Cinema: The New Pictures: Jul. 25, 1938

Algiers (Walter Wanger) sets its scene in the bizarre crookedness of Algiers' shuttered, cluttered, labyrinthine native quarter, the Casbah. It is the story of the defeat of a magnificent criminal ego. Whimsical, moody, brutal Pepe le Moko, a jewel thief from Paris, is safe as a fugitive just so long as he stays in the Casbah. Knowing this, patient Policeman Slimane baits him with the thesis that the Casbah itself is his prison, then calmly watches and waits while this disturbing seed takes root. The lure to break prison comes in the shape of...

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