Casablanca

After my experience with "Gone with the Wind", I was hoping that watching "Casablanca" on the big screen would be more entertaining. I am grateful to say that it was. The on-screen romantic chemistry between Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman was genuine and the story was intriguing. I can see why it is so important in Hollywood history.

The movie feels slightly more lighthearted and optimistic for film noir and that appeals to me. "Casablanca" even has three cast members from "The Maltese Falcon", the quintessential example of film noir. I enjoyed the character change that Rick undergoes from the moment that Ilsa, out "of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world", walked into his. Though his personality in public doesn't really change, on the inside and in private, he longs for what it was like in Paris with Ilsa before the occupation. I enjoyed the Paris flashback as well as the national anthem showdown in Rick's club. This scene is evidence as to why "La Marseillaise" is thought by many to be the world's greatest national anthem. As a fun fact, the plane in the background of the final scene is actually a miniature with little people acting as extras hence the use of fog. The show was also shot chronologically and this is due to the fact that the script wasn't finished when filming began. This made the shoot very difficult for the actors because they were leading the characters they were playing towards an unknown climax. Was this good for the movie or bad? I would say good but I'm not Oscar acting material so we probably don't know if it helped with the romance and drama of "Casablanca". Moviegoers tend to think that successful movies are fun to make but that is not always true as is the case with this movie and "The Wizard of Oz".

Humphrey Bogart's name is synonymous with the film noir. I found nothing wrong at all with his work in "Casablanca". Even in the flashback scene, he is still the same character but in love. Bogart got his first Oscar nomination for this role and would later win an Academy Award in the 50's. According to the American Film Institute (AFI), Bogart is greatest actor in Hollywood history and his co-star Ingrid Bergman is fourth on the actress list. Bergman in real life is taller than Bogart by the way. Bergman would later win three Oscars over the course of her career. My favorite actor and character is Dooley Wilson as Sam. His character was almost female and even after filming was complete, Wilson's performance was almost dubbed over. I am familiar with Peter Lorre because Looney Tunes spoofed him more than once. For another fact, director Michael Curtiz co-directed "The Adventures of Robin Hood". Claude Rains, who received an Oscar nomination for playing Louis, was in "Robin Hood" but I don't remember his performance. Unlike most people, I like Max Steiner's musical score for this movie over his work on "Gone with the Wind". This brings me to "As Time Goes By". AFI has named it the second greatest movie song after "Over the Rainbow". Steiner wanted a new song but Bergman had already cut her hair once filming was complete and therefore could not do reshoots. I think we are all thankful. Warner Brothers recently has used the song during its opening logo. The piano used in the movie sold at action for over 3 million dollars so that should say something about the song. At the Oscars, "Casablanca" was nominated for Best Actor & Supporting Actor (as mentioned), Cinematography, Editing and Musical Score. It won for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay. As deserving as the film was of those awards, it might not have won them thanks to a decision the Academy made. Even though the premiere was in December of 1942 and was released publically in 1943, the film was included in the nominations for films released in '43. The reason I have a problem with this is that a few years later, "It's a Wonderful Life" premiered in December of '46 in order to qualify for that year's Academy Awards to its detriment. Had it both premiered and been released publically in 1947, it would have won Best Picture for that year. Was the Academy playing favorites in the 40's? AFI has plastered "Casablanca" all over its lists and rightfully so. Besides the other aforementioned accolades from the AFI, it is the third greatest movie behind "Citizen Kane" and "The Godfather", #37 on the list of suspenseful movies and #32 for inspirational movies. Also, it is the #1 romance and the character of Rick is the fourth greatest hero after Atticus Finch, Indiana Jones and James Bond in that order. Finally, on the list of movie quotes, "Casablanca" has a record of six lines on the list. The highest is "Here's looking at you, kid" at #5. Bogart invented it as he taught Bergman how to play poker during filming.

The movie did well in its first theatrical run but has since become a Hollywood icon and is one of the first movies to be preserved in the United States National Film Registry in 1989. As good as this show was, I think "Bambi" (also released in 1942) is a little better. I don't understand the appeal of "Gone with the Wind" but the romance and story of "Casablanca" is obviously appealing.

4 Stars