Casablanca
full title · Casablanca
director · Michael Curtiz
leading actors/actresses · Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Heinreid
supporting actors/actresses · Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre
type of work · Melodrama, war movie
genre · Drama
language · English (with some German and French)
time and place produced · Hollywood, 1942
awards
· Oscars (1943):
· Best Picture, Jack Warner (Warner Bros.)
· Best Director, Michael Curtiz
· Best Screenplay, Howard Koch, Julius J. Epstein, and Philip G. Epstein
date of release · Released in New York in late 1942 and nationwide in early 1943
producer · Hal Wallis
setting (time) · December 1941
setting (place) · Casablanca in French-ruled Morocco
protagonist · Rick Blaine
major conflict · The major conflict is between Rick and Ilsa as he tries to understand and she tries to explain their suddenly aborted relationship in Paris. The conflict soon expands beyond their romantic past to involve Laszlo and his attempt to escape to Lisbon.
rising action · The conflict between Ilsa and Rick is ignited when Ilsa shows up in Rick's Cafe with Laszlo. Laszlo and Ilsa plan only to pass through Casablanca, but the difficulty of obtaining letters of transit and the fact that the jealous Rick has the letters forces Ilsa and Rick into frequent contact and conflict.
climax · The climax of the film appears to be the lovers' reconciliation in Rick's apartment, but Rick's decision at the airport to let Ilsa leave with Laszlo soon trumps this earlier scene.
falling action · The falling action begins with Rick's idealistic pronouncements at the airport about personal sacrifice, which justify his decision to let Ilsa leave with Laszlo, and culminates in his murder of Strasser, an act that ensures Ilsa and Laszlo's safe departure but forces Rick into further exile.
themes · The difficulty of neutrality; the inescapable past; the power of lady luck
motifs · Exile and traveling; dreaming of America in Africa; spotlight
symbols · Sam’s piano; Laszlo; the plane to Lisbon and the letters of transit
foreshadowing
· The plane to Lisbon that passes over Louis and Rick as they sit outside Rick's Café on the first evening foreshadows the end of the movie, when the two friends again watch a plane depart for Lisbon, this one carrying Ilsa and Laszlo.
· Ferrari's attempt to purchase Rick's Café in the beginning foreshadows the eventual sale of the Café when Rick decides to leave Casablanca.
· The gunfight in the Casablanca market at the beginning of the movie foreshadows the gunfight between Rick and Strasser at the end, though in the latter fight the good guy wins.
director · Michael Curtiz
leading actors/actresses · Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Heinreid
supporting actors/actresses · Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre
type of work · Melodrama, war movie
genre · Drama
language · English (with some German and French)
time and place produced · Hollywood, 1942
awards
· Oscars (1943):
· Best Picture, Jack Warner (Warner Bros.)
· Best Director, Michael Curtiz
· Best Screenplay, Howard Koch, Julius J. Epstein, and Philip G. Epstein
date of release · Released in New York in late 1942 and nationwide in early 1943
producer · Hal Wallis
setting (time) · December 1941
setting (place) · Casablanca in French-ruled Morocco
protagonist · Rick Blaine
major conflict · The major conflict is between Rick and Ilsa as he tries to understand and she tries to explain their suddenly aborted relationship in Paris. The conflict soon expands beyond their romantic past to involve Laszlo and his attempt to escape to Lisbon.
rising action · The conflict between Ilsa and Rick is ignited when Ilsa shows up in Rick's Cafe with Laszlo. Laszlo and Ilsa plan only to pass through Casablanca, but the difficulty of obtaining letters of transit and the fact that the jealous Rick has the letters forces Ilsa and Rick into frequent contact and conflict.
climax · The climax of the film appears to be the lovers' reconciliation in Rick's apartment, but Rick's decision at the airport to let Ilsa leave with Laszlo soon trumps this earlier scene.
falling action · The falling action begins with Rick's idealistic pronouncements at the airport about personal sacrifice, which justify his decision to let Ilsa leave with Laszlo, and culminates in his murder of Strasser, an act that ensures Ilsa and Laszlo's safe departure but forces Rick into further exile.
themes · The difficulty of neutrality; the inescapable past; the power of lady luck
motifs · Exile and traveling; dreaming of America in Africa; spotlight
symbols · Sam’s piano; Laszlo; the plane to Lisbon and the letters of transit
foreshadowing
· The plane to Lisbon that passes over Louis and Rick as they sit outside Rick's Café on the first evening foreshadows the end of the movie, when the two friends again watch a plane depart for Lisbon, this one carrying Ilsa and Laszlo.
