...a movie for the ages.
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What more can one say about a movie that defines the word "classic"?
The American Film Institute voted "Casablanca" the second-best American film ever made. "Entertainment Weekly" gave it their number-three spot among "100 Greatest Movies." User ratings at the Internet Movie Database rank it number five in their "Top 250 Movies of All-Time." And a scientifically formulated and rigorously administered survey of both the Wife-O-Meter and myself place the film squarely at number one. Certainly, "Casablanca" has been a worthy subject for several previous DVD releases, and now it takes its place among Warner Brothers' celebrated, two-disc, Special Edition sets.
Not bad for a movie that almost never was. After all, in 1942 when it was being made, it was considered just another Warner Brothers back-lot melodrama. The studio had been churning these things out by the cartload every year, using their usual stable of contract players. With a script that was being rewritten daily and a plot that mystified everyone on the set, it's a wonder the film was ever finished, let alone become one of the most famous ever made.
When did I first come to it? Well, it wasn't in 1942, I can tell you that. But it wasn't all that long afterwards. I remember it was a rainy Saturday afternoon in the mid fifties; I was a kid, bored, and looking for something to watch on one of our three television channels. I turned on "Casablanca" about ten minutes into the picture. I'd never seen it before--an old, fuzzy, black-and-white movie interrupted by a multitude of commercials. But I stuck with it for over two hours, fascinated by something that would normally have left me cold--a romance! I had no idea how popular the film was, winning Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, nor how much more popular it would become on TV, eventually attaining the status of most-often broadcast film in history. I only knew I loved it.
So, what's the attraction? Why does "Casablanca" consistently show up in the public's and critics' lists of top-ten films of all time? I suspect it's the characters and atmosphere more than anything else. Sure, it's a riveting love story, too, but without the colorful cast and exotic locale, it would be just another potboiler, which, as I said, is about what its producers initially expected of it. But the picture took on a life of its own as filming and rewrites continued, eventually emerging as the classic every movie buff knows by heart.
Based on the unproduced play "Everybody Comes to Rick's" by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison, the film moves effortlessly from scene to scene under the guidance of veteran director Michael Curtiz. The main character is, of course, Richard Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart. He's a hard-bitten, world-weary cynic, thirty-seven, single, the owner of Rick's Cafe Americain, a night club/casino in Casablanca, Morocco, just before America's entry into World War II. He is the quintessential antihero, a man who proclaims, "I stick my neck out for nobody." At least that's his philosophy until old flame Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) shows up. Then all bets are off as Rick turns back into a noble and caring human being.
On a trivia note, Jack Warner had originally considered George Raft to play the lead, but producer Hal Wallis insisted upon Bogart. Raft would later say he turned down the part because he didn't want to perform opposite an actress then unknown in America. That's OK. The year before he had turned down the role of Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon," saying the movie wasn't important enough and he didn't trust a first-time director (John Huston). Isn't it reassuring to know you're not the only one who makes mistakes? Serendipitous for us, though.
Add to the mix Rick's ever-faithful piano player, Sam (Dooley Wilson, who had to fake his piano playing); Ilsa's war-hero, resistance-fighter husband, the ultra-suave, ultra-gullible Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid); a weaselly thief named Ugarte (Peter Lorre); a conniving black-marketeer, "leader of all illegal activities in Casablanca," Senor Ferrari (Sydney Greenstreet); a lovable headwaiter, Carl (S.Z. Sakall); a magnificently evil villain, Major Heinrich Strasser of the German Third Reich (Conrad Veidt); and a Prefect of Police more sympathetic to himself than to the Germans who occupy his city, Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains). What you get is an ensemble cast that is unquestionably the best ever assembled. More serendipity: the studio had entertained thoughts of using, among others, either Ronald Reagan or Joseph Cotten for the part of Laszlo; Hedy Lamarr or Ann Sheridan for Ilsa; Clarence Muse or Lena Horne for Sam; and Otto Preminger for Major Strasser.
But let's not forget director Michael Curtiz, a staple of the Warner Brothers' production machine; temperamental though he was, he created some the studio's most noted films. To name just a few besides "Casablanca," there were "Captain Blood" (1935), "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1936), "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938), "Angels With Dirty Faces" (1938), "The Sea Hawk" (1940), "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942), "Mildred Pierce" (1945), "Life With Father" (1947), "Jim Thorpe: All American" (1951), "White Christmas" (1954), "The Egyptian" (1954), "We're No Angels" (1955), and "The Comancheros" (1961). Today, with directors elevated to the level of outright stars, Curtiz may be the most overlooked filmmaker in the history of Hollywood. And he made "Casablanca" almost entirely on a Warner Brothers soundstage!
Then there's the script. Admit it: Can you think of any other film with so many memorable lines? No wonder Woody Allen's character in "Play It Again, Sam" had every word memorized and could recite the dialogue along with the actors. Play a game: Randomly fast forward to any spot in the movie and listen to the conversation. I'm betting you'll find a famous line. Try these examples:
Ugarte: "You despise me, don't you?"
Rick: "If I gave you any thought I probably would."
Ugarte: "Rick, think of all the poor devils who can't meet Renault's price. I get it for them for half. Is that so...parasitic?"
Rick: "I don't mind a parasite. I object to a cut-rate one."
Ugarte: "You know, Rick, I have many a friend in Casablanca, but somehow, just because you despise me, you are the only one I trust."
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Yvonne: "Where were you last night?"
Rick: "That's so long ago, I don't remember."
Yvonne: "Will I see you tonight?"
Rick: "I never make plans that far ahead."
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Ilsa: "Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake."
Sam: "I don't know what you mean, Miss Ilsa."
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[release]10976[/release]