075 - Pepe le Moko, 1937, France. Dir. Julien Duvivier.

Thursday, March 16, 2017

075 - Pepe le Moko, 1937, France. Dir. Julien Duvivier.

Pepe is a kewl cat jewel thief from Paris.

He is hiding out in the Casbah.

What is the Casbah, anyway, and how come the Shareef don't like it?

The Casbah, or Kasbah, is a citadel in a north African city.

Just the place where a 1982 British punk band would be rocking.

But enough about The Clash.  We are talking about Pepe le Moko.

Algiers is a city in northern Africa.  It is the capital city of Algeria.  Like Casablanca, in Morocco, people from Paris come to hide.  In Casablanca they went to escape the German occupation of Paris.  In Algiers they are coming to escape the police.

This Casbah, the Casbah of Algiers, is the old quarter of the city that begins at the top of the hill and runs down to the sea.  It is a complicated labyrinth of buildings built so close to one another that there are no streets but only sidewalks and outside corridors and hallways.

In Greek mythology, Daedalus built the labyrinth as a place where prisoners would not be able to escape.  Theseus outwitted the labyrinth, killed the minotaur, and did escape.

In this labyrinth, Pepe has found a place to hide.  He is more like the minotaur, not Theseus, and the police are unable to enter and find him.

Pepe has a network of friends and supporters--the residents, the merchants, the homeless, and the women.

Many women.

One man says when he dies he will leave 3,000 widows.

But now he is with Ines.  Ines loves him, and she is jealous.  But she keeps him safe.

He is hiding out at Grandfather's place.  Either that, or she keeps the rumor going so that they do not know where he really is.

When the police attempt a raid, the residents, merchants, homeless, and women enact a series of communications that get word back to Pepe--who is not at Grandfather's place--so that he can move to a different section of the labyrinth.  Through hallways.  Through secret passageways.  Up and down staircases.  Across the tops of buildings. 

Pepe lives a life of ease.  Safely in seclusion.

But he is growing bored.  Isolated.  Restless.

He can roam freely within the Casbah, but he dare not leave it.  He may as well be incarcerated in one giant prison.

He is growing tired of his current life.  Tired of sitting around.  Tired of playing cards.  Tired of Ines.

He is looking for something new.

Inspector Slimane knows what to do.

To get a kewl cat you offer him catnip.

 A beautiful woman.  Wearing beautiful jewels.  Sparkling jewels.  Priceless jewels.  Worth lots and lots of money.

Can Pepe control himself?

Or will he take the bait?

Is this new woman, Gaby, in love with him?

Or is she a trap?

Will Ines be able to help him?

Or will she be too late?

Pepe might in fact give up the jewels for the woman.  But that would be even more dangerous for him.  Because his heart would get in the way.

Pepe le Moko is a crime drama and part of a long tradition of French films about thieves.

It stars our familiar face and friend, Jean Gabin.

And it features his old friend from Grand Illusion (1937) (061, March 2), Marcel Dalio.

Compare their characters, personalities, appearances, and relationships in Grand Illusion with Pepe le Moko.  They are very different.  They are very good actors.

The films were made within months of each other, and this one was released just a few months earlier.

Pepe le Moko also brings back Charles Granval, the owner of the bookstore in Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932) (057, February 26)!

Take a stroll through the Casbah.

You might just get lost in it.