I am surprised to see no discussions about this great film. If you love Casablanca, you’ll love Pepe. The film really glows, especially on the Criterion release. Romance, exotic settings (“blame it on the Casbah!”), criminals and cops, music, it’s all there! The American film Algiers was a remake, and Casablanca clearly plays off the same ambiance.

The great Jean Gabin plays the lead. Boy, he was in some wonderful French films back in the day, including Grand Illusion, but I think this is my favorite film of his. I’ve also seen port of Shadows, Bete Humaine, French Cancan, but I don’t remember them much.