Pépé le Moko is a good picture, all right, but it is certainly not a great one, primarily because the story is told without much tension or credibility. How is Pépé characterized as a 'gangster?' He is a small timer. His cronies are just oddballs without much impact in the movie. None of these guys seem to have anything to do. Pépé is kind of a wimp, I'm afraid, whose suspicious indecision is fatal.
The 'beauty' from Paris is not very attractive. However, she has some nice jewelry which the small time hood (Pépé) covets. There was no 'magic' between Pépé and Gaby (the 'beauty'). Sparkless.
I enjoyed the pacing of the picture and Jean Gabin's valiant attempt to make Pépé as interesting as possible. I'm not sure he had much to work with. It's too bad Marcel Dalio had such a small role...he worked so well with Gabin in "The Grand Illusion."
The 'beauty' from Paris is not very attractive. However, she has some nice jewelry which the small time hood (Pépé) covets. There was no 'magic' between Pépé and Gaby (the 'beauty'). Sparkless.
I enjoyed the pacing of the picture and Jean Gabin's valiant attempt to make Pépé as interesting as possible. I'm not sure he had much to work with. It's too bad Marcel Dalio had such a small role...he worked so well with Gabin in "The Grand Illusion."