Casablanca: How An Unproduced Play Marched into Movie History
20 days ago
- Casablanca's iconic lines, such as 'Round up the usual suspects' and 'Here's looking at you, kid,' originated from the film and are widely parodied.
- Warner Bros. acquired the play 'Everybody Comes to Rick's' immediately after Pearl Harbor, timing the film to coincide with America's entry into WWII, and it premiered when U.S. forces entered Casablanca.
- Humphrey Bogart's role in Casablanca won him a new contract as Hollywood's highest-paid actor, and the film won three Oscars including Best Picture.
- The script was constantly rewritten by multiple writers, leaving co-star Ingrid Bergman uncertain of the romantic ending until the final scene was shot.
- The plot centers on a love triangle between Rick, Ilsa, and Victor, set against the backdrop of WWII, with stolen letters of transit driving the suspense.
- A key scene involves patrons singing 'La Marseillaise' to drown out German officers' song, symbolizing resistance and shifting Rick's allegiance from neutrality to involvement.
- Rick serves as an allegorical stand-in for America, evolving from a cynical isolationist to a partisan fighter, mirroring the U.S. transition in WWII.
- The character Sam, a Black American pianist, has a close and progressive friendship with Rick, unusual for the era.
- Rick's Café Americain represents a microcosm of Hollywood and the U.S., reflecting the influx of European émigré talents fleeing Nazism.
- The film's ending states 'This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship,' encapsulating Rick's transformation.