Casablanca (1942)

A cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

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

Stars:

Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid

Top Rated Movies #48 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 7 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

The story of Rick Blaine, a cynical world-weary ex-patriate who runs a nightclub in Casablanca, Morocco during the early stages of WWII. Despite the pressure he constantly receives from the local authorities, Rick's cafe has become a kind of haven for refugees seeking to obtain illicit letters that will help them escape to America. But when Ilsa, a former lover of Rick's, and her husband, show up to his cafe one day, Rick faces a tough challenge which will bring up unforeseen complications, heartbreak and ultimately an excruciating decision to make.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | love triangle | casablanca morocco | anti nazi | french morocco | 

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Taglines:

As big and timely a picture as ever you've seen! You can tell by the cast it's important! gripping! big!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Later there were plans for a further scene--showing Rick, Renault and a detachment of Free French soldiers on a ship--to incorporate the Allies' 1942 invasion of North Africa. It proved too difficult to get Claude Rains for the shoot, and the scene was finally abandoned after David O. Selznick judged "it would be a terrible mistake to change the ending."

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Goofs

While examining Rick's finances, Carl's glasses move from his forehead to his nose from cut to cut.

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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... across the Mediterranean to Oran... then by train, or auto, or foot across the rim of Africa, to Casablanca in French Morocco. Here, the fortunate ones through money, or ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

In the Italian version, the sequence where the Italian Officer Tonnelli meets Strasser is cut.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Night of the Blood Beast (1995)

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Soundtracks

Knock on Wood
(1942) (uncredited)
Music by M.K. Jerome
Lyrics by Jack Scholl
Performed by Dooley Wilson and band (piano dubbed by Jean Vincent Plummer)

User Reviews

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German Italian

Release Date:

23 January 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Everybody Comes to Rick's

Filming Locations:

Hotel Monte Vista, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$950,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$181,494, 12 April 1992

Gross USA:

$4,108,411

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,376,287

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min 82 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1