Some movies are so overpowering, so easy to obsess over, that we feel a void in their wake. Casablanca was one such movie, and it is only natural that other works would try to recapture some of that magic, or least the ambiance of its faux-exotic locale.
It would be easy to dismiss Tangier as trying to ride the coattails of that classic; however, I found it enjoyable on its own terms, while also scratching that particular itch.
Instead of papers of transit, Tangier’s action is centered around a far more relatable (and plausible) object: a large diamond that keeps trading hands.
Maria Montez is one of the people after that diamond. She plays a nightclub singer here but, really, she has essentially played the same character in every movie I have seen her in. Nightclub singer, jungle queen—she is given slightly different flavors of the same role in each film, but it’s a role she plays well.
The other characters lurking about include what you would expect: an anti-hero (in this case, a washed-up war correspondent who happened to wash up here), an intimidating police captain, a comic relief guy.
Sabu fills that last role, playing a smooth-talking low-life who serenades the patrons of the club, doing the rounds with his guitar. Actually, he largely confuses the patrons, performing such numbers as “She’ll Be Coming Around The Mountain”. When asked what he just played, he says, “It’s American!”, and everybody breaks into applause—as if that justified his selection. At one point, he defends his performance of a Bing Crosby number with “It was number one on the hit procession!”. I love that line, and it’s part of a great little recurring gag.
Not too much more I feel I need to add. The sets were too minimal to transport me to another time and place, but then I never watched Casablanca unaware it was entirely filmed on a studio lot. Sometimes, what is essentially a knock-off or a cash-in can have enough of its own charm to warrant a viewing.
Dir: George Waggner
Starring Maria Montez, Robert Paige, Sabu
Watched on Kino Lorber blu-ray