03.12.10 | Gary Cahall | Staff NotesPrint this Post
Okay, please let me get in a few words first. Starting from the age of 12 or so--between afternoon and late late TV broadcasts, a few screenings in repertoire cinemas (Remember rep theaters? That's where college students and urban intelligentsia would flock to watch King of Hearts, Harold and Maude, and Reefer Madness before home video essentially drove them out of business) , VHS and DVD viewings, and its once-a-month-or-so appearances on TCM--I estimate that I have seen Casablanca at least 150 times. I love the movie, it's one of my top three all-time favorites (Marty and the 1939 Hunchback of Notre Dame, thanks for asking), and Casablanca roundly deserves its three Academy Awards, its generations of fans, and the praise it's been given since its November 1942 premiere.
That being said, it's not a perfect movie. No work of art, however moving or skillfully executed, is without flaws (For example, did you ever notice that the Venus de Milo's arms are missing?). And while "hate" may be an exaggeration, there are certain aspects to Casablanca--some very minor--that may puzzle, irk or even annoy me, but that I've learned to put up with over the years. They are (MULTIPLE SPOILER ALERTS!), in ascending order of "irksomeness":
10. How come when Rick is standing on that rainy Paris railway platform reading the goodbye letter from Ilsa, his hat and trenchcoat are soaking wet, but the minute he climbs onto the train car steps with Sam, he's perfectly dry (See, I told you some were very minor)?
9. In a similar vein, when Ilsa and Victor are in the Blue Parrot cafe asking Ferrari about black market visas, why does she say that she'll miss Ferrari's coffee when they leave Casablanca? She'd been outside talking to Rick, and never so much as picks up a demitasse!
8. The last time I checked, the city of Casablanca was on the Atlantic coast of northern Morocco. That would seem to imply that the town would have a large Arab and African population. Granted, the onset of World War II led to an influx of European refugees, but why in the whole movie does the number of Arabs with speaking roles apparently amount to three: a pair of street vendors and Abdul, the doorman at Rick's Cafe Americain?
7. Speaking of missing characters, it seems a little odd that there seemingly were no Jewish refugees in Casablanca trying to flee German persecution. This is particularly ironic since more than a few of the film's players (Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, S.Z. Sakall, and Curt Bois, among others) had themselves left Europe following Hitler's rise to power, and several witnessed the Nazis' hate campaigns firsthand .
6. Even for a movie made in the early '40s, it does grate a little on the nerves to hear Ilsa, on her and Victor's first visit to Rick's, refer to Sam as "the boy who is playing the piano." He's at least 10 years her senior, and I don't think they talked that way in Sweden.
5. And speaking of poor, loyal Sam: After helping his buddy "Mr. Rick" hightail it out of Paris ahead of the Nazis, sticking with him in the middle of French Morocco for at least a year or two, and being his devoted friend all that time, how does Rick repay him? By selling the club where he works to Ferrari and expecting Sam to stay put and pound the ivories, without so much as a "Thank you"!
4. The Spanish-singing female guitar player in Rick's. I've looked up Corinna Mura, and apparently she was popular enough at the time to have her own radio program, perform three times for F.D.R., and appear on Broadway and in several movies (joining Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Lorre, and director Michael Curtiz in Casablanca's 1944 pseudo-revamping, Passage to Marseille). That doesn't mean I don't find her song in this movie a drag, however.
3. The whole "Play it again, Sam" controversy, where savvy movie buffs trip up neophytes by asking what film the line comes from and then telling them it's never said in Casablanca. Guess what, know-it-alls? It's there, but you just don't hear it. When Ilsa and Victor arrive at the Cafe Americain a second time and Rick tells her he'll have Sam play "As Time Goes By," Rick whispers something into Sam's ear just before he starts...well, playing it again. That's my theory, anyway.
