by JoAnn DiVerdi – February 2025
Influencers & Inspiration
Whereby the influence on set or in the theatre watching someone else’s film, inspires another…
Algiers (1938) tells the tale of French jewel thief, Pépé Le Moko (Charles Boyer), safe from arrest only if he stays within the ancient, labyrinthian neighborhood in Algiers known as the Casbah. His love for the equally jewelry-obsessed, beautiful Parisian tourist, Gaby (Hedy Lamarr), draws him out of his safe haven with dire consequences. Something in Pépé’s insouciance, rich voice, a certain je ne sais quoi, made American women swoon! And suddenly the shy boy from southwest France, who was closing in on 40 and had a bit of a paunch, was a Hollywood sensation as the great ‘lovair.’
So how did one shy boy from the southwest of France inspire another shy boy from the northwest of America? Mais oui, that is a very animated ‘tail.’
Chuck Jones, the shy boy from Washington state, had a genius for creating beloved characters for Warner Brothers Cartoons. Jones inspiration for the Gallic little stinker, Pepé Le Pew, clearly originated with Boyer’s performance as Pépé Le Moko. Then Jones threw in the delusions of a colleague of his, writer Tedd Pierce. Pierce fancied himself a ladies man – despite all evidence to the contrary. With ‘zee’ brilliant addition of voice actor Mel Blanc, how could anyone, back in the day, resist Pepé Le Pew? Except for Penelope Cat, who of course could not, along with the occasional gendarme, abide Pepé’s odor. The irony is that Le Pew, who debuted in The Odor-able Kitty (1945), uttered the famous ‘Casbah’ line more often than Pépé Le Moko ever did. “Come with me to zee Casbah,” was never even said in the film Algiers, only in its trailer! Nevertheless, it’s immortalized thanks to Pepé Le Pew cartoons, such as the Academy Award winning For Scent-imental Reasons (1949). Pepé tells his unenthusiastic object of affection, who is trying to hold her breath and get away, “Do not come with me to zee Casbah. We shall make beautiful musics togethair right here!”
What did the suave Charles Boyer think of this homage? He was not amused. After all, he was French.
