PEPE LE MOKO

Jean Gabin as Pepe

PEPE LE MOKO (1937). Director: Julien Duvivier.

Master thief Pele le Moko (Jean Gabin) has taken up residence in the twisted, dangerous byways of the Casbah in Algiers, where he hides out from the authorities even as he feels like he's a prisoner. His girlfriend is Ines (Line Noro), but he develops a romantic yearning for Gaby (Mireille Balin), the kept woman of a rich, corpulent tourist. But will Ines' jealousy interfere with his plans to flee to his beloved Paris with the woman of his dreams? The characters of Pepe le Moko are not that dimensional or bright, but the film's intensity, especially at the climax, partially compensates, and one can certainly feel pity for Ines. There is something quasi-tragic about a man meeting fate because of his feelings for a woman who is, by any standard, a tramp, but this has always been a popular theme in movies from any country. The best scene in the movie has the old and fat Tania (Frehel) beautifully singing a sad song of lost youth and regret as Pepe listens. Fernand Chapin is the informer and turncoat, Regis; Gilbert Gil is young Pierrot, who comes to a bad end; and Lucas Gridoux is Slimane, the friendly police inspector who intends to arrest Pepe as soon as he leaves the protected territory of the Casbah. Pepe le Moko is no different from a Hollywood movie in that it never seems remotely real. Devoid of much sex appeal, Gabin makes an unlikely lover boy, but his performance is fine,and Noro is especially affecting as Ines. Based on a French crime novel, there were at least two American remakes, Aligers with Charles Boyer and Casbah with Tony Martin! Duvivier also directed such interesting American films as Flesh and Fantasy and Lydia. His last film was the unfortunate Diabolically Yours in 1967.

Verdict: Despite its flaws, this has a certain power, especially in the well-played finale. ***.

DIABOLICALLY YOURS

Senta Berger and Alain Delon

DIABOLICALLY YOURS  (ala Diaboliquement votre/1967). Director: Julien Duvivier.

An accident victim (Alain Delon) wakes up in the hospital with amnesia and is told he is "Georges Campo." He is confused, but has few complaints as his wife, Christiane (Senta Berger), is beautiful, and they live in a magnificent home on a large estate. His old friend, Freddie (Sergio Fantoni), a doctor, tells him he needs bed rest and shouldn't even make love to his wife until he remembers her. But his dog doesn't recognize him and there are several more accidents that nearly kill him ... Diabolically Yours, a French-Italian-West German co-production. comes off like a poor Movie-of-the-Week, with an unoriginal plot and mostly uninspired performances. Considering the things that have happened to him, Delon [L'eclisse] can only muster up a mildly perturbed air instead of the outrage he would be feeling. Berger [The Spy with My Face] is very pretty but she is only adequate, while Peter Mosbacher steals the show as her odd, devoted servant, Kim. Made ten years earlier with a zestier cast and better direction, this might have come off like a lively if minor film noir such as Strange Awakening, which actually has a similar plot. This was the last film directed by Julien Duvivier, who did both French and American films, such as Flesh and Fantasy and Lydia, both of which were much better than this clap-trap. Duvivier, of course, needed a much better script, but he does very little with what he's been offered.

Verdict: Even Delon's fans will find this a bore. *1/2.

FLESH AND FANTASY

Who is that masked lady? 

FLESH AND FANTASY (1943). Director: Julien Duvivier.

This is a collection of three macabre stories with a framing device of one man relating the tales to another. The first story deals with a supposedly homely woman (Betty Field) who is given a mask (see photo) that makes her appear beautiful to everyone and that she must return by midnight. In the second story, Edward G. Robinson is given a prediction, which he initially scoffs at, that he will commit murder. The second story runs into the third, which has a high-wire acrobat (Charles Boyer) having premonitions of disaster when he meets a mysterious woman (Barbara Stanwyck) whom he has seen in a recurring dream in which he falls to his death; meanwhile the lady has secrets of her own. In a cast of talented actors, Thomas Mitchell [Theodora Goes Wild] and Dame May Whitty [The Sign of the Ram] almost walk off with the picture and it's quite interesting to see Boyer and Stanwyck together. Alexander Tasman contributed some quirky theme music. Duvivier also directed Lydia.

Verdict: Perhaps less here than meets the eye, but it's well-acted for the most part and entertaining. ***.

LYDIA

Merle Oberon

LYDIA (1941). Director: Julien Duvivier.

"If I can't have all there is I don't want less."

An unmarried elderly woman named Lydia (Merle Oberon) invites a few old male friends to a gathering where she reviews her life and loves over the past few decades. Bob (George Reeves) runs off with Lydia after her grandmother Sarah's (Edna May Oliver) disapproval, but they never make it to the altar. Frank Andre (Hans Jaray) is a blind pianist whose love for Lydia remains unrequited. Michael (Joseph Cotten) is all set to marry Lydia but she doesn't feel the passion for him that she feels for Richard (Alan Marshal of House on Haunted Hill), a handsome sailor who tells her he must go off to settle some past romantic affairs and to wait for her. Well, it'll be a long wait ... Lydia is an unusual and unpredictable movie in that it defies romantic Hollywood conventions and doesn't offer up a traditional happy ending, meaning some viewers will find it unsatisfying, but it's just that difference that makes the movie interesting. The performances are excellent throughout, with a luminescent Oberon; George Reeves [The Adventures of Sir Galahad] proving that he was more than just Superman (whom he would essay a few years later); Joseph Cotten as good as ever; Alan Marshal charming as the mountebank; and Edna May Oliver nearly snatching away the movie from everyone else with her peppery portrayal of the hypochondriac grandmother. Sara Allgood is also on target, as usual, as the mother of a blind boy (Billy Ray) that Lydia befriends and Gertrude Hoffman is fine in a very small role. This has a nice score by Miklos Rozsa as well. The film is in some ways similar to Letter from an Unknown Woman, particularly in its conclusion.

Verdict: Romantic yet uncompromising. ***.