2. Let's put our cards on the table: Victor Lazlo is a pretty bland third member of what many call the quintessential movie love triangle. This generally is par for the course in the romance genre (look at Leslie Howard in Gone with the Wind, Andrew McCarthy in Pretty in Pink, or nearly every '30s/'40s Ralph Bellamy character), but Paul Henreid really underplays the part here. And what's the main thing this supposedly charismatic leader does to impress Ilsa? He leads a bunch of drunken nightclub patrons in a sing-along competition. I've seen half-buzzed guys in Philly bars do the same thing with a karoake machine of Supertramp tunes!
1. Finally, there is the movie's MacGuffin, the travelling papers that everyone wants. You know, "Letters of transit," "Cannot be rescinded, not even questioned." There's a debate between devotees of Casablanca as to who Ugarte says the letters are signed by, Vichy France's national defense minister Gen. Maxime Weygand (whose authority, quite frankly, the Germans could have very easily overlooked) or Free French leader Gen. Charles DeGaulle (whose signature carried even less weight with the Third Reich). Frankly, I've heard Peter Lorre say the line at least 150 times and I can't tell, but it is clear that those all-purpose papers were really just a gimmick to tie everything together.
That it did tie everything together, and that--after nearly seven decades--the movie works as well as it does and brings in new fans every year, is a tribute to the cast and crew...in spite of my petty squabbles. After all, as Rick says, "Everyone in Casablanca has problems, yours may work out."
Like you, I enjoy the movie even given its flaws. The "boy" comment, raincoat, and Corinna Mura all were irksome moments for me.
Regarding the Letters of Transit... according to the script found at http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Casablanca.pdf
Ugarte's line is: "...Letters of transit signed by General de Gaulle..."
"See you at the movies."
RD-B&W
you're the kind of "critic" who should keep his stupid, trivial comments to himself. if you must find fault with the small details, why did you omit an obvious one where, after Rick shoots the Nazi officer at the airport, the police arrive almost before he hits the ground, and Louie still has to tell them "round up the usual suspects" when Rick probably still has the smoking gun in his hand.
I have no quibble with any of your "petty squabbles;" they're all valid enough (although I rather like Corinna Mura).
I don't particularly mind the "letters of transit" MacGuffin, in and of itself (for the record, I'm in the Weygand camp), but their ultimate pointlessness is exposed by the fact that, after all the hoo-ha about them - including Renault's signature to make them "even more official" - they're never given or shown to anyone else in authority before Ilsa and Victor waltz onto the plane.
IF YOU ARE GOING TO PICK THE MOVIE APART, DON'T WATCH IT. IT IS SIMPLE SA THAT.
THOSE WERE REAL ACTORS.
You were right. Some of them are minor and don't even deserve mention. The reference to Sam as "the boy" proably reflects the era in which the film was made. The audacity to call a grown man who is older a boy was commonplace in the 40s. I heard it many times growing up and akways felt it offensive. The rest of your comments are humbug. DM
It's my favorite movie, no doubt about it. My biggest irritation is your #2 - Paul Henreid simply does not come across as a charismatic leader. As to your #7, no Jewish refugees, I always took the Brandel couple (the girl who contemplates trading sex with Renault for the exits visas) to be Jewish refugees. But these qibbles don't amount to a hill of beans.......
"you're the kind of "critic" who should keep his stupid, trivial comments to himself" I thought that was very rude of you. This is America and we are entitled to our own opinions. Men have died in order to have freedom of speech. There are billions of people on this earth and each mind is a universe unto itself. If yours is rudeness, I guess that is your universe.
Hey everybody. The man says he loves the movie and it appears to me that he genuinely does because (a) like me, he's seen it approximately 150 times and the only reason you watch a movie 150 times is if you are psychotic...or you LOVE it and (b) any movie lover worth his/her salt loves to point out the gaffes that somehow enhance rather than detract from the object of their affection. . . . As for the notion that Sam, Ilsa and Victor are the quintessential movie love triangle - to that I say, mais non! They take second place. The title belongs to Tracy Lord, CK Dexter Haven and Macaulay Connor (from a little bit of perfection that, regrettably, also shares a brief, cringe-worthy racial comment).
Charlie, I think you are missing the point. Louie tells his officers to round up the "usual" suspects because a murder has been committed and the police need to round up the usual suspects if someone is murdered in Casablanca. He basicly telling Rick he is not going to arrest him for the murder.
