The Canadian Cinephile’s Reviews and News

Casablanca is perhaps the most popular film of all time. It is probably the most-quoted film, too, although one of the lines most associated with the film – “Play it again, Sam” – is actually a misquote. One of the film’s other prominent lines, “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid,” was not in the original draft but was actually added in as the result of Bogart and Bergman’s poker playing between takes. Six lines from Casablanca appear on the American Film Institute’s Top 100 Memorable Lines in Film History, in fact, making it the most verbally proficient film of all time. Other lines that have made the list include “We’ll always have Paris” and “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Casablanca was based on Murray Burnett and Joan Alison’s play Everybody Comes to Rick’s. Warner Brothers story analysts got a hold of the play and approved of it instantaneously, leading producer Hal Wallis to buy the rights to it for about $20,000. At the time, Wallis’ price was the most anyone had ever paid for an unproduced play, so the project was seen as a gamble. The project was renamed Casablanca and shooting began on May 25, 1942. It wrapped on August 3, 1942 and went around $75,000 over budget. The final budget for the film was $1,039,000.

Casablanca was shot exclusively in the studio, save for one sequence which was shot at Van Nuys Airport. The production was built with care and much of it stayed up until the 1960s. Wallis’ attention to detail on the film has been celebrated, including his avowal that a real parrot be used in the Blue Parrot bar. Wallis’ first choice to direct the film was to be William Wyler. Wyler was unavailable, however, so Wallis choice Michael Curtiz instead. Curtiz directed the film in a very frank fashion, choosing to use his shots to tell stories rather than to produce art. The end result of his directorial vision is a film that moves at a great pace and lets the characters work their magic. Curtiz had very little creative input into the actual story of the film and, by all accounts, he wanted it that way. He was certainly not an auteur in the traditional sense, rather choosing to be very much removed from the process and to simply shoot the story.

Casablanca stars Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine, the cynical ex-pat living in Casablanca. He owns an upscale nightclub, which attracts a variety of colourful clientele. Rick is neutral on all matters, or so he says, but as the film continues on it becomes apparent that he is not. Certain clues are brought about as to Rick’s character, including the fact that he had run guns to Ethiopia to help combat the Italian invasion. He also fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. Rick deals with a number of shady characters in his nightclub as we find him, however, and it appears that his life has changed since his revolutionary days. Something has impacted Rick and altered his perceptions as a man and that “something” is about to walk through the door.

Ingrid Bergman stars as Ilsa Lund, Rick’s ex-lover and his reason for bitterness. She arrives at Rick’s nightclub with her husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Laszlo is a Czech Resistance leader who is renowned around the world for his exploits. He is also on the run from the Nazis. Ilsa and Victor are trying to get to America so that Victor can have some safe ground on which to continue his work and to help his people. Ilsa learns about letters of transit that Rick has and old feelings begin to bubble to the surface, causing complications for everyone involved. A French police captain with an affinity for helping the Nazis, Louis Renault (Claude Rains), also becomes embroiled in the situation as Rick must make a moral choice as to who to help, if anyone, and why.

The cast of Casablanca was unique because of its internationalism, with only a few actors being American. Bogart was, of course, from New York. Bergman was Swedish and Henreid was Austrian. According to set rumours, Henreid didn’t get along too well with the other actors and was even heard describing Bogart as a “mediocre actor.” Bergman, in return, called Henreid a “prima donna.” Claude Rains was an English actor who had worked with Michael Curtiz before on The Adventures of Robin Hood. Peter Lorre, who plays Signor Ugarte in the film, was Hungarian and Conrad Veidt, who played Major Strasser of the Luftwaffe, was a German actor who fled Germany from the Nazis and ironically wound up playing Nazis for the remainder of his film career. Dooley Wilson, who played Sam, was one of the few other American actors in the film. Wilson was actually a drummer and couldn’t play the piano. At one point, a female character was considered to play the role of Sam, with Ella Fitzgerald being one of many names batted around for the part.

Casablanca is one of my favourite films. Its scope is simply breathtaking and it plays like an incredible melodrama, coming across like an epic movie without the trappings of epic movies. The film is all about sacrifices and about the good that human beings can do. It is not a sappy love story, although some of the notions in the film are rather romantic. It is perfect for Valentine’s Day and, on the other hand, it is not. There is much about Casablanca that focuses in on the romance of Rick and Ilsa, but those things are in the past as we experience them and Casablanca is about what can be done for the future. It is about where Rick and Ilsa go next, which is what makes the film so unique and so remarkably powerful. Casablanca is not about immediate romance, but about the effects of past romance and how feeling love for someone causes us, as human beings, to act.

Casablanca is one of the most beloved movies of all time. It is on more “greatest films of all time” lists than any other film, possibly even Citizen Kane. While there are some potential issues within the film, such as some poor special effects and some average performances (mainly Henreid’s Victor Laszlo), the film overall is one of few films that enter the pantheon of unforgettable cinema unscathed. It is a film of noble character and breadth, a stunning film based on the romantic gestures of Bogart’s Rick and Bergman’s Ilsa. That their romantic gestures are not purely built on self-seeking notions towards romantic love for one another is the most telling notion in Casablanca and belies its true sacrificial nature. It is a classic film to be experienced again and again, that is for certain. It is an extraordinary tale with remarkable characters, serving as a potent reminder of the righteousness of the human condition in the face of evil.

10/10

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