Casablanca (1942)
One of the greatest movies ever made! I’ve seen this movie at least once a year over the past 30+ years and every time i’ve seen it i’ve enjoyed it nearly as much as the first time i’ve seen it! It’s one of these old classics that has held up quite well over the years. I watched it again last night when i saw it was playing on Crave & my love for it never gets old! It stars movie legend Humphrey Bogart, newcomer Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre & Sydney Greenstreet. It was made right in the middle of WW2 & involves a cast of characters caught up in Casablanca, Morroco during the Nazi occupation of France. The movie has drama, suspense, comedy, great dialogue & it’s a love story. I still tear up to this day whenever i watch the scene where Resistance leader Viktor Laszlo gets everyone in the club to sing La Marseilleise in front of the nazi contingent. Bogart plays the American owner of a local club & the beautiful Ingrid Bergman’s former lover. She unknowingly shows up in his club (Rick’s Cafe Americain) with her fugitive Resistance leader husband Viktor Lazlo. They need Rick Blaine’s (Bogart) to escape Casablanca & the nazis. Blaine is good buddies with the local head of police Captain Renault & their relationship adds to some funny exchanges between the two. Many classic & memorable scenes. A memorable song (As Time Goes By) played by Dooley Wilson who plays piano player ‘Sam’ who relocated to Casablanca with his friend Rick. Bergman portrays Ilsa Lund & this was probably her most famous role in a long film career. The famous movie lines like “Play it again, Sam” & “Here’s looking at you, kid” always amuse me. Just like “of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world she walks into mine”. What great dialogue, what a great script! It was directed by Michael Curtiz & was originally titled “Everybody Comes to Rick’s”. Had the original title been kept i doubt it would have become the great classic it became & withstood the test of time.
There are flaws in the movie & part of the plot is hard to believe especially when it comes to the Nazis but let’s not forget that it was released in 1942 when people didn’t know how actually evil & a bunch of animals the Nazis were. I’ve always wondered if an alternative ending was ever made. My guess is yes but if so the right ending was chosen since it’s pure perfection. I remember reading that the script had to be re-written several times & that it was a work in progress during filming. If my memory is correct they also replaced the original director after filming had begun. Initially they didn’t feel like casting Bergman in the movie since there was too much of an age difference with Bogart. They didn’t think it would work. Many years ago i remember reading that Bogart was having a lot of problems dealing with a gastric ulcer during filming & was often in great pain which ended up helping him in a very convincing performance. I’ve seen many Humphrey Bogart movies over the years like The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of Sierra Madre & The Harder They Fall & for myself his performance in this movie is his best one! What a great, great movie! I can’t wait to watch it again!