With a regular viewing that's reached or passed 150 times, a few quibbles in conversation are as nothing. Everybody who watches 'North by Northwest' enjoys seeing Cary Grant's wine glass move about of its' own free will. It adds to the fun. So do the inconsistencies in 'Casablanca'. Just don't ask what Rick and Ilsa were doing in his office that night.
Picky, Picky, Picky!!! Only #5 would take some serious thought in a discussion of the film. Claude Rains was out of his mind in this film!! Seen a lot more questionable stuff in films made today. I'll take "Casablanca" over "Citizen Kane" or "Gone With The wind" anyday.
I enjoy the playfulness of your "pickyness" and am surprised some folks tried to flame you.
As for the Jewish population,yes, the Brandel couple could be. (The Nazis may know what a Jew "looks like," but it's hard for me to pick them out from anyone else.)
However, character actor "Cuddles" playing Rick's head waiter and the "what watch" middle-aged refugee couple he talks with seem to me to have a Yiddish background.
For that matter, Boris the love-sick bartender could be a Russian Jew. So could the short pickpocket--hey, Meyer Lanski was a Jew and gangster: the two are not mutually exclusive. Some of the Free French underground who connect with Victor Lazlo (who might be Jewish himself)--after all, not all Jews went to the death camps without fighting back. Since Jews look like any number of other people, the place could be packed with Jews and I'd never spot them.
I think you do Rick an injustice about selling his gin joint out from under Sam. He tells Ferrari Sam gets a certain cut of the weekly receipts and wants that to continue as a condition of the sale. Ferrari replies he knows Sam actually gets a smaller percentage, but agrees to the increase, which is enough so that Sam is left hanging.
As for racism, it's hard to get too upset with Ilsa calling referring to Sam as boy when Sam himself sings a racially stereotype song, Shine (Just because my hair is curly / And just because my teeth are pearly /. . . they call me Shine). That same song was performed in full in Cabin in the Sky which had an all-black cast.
Want to see some blatant racism, check out films like Judge Priest and some of the exchanges between Will Rogers and Stepen Fetchit. Or even a film as recent as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, when James Stewart gives a handout to the old black man and passes it off as "pork chop money."
Wow, picky is right. I happen to think Paul Henreid and Leslie Howard are very sexy!
Okay, the only things I hate about Casablanca are the fake airplane sequences (you mean to tell me they couldn't find or film some actual footage of airplanes taking off and landing) and the whole "When Time Goes By" song. I am as white as driven snow but the whole "My hair is curling... my teeth are purling" bit makes me cringe. As to the Play it Again, Sam controversy, maybe Rick doesn't say those words exactly, but doesn't he say something along the lines of "You know what I want to hear. You played it for her, you can play it for me"? It's sort of like the E.G. Robinson "You Dirty Rat" or the actress who never really said "I vant to be alone". The source of these misquotes is probably the myriad Bugs Bunny cartoons where these various actors and actresses were lampooned.
Boy that scene from Liberty Valance make me cringe, too, because Stewart says "Poke Chop Money" not even dignifying the statement by saying "Pork". Erk. Those were different times, but Hollywood still hasn't purged itself of racism. I had "A Few Good Men" on laserdisc, which had a triple fold-out cover with lots of photos including quite a few shots of the idiot poor white trash co-defendant, who only had three or four lines in the movie, but not one single photo of the main defendant, around whom the whole drama revolved. The only reason I could see for leaving him off was that he was a black man. Like I said, I am white, and grew up an era where Little Black Sambo was socially acceptable, so if they things annoy me, I can't imagine how minorities might feel about them.
Don't always look for racism when someone was called "Boy" before the 1950's. Boy was used often for whites as well as blacks for someone in a non professional job, like a bell boy, a paper boy, our boys in uniform, or the boy who played the piano. Back in the day most whites and blacks had a reasonable relationship, at least in the North. Words are different now. Just think about being "Gay".