· Ferrari's attempt to purchase Rick's Café in the beginning foreshadows the eventual sale of the Café when Rick decides to leave Casablanca.
· The gunfight in the Casablanca market at the beginning of the movie foreshadows the gunfight between Rick and Strasser at the end, though in the latter fight the good guy wins.
The film opens with an image of a spinning globe and the sounds of "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem. A voiceover explains the significance of the city of Casablanca, in French-ruled Morocco. During World War II, many people wanted to escape Europe for America, and Lisbon, Portugal, became the most popular port of exit. Getting to Lisbon was not easy. A tortuous refugee path brought people to Casablanca, where they would search for an exit visa for Portugal. As the narrator finishes the description, the camera shows Casablanca's bustling market. Over the radio, the French police announce that two German officers were murdered on a train and that the murderer is headed for Casablanca. Shortly thereafter, an important German officer, Major Strasser, arrives at the Casablanca airport and is greeted by the local French commander, Captain Louis Renault. Strasser asks about the couriers, and Louis says that the murderer, like everyone else, will be at Rick's that evening.
The scene shifts to Rick's Café Americain, a stylish nightclub and casino. Ugarte approaches Rick, the bar's owner, and asks if he will hold some letters of transit for him. Rick observes dryly that the murdered German couriers were carrying letters of transit, but accepts the letters and hides them in the piano played by his house musician, Sam. Signor Ferrari, owner of the rival bar, the Blue Parrot, offers to buy Rick's, but Rick says his bar isn't for sale. Yvonne, Rick's neglected lover, tries to arrange a date for that evening, but Rick dismisses her attempts to pin him down and calls a cab to send her home. Louis tells Rick he's going to make an arrest and warns Rick against protecting the couriers' killer. "I stick my neck out for nobody," Rick responds. Louis also mentions Victor Laszlo, a famous Czech nationalist, will be arriving in Casablanca and warns Rick against trying to assist Laszlo, whose political activities are a threat to Nazi Germany. In the conversation that ensues, we learn that Rick was involved in anti-fascist wars in the 1930s, supporting the republicans in the Spanish Civil War and the Ethiopians against Italy. Strasser's arrival cuts the conversation short. With the German officer present, Louis decides the time has come to arrest the murderer of the German couriers. Cornered, Ugarte appeals to Rick for help, but Rick does nothing.
After things calm down, Laszlo enters the bar with Ilsa. They have come in search of exit visas. Strasser approaches Laszlo with hostility, and Louis politely requests that Laszlo report to his office the next day. Meanwhile, Ilsa and Sam, who recognize each other, begin to talk. At first Sam refuses Ilsa's request that he play "As Time Goes By," but eventually he relents. The music brings Rick to the piano. "I thought I told you never to play—" he begins, breaking off when he sees Ilsa. Laszlo and Louis join the group and Rick sits down for a drink, violating his rule of never drinking with customers. When the couple leaves, Rick picks up the check, breaking another personal rule.
Later that evening, Rick drinks alone after the bar closes. Sam plays "As Time Goes By" again, and Rick thinks about the past. In a flashback, we see a happier, less haggard Rick in Paris with Ilsa by his side. They drive through the city, ride a boat down the Seine, pop open a bottle of champagne, and dance at a club. Although they are clearly in love, they avoid all questions about each other’s pasts. When they hear word that the German army is approaching Paris, Rick knows he will have to leave the city. Rick proposes to Ilsa, who tries her best to hide her anguish, saying she doesn't plan that far in advance. Rick isn't worried, however. He thinks they'll leave together the next day for Marseille. At the train station the next day, Rick waits in the pouring rain, but Ilsa is nowhere to be found. Sam arrives and shows Rick a note. The note is from Ilsa and says that she can never see him again.
At this point, the flashback ends, and the scene shifts back to Casablanca. Ilsa enters the bar. She wants to explain what happened in Paris, but Rick is drunk and angry, and Ilsa leaves.
The next day, Ilsa and Laszlo go to Louis's office, where Strasser tells Laszlo he will never escape Casablanca alive. The couple then goes to the Blue Parrot to visit Signor Ferrari and arrive just as Rick is leaving. As Laszlo talks with Ferrari, Ilsa tells Rick that Laszlo is her husband and has been for years, even when she and Rick were together in Paris. Ferrari says he can obtain a visa for Ilsa but not for Laszlo. The couple decides not to split up. Ferrari suggests they speak to Rick, whom he suspects is holding Ugarte's stolen letters of transit.
