Casablanca (1942)

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Julius J. Epstein (screenplay) and
Philip G. Epstein (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 January 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

They had a date with fate in Casablanca!

Plot:

Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.

Plot Keywords:

Casablanca | German | American Expatriate | Police | Nightclub

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 28

6:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Rick Blaine
Ingrid Bergman	...	Ilsa Lund
Paul Henreid	...	Victor Laszlo
Claude Rains	...	Captain Renault
Conrad Veidt	...	Major Strasser
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Signor Ferrari
Peter Lorre	...	Ugarte
S.Z. Sakall	...	Carl (as S.K. Sakall)
Madeleine Lebeau	...	Yvonne
Dooley Wilson	...	Sam
Joy Page	...	Annina Brandel
John Qualen	...	Berger
Leonid Kinskey	...	Sascha
Curt Bois	...	Pickpocket

Also Known As:

Everybody Comes to Rick's (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild violence.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Spain:T | USA:Approved (certificate #8457) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Brazil:12 | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Chile:TE | Denmark:A | Finland:S | Germany:6 | Norway:10 (re-rating) (1992) | Norway:11 (re-rating) (2002) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Sweden:15 | Sweden:7 (re-release) | UK:U | USA:PG (new rating) (1992)

Filming Locations:

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Director Michael Curtiz' Hungarian accent often caused confusion on the set. He asked a prop man for a "poodle" to appear in one scene. The prop man searched high and low for a poodle while the entire crew waited. He found one and presented it to Curtiz, who screamed "A poodle! A poodle of water!" See also The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Throughout the film, liquor bottles are seen with revenue stickers across the tops of the bottles. Liquor in Casablanca is not subject to US revenue taxes. As the film wasn't actually shot in Casablanca, this was overlooked.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: With the coming of the Second World War, many eyes in imprisoned Europe turned hopefully, or desperately, toward the freedom of the Americas. Lisbon became the great embarkation point. But, not everybody could get to Lisbon directly, and so a tortuous, roundabout refugee trail sprang up - Paris to Marseilles...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby

A Classic Worth Remembering

While there's not anything new to be said about "Casablanca", it's good to see one of the classics still getting some attention. By most standards it is at least very good, and there are good reasons why so many still remember it so fondly. Not everyone who watches it today shares the opinion that it is a classic, but it's still good to see fans of modern movies giving it a try for themselves.

The cast is one of its main strengths, not just Bogart and Bergman but also the fine supporting cast. Rains, Greenstreet, Lorre, and the others are indispensable to the atmosphere and the story, and each has some very good moments. It does have its imperfections, but it was not expected to be a classic or blockbuster - everything you read about the production suggests that it was made in a rather slap-dash fashion, under constraints that would have wrecked most other films. It's not hard to see the little ways that this affected the finished product, such as the times when the plot strains credibility a bit, or the characters seem to behave somewhat oddly. (In particular, it might have been even more satisfying if Bergman's character had been a little stronger - Ilsa is charming, but that's entirely thanks to what Bergman does with her; the character herself as written seems somewhat shallow.)

But it turned out anyway to be an excellent combination of actors, characters, and story, a combination that more than makes up for everything else. Different viewers probably remember and enjoy "Casablanca" for different reasons, because it seemingly has a little of everything. While perhaps not perfect, it is well worth remembering and watching.