Pépé le Moko
Encyclopedia
Pépé le Moko is a 1937 French film directed by Julien Duvivier
and starring Jean Gabin
. It depicts an infamous gangster
, Pépé le Moko ('Moko' is slang
for a man from Toulon
) who tries to escape the police by hiding in the casbah
of the city of Algiers
. The film is based on Henri La Barthe's novel of the same name; La Barthe contributed to the screenplay under the pseudonym "Détective Ashelbé". Pépé le Moko is an example of the 1930s French movement known as poetic realism
, which combines gritty realism with occasional flashes of unusual cinematic tricks. The film is often seen as an early precursor of film noir
.
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
. English author Graham Greene
in a review of the film stated "One of the most exciting and moving films I can remember seeing... Raises the thriller to a poetic level!" According to a BBC documentary, it served as inspiration for Greene's acclaimed novel, The Third Man
.
Julien Duvivier
Julien Duvivier was a French film director. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930-1960...
and starring Jean Gabin
Jean Gabin
-Biography:Born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, he grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise département, about 22 mi north of Paris. The son of cabaret entertainers, he attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly...
. It depicts an infamous gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
, Pépé le Moko ('Moko' is slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
for a man from Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
) who tries to escape the police by hiding in the casbah
Casbah
The Casbah ) is specifically the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. More generally, a kasbah is the walled citadel of many North African cities and towns...
of the city of Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. The film is based on Henri La Barthe's novel of the same name; La Barthe contributed to the screenplay under the pseudonym "Détective Ashelbé". Pépé le Moko is an example of the 1930s French movement known as poetic realism
Poetic realism
Poetic realism was a film movement in France of the 1930s and through the war years. More a tendency than a movement, Poetic Realism is not strongly unified like Soviet Montage or French Impressionism. Its leading filmmakers were Jean Renoir, Pierre Chenal, Jean Vigo, Julien Duvivier, and Marcel...
, which combines gritty realism with occasional flashes of unusual cinematic tricks. The film is often seen as an early precursor of film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
.
The film was remade in America in 1938 as Algiers
Algiers (film)
Algiers is a 1938 American drama film directed by John Cromwell and starring Charles Boyer, Sigrid Gurie, and Hedy Lamarr. The Walter Wanger production was a remake of the successful 1937 French film Pépé le Moko, which derived its plot from the Henri La Barthe novel of the same name...
, starring Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress celebrated for her great beauty who was a major contract star of MGM's "Golden Age".Lamarr also co-invented – with composer George Antheil – an early technique for spread spectrum communications and frequency hopping, necessary to wireless...
and Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer
Charles Boyer was a French actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found success in movies during the 1930s. His memorable performances were among the era's most highly praised romantic dramas,...
, and again in 1948 as Casbah
Casbah (film)
Casbah is a musical film directed by John Berry, starring Yvonne DeCarlo and Tony Martin, and released by Universal Studios.-Plot:...
, a musical starring Tony Martin
Tony Martin (entertainer)
Tony Martin is an American actor and singer.-Career:Tony Martin was born on Christmas Day, 1913 as Alvin Morris in San Francisco, California to Jewish immigrant parents. He received a saxophone as a gift from his grandmother at the age of ten. In his grammar school glee club, he became an...
, Märta Torén
Märta Torén
Märta Torén was a Swedish stage and film actress of the 1940s and 1950s.Torén began her career on the stage and from 1947 she appeared in films. She appeared on the cover of the June 13 issue of Life Magazine in 1949....
, Yvonne de Carlo
Yvonne De Carlo
Yvonne De Carlo was a Canadian-born American actress of film and television. During her six-decade career, her most frequent appearances in film came in the 1940s and 1950s and included her best-known film roles, such as of Anna Marie in Salome Where She Danced ; Anna in Criss Cross ; Sephora the...
, and Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
. English author Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
in a review of the film stated "One of the most exciting and moving films I can remember seeing... Raises the thriller to a poetic level!" According to a BBC documentary, it served as inspiration for Greene's acclaimed novel, The Third Man
The Third Man
The Third Man is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Many critics rank it as a masterpiece, particularly remembered for its atmospheric cinematography, performances, and unique musical score...
.
Cast
- Jean GabinJean Gabin-Biography:Born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé in Paris, he grew up in the village of Mériel in the Seine-et-Oise département, about 22 mi north of Paris. The son of cabaret entertainers, he attended the Lycée Janson de Sailly...
- Pépé le Moko - Gabriel GabrioGabriel GabrioGabriel Gabrio was a French stage and film actor whose career began in cinema in the silent film era of the 1920s and spanned more than two decades...
- Carlos - Mireille Balin - Gaby Gould, the beautiful Parisienne
- Saturnin FabreSaturnin Fabre-Selected filmography:* Casanova * Pépé le Moko * The Woman Thief * Le corsaire* Nine Bachelors * La Nuit fantastique...
- Le Grand Père - Fernand Charpin - Régis
- Lucas Gridoux - Inspecteur Slimane
- Gilbert Gil - Pierrot
- Marcel DalioMarcel DalioMarcel Dalio was a French character actor. He had major roles in two of Jean Renoir's most famous films, Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game.- Biography :...
- L'Arbi - Charles Granval - Maxime
- Gaston ModotGaston ModotGaston Modot was a French actor. For more than 50 years he performed for the cinema working with a number of French directors....
- Jimmy - René Bergeron - Inspecteur Meunier
- Paul Escoffier - Chief Inspecteur Louvain
- Roger Legris - Max
- Jean Temerson - Gravèr
- Robert Ozanne - Gendron
- Philippe RichardPhilippe RichardPhilippe Richard was a French actor. In 1948 he starred in the film The Lame Devil under Sacha Guitry.-External links:...
- Janvier - Georges PécletGeorges PécletGeorges Péclet was a French actor, film director and screenwriter.-References:* at "Ciné-Ressources"...
- Barsac - Line Noro - Inès
- FréhelFréhelFréhel was a French singer and actress.-Biography:Born in Paris, France to a poor and dysfunctional Breton family, Marguerite Boulc'h was a child left to a life on the streets in the dark side of Paris...
- Tania - Olga Lord - Aïcha
- Renée Carl - La mère Tarte
External links
- Criterion Collection essay by Michael Atkinson
- Pépé le Moko at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...