Casbah at the Hammer Museum, May 3, 2009

Casbah (Universal, 1948) will be shown on Sunday, May 3, 2009, at the Billy Wilder Theater, located on the Courtyard level of the Hammer Museum in the Westwood area of Los Angeles.

On a double-bill with The Woman I Stole (Columbia, 1933), Casbah is the musical renake of Algiers (1938) and stars singer Tony Martin as the gentleman jewel thief Pepe le Moko and Martin Toren as Gaby, the French tourist whose love lures Pepe from the safety of the Casbah and into the arms of the police – Peter Lorre as Inspector Slimane.

As Slimane, Peter enjoyed playing the pursuer, instead of the pursued, and received numerous excellent notices for his work.

The Hammer Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Blvd., on the northeast corner of Westwood and Wilshire boulevards in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles.

Parking is available under the Museum. After 6 p.m., there is a flat rate of $3. During the Museum’s operating hours, rates are $3 for the first three hours with a Museum stamp, and $1.50 for each additional 20 minutes.

Admission is free. The program begins at 7 p.m., with The Woman I Stole, followed by Casbah.

The program is an installment in the film series “From Casablanca to Sahara: Hollywood’s North Africa”, running from May 1 to June 29. The complete schedule is available here. Peter Lorre’s film Casablanca will be shown on Saturday, June 6.

Note: Several dealers on eBay are offering Algiers on DVD – and listing Peter Lorre as one of the cast. This is incorrect. Algiers stars Charles Boyer, Hedy Lamarr, and Joseph Calleia in the key roles – not Peter Lorre.