We were going to get here eventually, and the back half of a year-long salute to Best Picture winners feel like a wonderful time to do it. It is one of the most iconic films ever made. It is a joy to watch even now, more than 80 years after its release. It is quotable and trite; relevant and dated; brilliant and not terribly well made. I often say it is the greatest movie of all time but not a particularly good film. Let’s unpack all the wonder that is Casablanca (1942, dir. Michael Curtiz).
The story of Casablanca is very straightforward. It is a complicated love triangle between Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), and Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Laszlo is wanted by the German SS in occupied Morocco and comes seeking safe passage to Portugal. Ilsa is on his arm, but she had a previous relationship with Rick. Unbeknownst to Rick, she thought Laszlo had been killed at the time of their dalliance. When she hears he is alive, she leaves Rick stranded at the train station in Paris. Alone and bitter towards life, Rick ends up in Casablanca running a nightclub and drowning his sorrows in alcohol and nihilism. When Ilsa shows up, things get complicated for everyone.
The performances in Casablanca run the gamut from brilliant (Bogart and Bergman are top notch) to understated yet effective (Henreid) to cartoonish good (Sydney Greenstreet and Claude Raines) to cartoonish bad (Peter Lorre, who is always cartoonish bad but in a fun way). Good, bad, or indifferent, the acting serves to perfectly complement the script. Written by twin brothers Julius and Philip Epstein, the story is what elevates this film.
Easily one of the finest screenplays ever written (and indeed it is my highest-rated script of all time), the film is based on the play “Everybody Comes to Rick’s.” Even if you have not seen Casablanca, you have probably seen it parodied (Hot Shots: Part Deux) or referenced with a riff on one of the many memorable lines (Ocean’s Eleven, The World’s End, Manhattan, Space Jam: A New Legacy). The Usual Suspects even gets its title from a line of dialogue. You have also almost definitely heard “As Time Goes By” sung in another medium as well (sung multiple times here by Dooley Wilson). That is how deeply embedded in our popular culture this film is. The craziest thing about it is that nobody thought much of it when it was first made.
The story of Casablanca from page to screen is one of a total lack of confidence. It was filmed over the summer of 1942 and rushed to an initial release in November in order to take advantage of the timing of the Allied invasion of North Africa. Perhaps that accounts for the many small continuity errors and logically impossible lighting that always always always has Ingrid Bergman perfectly lit despite clearly being in shadows at times. Such silly things do not impact the enjoyment of this cinematic marvel. Neither does the comical number of times they say the word “Casablanca.” It is 48. Forty-eight times. About once every 2 minutes of running time. It made very little money at the box office, but it was a critical darling – including being nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three, including Best Picture.
If you have somehow made it this far in life without seeing this cinematic classic, treat yourself to a viewing. If you can find it on a big screen somewhere, all the better. But even in your living room, the story grabs you and never lets go. You will get attached to various characters and care about their fates. You will say a few times, “so THAT’S where that line comes from.” You will tear up when the French national anthem overtakes the German singing in Rick’s. Most importantly, you will watch one of the greatest films ever made. It may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship with classic films.
FUN FACT – One of Casablanca's most often quoted lines is “Play it again, Sam.” One problem: that line is never said in the film. Many lines get close to that, but those words are never said, despite many parodies indicating it.
Just Watch says that Casablanca is currently streaming on Max. It is also available for rent/purchase on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
As a reminder, here is the original post that details the scores and weighting system.