Pepe Le Moko (1937)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Pepe Le Moko (1937) – J. Duvivier

After watching so many of his older flicks, it is a bit stunning to see the young Jean Gabin here, trapped in the Casbah with the police laying wait for him at every exit. But in his seedy labyrinth (which is a decidedly racist view of things -- check Battle of Algiers for an update), he remains an untouchable king. Remade as Algiers with Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr the following year (and which I saw first) with few deviations from the plot, although I don't quite remember the romantically doomed ending here. Some excellent expressive camerawork and sets.