Casablanca (1942)   ● Rated PG for violence. Starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Directed by Michael Curtiz. 102 minutes. Available on DVD and VHS.

If nothing else, "Casablanca" provides fuel for ultra-film buffs to trump moderate film buffs on a point of trivia. Whenever the latter group quotes "Play it again, Sam!" from the movie, the ultra-buff steps in with the know-it-all revelation that the most famous line linked to the movie is actually never uttered onscreen. The line actually came from the Marx Brothers' "A Night in Casablanca" (1946), one of countless remakes and tributes to the granddaddy film, including Woody Allen's play and movie, which uses the famous line as its title. Ilsa, played with elegance by Ingrid Bergman, actually says, "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.' " As time goes by, "Casablanca" only becomes more entrenched and important in cinematic history. A first viewing of the film leaves you astounded by the sheer amount of dialogue that became a part of the way we all speak. We're indebted to "Casablanca" for always having Paris, for beautiful friendships, hills of beans, usual suspects and all the gin joints in all the world. The screenplay is cited in "Adaptation" as the best ever written, and that's tough to refute. But buried underneath all the cultural baggage, influence and trappings that come from a half-century-old cultural phenomenon is a firecracker little movie. And a little movie it was, at least at its conception. As an unheralded widget from the Warner Bros. studio machine of the 1940s, the film took an unproduced play, which its writers changed during shooting, filmed in a hurry, and employed a bizarre experiment of taking a gruff actor from its gangster-picture stable and setting him up as a romantic lead. "Casablanca" was made with little fanfare, and was one of three pictures director Michael Curtiz cranked out in '42. The movie gods kissed the production with a confluence of brilliant writing, photography and acting, with all parties collaborating at their ultimate peak of potential. Not that things went smoothly. Legend has it the script was written on the fly, only days ahead of shooting, with swatches of dialogue flowing into the set at all times. The actors seem to thrive on the chaos and uncertainty, giving "Casablanca" a bit of extra urgency. Repeated viewings of "Casablanca" reveal little things about the film, such as the way the rain bounces off Humphrey Bogart's hat and washes the ink off the Dear John letter from Ilsa. You notice Bogart's shimmering eyes when he's trying to drink away his problems, with the only woman he ever loved having stumbled back into his messy life, one of Moroccan exile during World War II. You notice Bergman's look of uneasy determination as she fearlessly strides away onto the airplane with her spy husband. The story in the film is a classic love triangle, burdened with a haunting ethical choice that went on to personify the era's patriotic belief that a collective cause is more important than personal benefit. Bogart plays Rick, a disheveled nightclub owner in Casablanca, a crossroads of spies, French Resistance fighters and Nazi investigators. Romance, life and career are unimportant for Rick, a nihilistic burnout who grunts that he sticks his neck out for no one. He seems incapable of romance. Early scenes show Rick coldly dismissing a fling, and refusing to drink with customers. The scene is filled out by delightful supporting characters who come and go, including the slimy Ugarte (Peter Lorre) and a morally askew police chief played by Claude Rains. Enter Ilsa, Rick's former love, who arrives on the arm of the great spy Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). The Nazis are intent to neutralize Laszlo, but escape is possible in the form of two letters of passage that will allow entry to Portugal. In the chronically misquoted scene, Ilsa begs Sam, Rick's pianist, to play the song that belongs to her and Rick. Rick barges in, tells Sam to stop, then glances up at Ilsa, and life suddenly again has meaning. We flash back to a montage showing Rick as a completely different person, happy and jovial, romancing Ilsa in a joyous Parisian whirlwind. The two planned to marry, but Ilsa left him with only a letter. Back in the Moroccan present, Rick and Ilsa overcome their hurdles and rediscover that they still long for each other. Ilsa tells Rick she needs him to do the thinking for her, and he arranges to get ahold of the letters of passage. He must weigh the indulgence of his one true love against the expense of the Allied effort. The actors play their scenes in tumult and confusion, drawing from real life. No actor on the film knew until the final day of shooting what choice Rick would make. The movie, though, really couldn't have ended any different way. There's nothing more romantic than the notion of giving up romance in a noble cause, and movies don't get much more romantic than "Casablanca." Casablanca (1942)

 

● Rated PG for violence. Starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Directed by Michael Curtiz. 102 minutes. Available on DVD and VHS.