The atmosphere that Julien Duvivier creates in this film is absolutely fantastic. The narrow streets filled with multicultural characters, the flourish of details in the set designs, and how he portrays the seediness and danger of it all really stands out for a film from 1937, and holds its own against films from decades later. Jean Gabin has never been better than he was here, playing a gangster hiding out in the Casbah portion of Algiers. He's a ladies man who falls for the mistress of an older man, played by the radiant Mireille Balin, who the police hope to use to lure him out of hiding. He's very open about his playing around to his heartbroken girlfriend (Line Noro, who also shines), just as the film is open about letting us know that Gabin and Balin's characters have a physical relationship. There is a mix of toughness, romance, double-crossing, and expat sentimentality for Paris here, and it's all blended together into a very satisfying tale. The ending is excellent, that moment with the ship's horn especially. Oh, and look for the wonderful little scene Fréhel has when she says "when I feel down, I change eras ... I think of my youth, I look at my old photo and imagine it's a mirror" before winding up an old phonograph and singing along to it. Simply sublime.
Review of Pépé le Moko
