Algiers

The Hollywood remake of the Jean Gabin classic Pépé le Moko, and usually compared unfavourably. Certainly there is little tension or grit in this version of the story of the supercrook who pines for Paris and is lured from the safety of the Casbah for love of a beautiful woman. Instead, there is a fantastic opulence in the black-and-white photography (by James Wong Howe), and a totally aestheticised style of acting from Boyer and Lamarr in particular. Lamarr is extraordinarily sultry (especially with her indefinable accent), and the overall effect is as if producer Walter Wanger was trying to imitate Von Sternberg's work at Paramount with Dietrich.