I enjoyed your comments but I was surprised that most of the people who responded were men, I thought it would be the ladies who would be annoyed. Number 6 made me laugh the first time I heard it. I have to look out for number 10, I remember that part but never really paid attention to it. Thanks
The Movie Casa Blanka could use another thirty minutes more. Show the couriers getting rubbed out by Peter Lorre and give Peter Lori more screen time. There is a need of more shots of the Nazis' runnin around town,being a pain in the a--.
Rick needs more aggressive action on sluging it out with the bad guys on film. Love the Movie.
All In all, it's a movie! Not a documentary.
You paid your money, you bought the dream!
As for Scott's comment regarding "A Few Good Men", the young man you speak of was Wolfgang Bodison a film location scout at the tiem of the filming of "A Few Good Men" not an "actor" per se. I doubt he even had a SAG card at the time.
His performance, which I found outstanding for a "non-actor" speaks for itself.
Reiner approached him for a screen test for the role of Harold Dawson to the credit of the film. His performance outshines Tom Cruise in my book.
Since, Wolfgang has appeared in many TV roles and is currently working on three film projects. As Reiner gave him his first break as an actor, I think we can forgive the studio producers for not putting his photo along with some of the other cast members like James Marshall who had many acting credits to his name long before Wolfgang was heard of or seen.
I doubt it was an intention racist move as you would suggest. If so, Wolfgang seems to have overcome all adversity to the tune of a decent acting career.
As for Casablanca, the only thing I did not like was the break up at the end, made me cry. All else is insignificant. And, I hope we have evolved past the use of the word "boy" in referrence to anyone who has grown to manhood.
Where I live whites call each other "boy" all the time. It is for some a term of endearment and for others a pejorative. Eyes of the beholder.
If you don't like the older and much better movies than what is out ther today don't watch them. I love Casablanca, and all of Bogie's movies, also GWTW, Bettie Davis movies, and all the othern Warner Brothers movies, not to mention MGM & Paramount. The closest I have seen lately to a really good movie has beeb Nights in Rodanthe. Of course there are others out there but I just hate to read about someone trashing Casablanca
I have no problem with the author's picky points, but the guy who credited the "You dirty rat" line to Edward G. Robinson should know that was James Cagney who probably DID say that line at least once and it was Greta Garbo who DID say "I want to be alone (in the movie "Grand Hotel") And didn;t the great Otis Redding sing the lyrics, "six feet one weighing two hundred and ten. Long hair and pretty fair skin..." in the R&B classic "Love Man" ANd he was easily as dark as Dooley Wilson. Heck, lily white, born to privilege Joan Baez sang about being a rebel soldier in "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."
Hey, I always thought Claude Rains gave the movie the extra juice it needed and never seems to get mentioned.
What I hate is that I found out how it ends long before I ever had a chance to see it. The same goes for Gone With the Wind. They're both classics, but I've never bother watching either one.
Part of the fun of being a movie buff is pointing out trivial things that don't matter;it keeps a discussion going. Anyway, I don't particularly like "Casablanca" even though I like the actors a lot. "The African Queen": now there's a movie to pick apart;it is just awful!
Sufferincats said: "Don't always look for racism when someone was called 'Boy' before the 1950's. . . . Back in the day most whites and blacks had a reasonable relationship, at least in the North."
I was born in 1943 in the segregated South and can testify that when a White person said "Boy," there was no doubt who he was addressing. Race relations were likely reasonable then for southern whites, but it couldn't have been so hot for southern blacks who had separate but seldom equal drinking fountains, public toilets, could not sit with whites a public lunch counter and in many cases could not even enter the building to buy food that was often prepared by black cooks. The term "boy" and what that word represented was such a fixture in black and white relations through the 1940s and into the 1960s that it showed up frequently in films and songs, like "Pardon me, boy / Is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo? / Yes yes track 29 / Boy, you can give me a shine . . . /”
Back in the 1940s-1950s when trains were a major mode of travel before the US took to the air, the luggage handlers, shoeshiners and porters both in the station and on board trains were almost uniformally black and often called boy--or worse.
