I saw Algiers just a few days after its French original, Pepe le Moko, which doesn't do Algiers a lot of favors. So, before writing this review, I read the 20+ ones already posted here, mostly from viewers who had not seen Pepe le Moko first, to see how they reacted to Algiers without knowing the French original. Most of them liked it a lot.
While I wouldn't go that far - despite a few of the comments, I found this movie not even close to Casablanca - I did find it enjoyable for certain things, if not for others.
While I like Charles Boyer in certain movies (Gaslight, primarily), in this film he is radically inferior to his French predecessor, Jean Gabin. Gabin is very believable as a thief and member of the underworld; it is hard to imagine Boyer surviving there 10 minutes. Gabin could be rough and charming; Boyer is "suave", but there is no dark underside to it.
Hedy Lamarr is indeed beautiful, and sometimes gets to do some acting here. She never overacts (as Boyer and some of the others do), so she is always fun to watch.
The best acting, however, is in the character roles, some of which are in no way inferior to the original. Gene Lockart's death screen is well acted and magnificently staged; it is one of the best moments in the movie. Joseph Calleia is very good as the police agent throughout.
Still, the best thing in this movie, for me, was the lighting and camera work. Often atmospheric, some of the shots are very strikingly composed. The next time I watch this movie, it would be tempting to do so with the sound off for most of it - though not when Vincent Scotto's music is playing. It is haunting and very evocative; another of the best features of the film.
My only complaint about this movie is the end, which some previous reviewers liked. (Here comes the spoiler.) In the original, Jean Gabin commits suicide when he realizes he can't have Gaby; it is a chilling scene very well done. In the American remake Boyer gets shot while running to the ship; it makes him much more of a victim without control of his destiny, and in that sense was a real aggravation after having seen how it "could have been done." Other changes in the movie are interesting examples of cultural differences: in the French original, Gaby is the well-paid mistress of the wealthy overweight Frenchman; there is no question of marriage between them. In the American remake, they are engaged, and while there is no suggestion either loves the other, the relationship would have been seen as less immoral. In the same sense, the low-life is the French Casbah is much more clearly low: prostitution, etc. That is all glossed over in the American remake.
So, a movie worth watching, especially for the lighting, the camera work, and some of the direction, as well as the acting of some of the subordinates. Watch this movie first, and then Pepe le Moko, and you will enjoy it more.
While I wouldn't go that far - despite a few of the comments, I found this movie not even close to Casablanca - I did find it enjoyable for certain things, if not for others.
While I like Charles Boyer in certain movies (Gaslight, primarily), in this film he is radically inferior to his French predecessor, Jean Gabin. Gabin is very believable as a thief and member of the underworld; it is hard to imagine Boyer surviving there 10 minutes. Gabin could be rough and charming; Boyer is "suave", but there is no dark underside to it.
Hedy Lamarr is indeed beautiful, and sometimes gets to do some acting here. She never overacts (as Boyer and some of the others do), so she is always fun to watch.
The best acting, however, is in the character roles, some of which are in no way inferior to the original. Gene Lockart's death screen is well acted and magnificently staged; it is one of the best moments in the movie. Joseph Calleia is very good as the police agent throughout.
Still, the best thing in this movie, for me, was the lighting and camera work. Often atmospheric, some of the shots are very strikingly composed. The next time I watch this movie, it would be tempting to do so with the sound off for most of it - though not when Vincent Scotto's music is playing. It is haunting and very evocative; another of the best features of the film.
My only complaint about this movie is the end, which some previous reviewers liked. (Here comes the spoiler.) In the original, Jean Gabin commits suicide when he realizes he can't have Gaby; it is a chilling scene very well done. In the American remake Boyer gets shot while running to the ship; it makes him much more of a victim without control of his destiny, and in that sense was a real aggravation after having seen how it "could have been done." Other changes in the movie are interesting examples of cultural differences: in the French original, Gaby is the well-paid mistress of the wealthy overweight Frenchman; there is no question of marriage between them. In the American remake, they are engaged, and while there is no suggestion either loves the other, the relationship would have been seen as less immoral. In the same sense, the low-life is the French Casbah is much more clearly low: prostitution, etc. That is all glossed over in the American remake.
So, a movie worth watching, especially for the lighting, the camera work, and some of the direction, as well as the acting of some of the subordinates. Watch this movie first, and then Pepe le Moko, and you will enjoy it more.