Impeccably Dressed

Does Laura Mulvey’s theory, that only women can be the object of the erotic gaze in cinema, still hold true if films that lie beyond mainstream Hollywood are examined? Through close analysis of the 1937 French film Pépé-le-Moko, this paper examines those aspects of the filmmakers’ craft which influence the direction of the gaze - such as costume, cinematography/lighting, use of the body, and star persona. It demonstrates the way the film helped build on the Jean Gabin ‘myth’ through a fetishisation of his clothes and body.

Keywords: Film Studies, Pepe-le-Moko, Jean Gabin, Julien Duvivier, costume in film, gangsters in film, French cinema, poetic realism