algiers. Whilst being aware of Moko's continuing his operations,police officer Slimane finds that he is unable to smoke Moko out of the city.Uncovering details that over the 2 years he has been hidden in the city that the no-nonsense Moko has fallen for Gaby,which leads to Slimane drawing up a plan with the hope of finally meeting Moko.View on the film:Overcrowding the streets of Casbah,co-writer/(along with Henri La Barthe/ Jacques Constant and Henri Jeanson) director Julien Duvivier closely works with editor Marguerite Beaugé to present a dusty,smoking hot Film Noir city,where rough edits give the title a documentary grit. Making Moko king of the city, Duvivier looks across Moko's kingdom with highly stylised tracking shots pulling up all of the Film Noir loners and dead beats littering the city.Striking the screen with harsh shots of violence, Duvivier cooks up a scorching hot Film Noir atmosphere,as Moko's dream romance is rubbed with dirt that sets Moko sailing into Duvivier's major theme of a sun-lit Noir hell.Giving Moko a short-hand knowledge on how to speak to everyone in their adaptation of co-writer Barthe's novel,the screenplay by Constant/Jensen/Barthe and Duvivier jam packs the movie a cracking Film Noir dialogue which superbly balances Moko's awareness that he is the most powerful and smartest guy in the room,with a heated unease of the rug being pulled from Moko's feet. Falling for Gabby,the writers brilliantly pull the romance out of the melodrama and into the Noir fire via keeping Slimane and rival gangsters constantly looking for a moment of weakness over the loved up shoulders.Looking remarkably fresh faced,Jean Gabin gives an incredible performance as Moko,who allows Gabin to show a burning Film Noir gravitas be sliced into Moko's doomed face,which is joined by an infectious youthful exuberance blinding Moko from the ship of destruction on the horizon. Joined by a cute Mireille Balin as Gabby, Lucas Gridoux gives a marvellous performance as Slimane,thanks to Gridoux biting down on Slimane's determination to locate the target,as Moko,Gabby and Slimane step into the "first ever" Film Noir.

GManfred Yes, I know, a trite headline. Apart from the fact that I don't know much French, isn't it uncanny how many tales, fiction and non, have a woman at the heart of matters? So it is with Pepe Le Moko, another poor slob caught in a love affair which costs him dearly. And to think he was the toast of The Casbah, a local hero with all the money and women and friendship he could ask for.Director Duvuvier paints a vivid picture of the sprawling slum that is the Casbah, teeming with humanity and activity, a place that has become a prison - in an abstract sense - for Pepe. The movie sets a fast pace, with barely time to catch your breath as the tension builds towards a climax both anticipated and disheartening - as so often happens, we root for this appealing criminal, hoping the outcome will be different than we expect.Some have said that the film is a 'film noir' prototype, and I agree, even though the genre didn't start until a few years later. If we include it, it is one of the best - the website description of crime/drama/romance lends a mundane feel and doesn't do it justice.

dlee2012 Pepe Le Moko stands out as Duvivier's masterpiece and sets the measure for all film noir to follow. The director makes excellent use of the Moroccan locations, having improved exponentially since making Cinq Gentlemen Maudits in the same location a few years early.Excellent use is made of light and shadow, most notably in the film's final shot in which Pepe gazes through a fence at the departing ship. The shadows cast here look like prison bars, with the freedom represented by the boat receding further into the distance every second.Gabin is in fine form as the emotionally volatile Pepe who has entrapped himself in Casbah by his crimes. Morocco is very much presented as an alien other here right from the opening scenes, in which criminals and police play games against an exotic backdrop. Aerial shots establish the city as a rabbit warren in which the hunted quarry hides, unable to ever return to France yet reminded of his homeland at every turn.Symbolically, Pepe has become so evil that he can no longer return to civilisation: he has traded his human dignity to hide amongst the lice and fleas in a far corner of the French Empire filled with treacherous characters. He longs to return to home but cannot even go openly into the main city area of Casbah; through his actions, he is no longer fit for civilisation.The contrast between violence and farce that was to become a hallmark of future French gangster films is established here in the murder of the traitor to the whimsical sounds of a player-piano.Humour is also found in the scene in which Gabin unexpectedly treats us to his musical talents, with the townspeople joining in.Musical is also used to extremely good effect in the scene of the older woman singing along to a recording of herself in a youth a song of longing for those who have left Mother France.Ultimately, this is an essential piece of French cinema that explores the theme of estrangement, even self-inflicted estrangement, from one's homeland and set the stage for all of the film noir that was to follow.

blanche-2 A gang of thieves hide out above Algiers in the Arab section of the city, the Casbah, in "Pepe le Moko," a 1937 film - an homage to the U.S. gangster movie - that is often credited as the inspiration for the film noir craze that swept U.S. cinema. In order to draw attention to the American version, "Algiers," producer Walter Wanger tried to destroy all copies, subsequently buying the rights to keep it off the screen. But you can't keep a good movie down.Pepe le Moko (Jean Gabin) is wanted by the police, so if he leaves the crowded and maze-like Casbah to go into town, they will nail him. There is an inspector who keeps an eye on Pepe, Inspector Slimane. Pepe and the inspector have become friends, but Pepe knows Slimane is just waiting for him to make his move. When Pepe meets the exotic and bejeweled Gaby, a situation presents itself where he might risk his freedom.Pepe is the great French actor Jean Gabin, a marvelous-looking, rugged actor with tremendous magnetism. It's no wonder Marlene Dietrich chased him all over the world. Gabin's Pepe is the forerunner of the Bogart persona - he's a confident, handsome man, dismissive of women and has the ability to be both funny and cruel. He lives with his devoted girlfriend, Ines, and is surrounded by his motley mob who are familiar with the seedier side of life.There are some brilliant moments and great performances in this film, which is rich in atmosphere and interesting faces. The French star Mireille Balin, whose real-life story is more bizarre than any fiction, is Gaby, a kept woman who enchants le Moko as they talk about their great love for Paris, most especially, Place Blanche. Line Noro is Ines, doomed to love and lose Pepe, and Frehel is Tania, a friend. In one of the best scenes in the film, Tania reminisces about her youth and sings along with her own recording. A wonderful artist. The entire cast is marvelous. The director, Julien Duvivier, orchestrates the proceedings with tremendous style and tension, capturing the heat, the light and the sounds of the Casbah.Often imitated - by "The Third Man," "Odd Man Out," "Casablanca," "The Time Of Your Life," "To Have And Have Not," "The Wages of Fear," -- and let's not forget Pepe le Pew - "Pepe le Moko" and Jean Gabin's Pepe stand on their own as hallmarks in film history.