Pepe le Moko 1937 - A great influence on film noir

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029453/
IMDB rating: 7,7

Director: Julien Duvivier
Main Cast: Jean Gabin, Gabriel Gabrio, Saturnin Fabre, Fernand Charpin, Mireille Balin

"Pepe le Moko (Jean Gabin) is a well-known criminal mastermind who eludes the French police by hiding in the Casbah section of Algiers. The movie is among the most influential films of the 20th century, a precursor of both 1940s film noir and late 1940s neo-realism. The film quickly generated international acclaim, and it was responsible for director Julien Duvivier's leaving Europe to make films in Hollywood. The film's greatest strengths are its atmospheric visual richness and strong lead performances from Gabin and Mireille Balin. There have been several remakes (like the U.S. version Algiers), though the film's influence has been much wider than that. The setting, ambience, and some of the characters of Casablanca, for example, owe much to Pepe le Moko, as do numerous English-language crime films. Duvivier's work in Hollywood was of moderate success, as were his later European films, but Pepe le Moko represents the high point of his career."

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