Reviews

Pepe le Moko (French) inspired Algiers which inspired Casablanca. The latter has the better story but Algiers is a better film. Such a great romance. Such adult dialogue. Such marvelous acting. Made at a time when European culture was the marvel of the world...and you can see why. To modern sensibilities the treatment of "natives" seems racist but people of the time were more honest, less politically correct. Victors thought they were superior and europeans had been victors for centuries. Some of the minor characters are mere caricatures and fail to achieve authenticity but that's forgivable considering how good everything else is. A theme from the score was used in a modern film - Gladiator I think. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can tell me.

Surprising that Jules Verne would write such a story. Even more surprising that Hollywood would produce it. Yul Brynner is unbelievably good as a man freed of all bounds of convention, free to indulge his taste for cruelty and domination. Douglass is an excellent counterpoint, a courageous individual who's chosen simple solitude as a way to deal with the complications and turmoil society had imposed on him. And Samantha Egger's character is the capper, a woman willing to sacrifice far too much for comfort and safety. Inotherwords, everyman. The movie does show its age and is limited by the conventions of time and place and technology of the time. If you're looking for special effects and action as substitutes for thought, look elsewhere.