In defense of Mr. Cahall, I happen to remember him from the "Millionaire" game show hosted by Rebus Philbin and seem to remember he was sporting some very attractive glasses. As for Casablanca, I intend to see it real soon. But, as for the glasses, LEAVE THEM OUT OF IT!! They do him a world of good! Here's looking at you, Gary.
I have also seen the movie countless times and love it. But I did enjoy your nit-picking observations and the very interesting tidbit about Corinna Mura. My favorite secondary character was Madeleine LeBeau ("Yvonne"), the tipsy, French, ex-girlfriend of Ricks. I thought she was much sexier than Ingrid Bergman. And my favorite line from the movie is when Lorre says to Rick, "You despise me, Rick, don't you." And Bogart, without raising his eyes from the solitaire chess game, replies, "I probably would if I gave you any thought." The perfect squelch. Thanks for the memories.
I hope this guy isn't married, my wife hates watching a movie with me because I do the same thing.
I am an AVID pre-1950's viewer!! I enjoyed your "observations" of CASABLANCA! I will make sure to watch for #10 the next time!I can tell you love the movie.The first person shouldn't have called you stupid. Like Old Stahsh said, this is America,you have a right to your opinion.(at least for now you can voice it-dont know about the future). This very movie was made during the time our men/women were fighting for our freedom. You say not women...well, there were DEFINITELY women in the military. Take Martha Raye for example...She was a colonel that worked in the army air corps, even into the Vietnam war. I'm glad that people still love the old movies & care enough about them to discuss them with others. There are other movies that we could discuss the little oddities in but that's another day. I hope that these old movies are continued to be shown because if you think about it, you really don't have to worry about letting your kids watch them, the movies are WONDERFUL, & just because I LOVE THEM!!
I just finished watching the DVD version of Casablanca last night (only my third time, not 150) but Peter Lorre definitely says the letters of transit were signed by DeGaulle.
YOU MISSED THE MOST GLARING OF MISTAKES -- When Louis and Rick are talking just outside the Club and he asks Rick "why did you come to Casablanca?" and Rick answers "I came for the waters", Louis replies "Casablanca is in the middle of the desert" -- Rick answers "I was misinformed!" If Casablance is on the Coast, he could've come for the waters!!!
[...] writer Gary Cahall presents "10 Things I hate about Casablanca": A closer look at what we might have missed in the film. [...]
[...] [...]
I can't believe no one has mentioned the greatest mis-quote in the history of film which is Cary Grant being creadited with saying "Judy, Judy, Judy". I get the Cary mis-quote on a daily basis since my name happens to be Judy. And, I have a "Classic" Movie Library and Film #1 is Casablanca. It's the quirkiness of the cast and how the movie (writer/director issues) was made and yes it's little mistakes/mishaps/and rubs that make the movie so popular so it "rubs" me a little when I read a title like "10 Things I Hate About Casablanca" and I just have to respond...
Following up on RDinB&W's comment -
The script you reference does carry a disclaimer that it's been cobbled together from various sources, as no original shooting script seems to exist. I'm not sure how reliable it is, as, for example, it has the name of the play upon which it's based ("Everyone Comes To Rick's") wrong.
Most people do understand Ugarte to say "deGaulle," and indeed, that's what the English subtitles on the DVD say. But I think it's worth noting that the French subtitles have him saying, "Weygand." It can be assumed that French viewers would be more familiar with Maxime Weygand than American ones. Anyway, "Weygand" makes sense in historical context, whereas "deGaulle" does not.
I'm always hesitant to add this last bit, as I have no way to document it, but 35 or so years ago, I was at an audience Q&A with Julius Epstein, who told in response to the question that Ugarte says, "Weygand." Of that, I have nothing to offer but my personal assurance, so anyone's free to take it or leave it.
Not "picky picky" but using powers of observation.l I recall watching a movie with the character Helen of Troy; her beautiful bare arm sporting a vaccination mark.
