Pépé le Moko

In Brief: Pépé le Moko is a massively influential film, and rightly so. Probably French poetic realist Julien Duvivier's best known work, this movie bridges the gap between poetic realism and the later emergence of film noir, presages Italian neorealism and the French New Wave, spawned a successful direct remake in the form of John Cromwell's Algiers and provided inspiration for both Casablanca and The Third Man. This was a star-making turn for renowned French actor Jean Gabin, who is fantastic as always, giving Pépé a depth and humanity largely absent from Charles Boyer's interpretation of the role a year later. But the real star here is Duvivier as a visual stylist, his location shooting and formal conceits creating the atmospheric touches that mark this film as a true classic.