I have few gripes about Casablanca, which I have seen about 15 times since my mother first told me I should watch it as a child. It's one of the finest films of its era and no critic x is going to change my taste in movies, which is catholic. Dragon Sword is one of the series that was made into a movie, and since there is no place here that I can find a commentary on it, I'm using this one. James Purefoy (Marc Antony in "Rome" on HBO that ended short)the late Patrick Swayze, and Piper Perabo, as well as Joan Plowright made this moderately good movie that is certainly worth a look and taught me something interesting; the English and the Americans have collaborated on something other than hideous killing of mostly innocent civilians--we have collaborated on movies and television and we gain quality that way. Most English actors are Shakespearean-trained, although some were snatched by the Globe Theatre straight out of college because they did not need training--those are actors worth watching. Always.
I too have seen Casablana more times than I can remeber and don't care one bit about any minor flaws. It does not have to be perfect to be great. It is on my top ten list and probably in the top 3. I enjoy seeing it as well as Maltese Falcon in a short period of time to get a sense of the skill of Humphrey Bogart as an actor.
This was an era of movies that today cannot touch. They made a lot of stiffs but the best are the BEST in any era.
Theres a second version where Ilsa returns to Rick instead of going away with Victor.
If it still exists is anybodys guess.
Casablanca is the movie I watch every night at bedtime and sometimes fall asleep before it ends. I have noticed all of the things you hate and many more. It's because of the flaws that I love the movie so much. The movie is not perfect just as we are not perfect in our relationships. The movie works for so many because the love story is so believable. It's a GREAT movie!!
George Raft was the first pick to play Rick.
Ronald Reagan(Rick)
Ann Sheridan(Ilsa)
Dennis Morgan(Victor)
Im not making this up.Im glad they got their heads on right at Warner Brothers.If they used the cast listed above that would have been worse than Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes.
Its a shame they cut Sams(Dooley Wilson)song,Thats What Noah Done.It does show up on the Soundtrack CD.
A cut scene from Casablanca.
Rick tells Renault he will make plans with Victor in the prison cell.Cut scene,we see Rick and Victor agreeing on a price for the letters.
After that Victor and Illsa meets Rick at the club and senseless talking about money and a deal.
The Native American weavers have a tradition of putting a small flaw in every one of their blankets to add personality. I have seen Casablanca more times than I can count, too, and have noticed these and other flaws. But, like the blankets, I find that they further the personality of the film.
TV Series Warner Brothers Presents Who Holds Tomorrow(Episode)
A Cold War Version of Casablanca.Charles McGraw(The Killers,Narrow Margin,T Men,etc)is Rick.
Did you know Conrad Veidt was the Highest Paid Actor in Casablanca?
Conrad Veidt had one last film after Casablanca.Above Suspicion(1943)He later died that year.
Its too bad he passed away not knowing he made a timeless classic with Casablanca.
Get A grip--it's a movie for god's sake--one of the most enjoyable movies ever--a lot of fun to watch...to many opimions from to many MORONS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes,yes,yes.....................there are flaws in Casablanca.And what is wrong with that? Life itself is imperfect.
Accept this movie as what it really is. A show case for great actors giving great performances.
A great story with a great screenplay by the Epstein brothers. Classical lines which have been mentioned earlier..............also Rick uttering,"Are my eyes really blue or blue?" Renault exclaiming, "I am shocked"( at the gambling as he is about to receive his winnings}........Conrad Veidt saying to Claude Rains.........."I expected no less" when Renault tells him they will have the murderer of the courriers picked up.
This movie is a classic!!!!!
Talk about water, when did you not see a movie when the star comes out of the water and two seconds later his barely damp,could it be the prop man is waiting for him with a towel and a change of almost dry clothes? It happens all the time. I love old movies but sometimes they could be more realistic. A glaring flub in Hang 'em High" Clint Eastwood is beaten to a bloody pulp and put in the paddy wagon. Not long after he comes out looking he had a facial and a two week vacation on the Riveria.There must have been something in that paddy wagon.
You were right
There is ONE perfect movie (to me, at least) and that would be "To Kill A Mockingbird."
I can find no flaw with that movie- the casting, screenplay, music, direction and everything are perfect and it's the BEST adaptation ever. (Despite the improvised line from Horton Foote about a compromise being "bending the law.")