That evening at Rick's, a young Bulgarian woman, Mrs. Brandel, approaches Rick to ask if Louis is "trustworthy." Louis, as Rick knows, has a habit of offering female refugees exit visas in exchange for sex. Rick says Louis's word is good, but, not wanting to let Mrs. Brandel's new marriage be harmed, he arranges for her husband to win big at the roulette table so they can buy a visa on their own. Later, Laszlo asks to speak to Rick. He offers to buy the letters of transit, but Rick says he'll never sell them. When Laszlo asks why, Rick replies, "Ask your wife."
German soldiers have gathered around Sam's piano and are singing the German national anthem. Laszlo tells the band to play "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem, and leads the patrons of the bar in a stirring rendition of the song, which drowns out the Germans. Strasser is furious and demands that Louis shut down Rick's. Louis closes Rick's on the pretext that gambling takes place there, even as he accepts his evening's winnings.
Back at their hotel, Laszlo asks Ilsa if there is anything she wants to tell him about Paris, and she replies “No.” Husband and wife reaffirm their love for each other. As Victor leaves for a meeting of the underground resistance, Ilsa leaves too and surprises Rick by showing up in his apartment. She pleads with him for the letters of transit, urging him to put aside his personal feelings for something more important. When Rick still refuses, she pulls a gun on him. Rick dares her to shoot, but Ilsa cannot. Instead, she breaks down in tears and claims she still loves Rick. They embrace.
Later, Ilsa explains what happened in Paris. After she married Laszlo, he had to return to Prague, where he was arrested and put in a concentration camp. Months later, she heard he was killed in an escape attempt. She met Rick shortly thereafter. Ilsa learned Laszlo was still alive just when she and Rick were about to leave Paris together. Laszlo needed her, and she decided to stay with him. She didn't tell Rick because she knew he wouldn't leave Paris if he found out, and then the Gestapo would arrest him. Her story finished, Ilsa says she'll never be able to leave Rick a second time, but she begs that he help Laszlo escape. As for whether she will go with Laszlo or stay with Rick, she says she doesn't know what's right anymore and tells Rick, "You have to think for both of us."
Later that evening, Laszlo claims to know that Rick loves Ilsa and asks for the letters of transit for her sake. Just then the German soldiers burst into Rick's and arrest Laszlo. The next day, Rick pleads with Louis to release Laszlo, saying that Laszlo can be arrested on a more serious charge, possession of the stolen letters of transit. Rick also tells Louis that he plans to use the letters to escape with Ilsa. That afternoon, Rick sells his club to Ferrari. That evening, back at Rick's, as he hands the letters to Laszlo, Louis emerges from the shadows to make the arrest. Just as suddenly, Rick pulls out a gun and points it at Louis. He orders Louis to call the airport to make sure that evening's flight to Lisbon will take off as planned. Louis pretends to call the airport, but actually calls Strasser.
At the airport, Rick makes Louis fill in the letters of transit for Mr. and Mrs. Victor Laszlo. Ilsa objects, but Rick says he did the thinking for both of them and decided that for Laszlo to continue doing his work, he needs Ilsa by his side. Rick tells Laszlo that Ilsa visited him last night and pretended to still love him to get the letters. He knew she was lying, Rick says, because it was over a long time ago. As Rick is talking, Ilsa sobs in the background.
After goodbyes, the Laszlos board the plane. Just then Strasser arrives. He calls the radio tower to prevent the plane's taking off, but Rick shoots him, and the plane leaves. The French police arrive, and Louis, who has seen everything, orders, "Round up the usual suspects." As the cops drive off, Louis congratulates Rick on becoming a patriot and then becomes a patriot himself, symbolized by his throwing out a bottle of Vichy water (water produced in the unoccupied region of France that persecuted Jews and tried to win Nazi favor). Rick and Louis walk along the runway together. Louis says he can arrange for Rick to escape to Brazzaville, another French colony in Africa, and then announces he will go, too. The movie ends with Rick saying the famous final line, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." "La Marseillaise" plays in the background.
The scene shifts to Rick's Café Americain, a stylish nightclub and casino. Ugarte approaches Rick, the bar's owner, and asks if he will hold some letters of transit for him. Rick observes dryly that the murdered German couriers were carrying letters of transit, but accepts the letters and hides them in the piano played by his house musician, Sam. Signor Ferrari, owner of the rival bar, the Blue Parrot, offers to buy Rick's, but Rick says his bar isn't for sale. Yvonne, Rick's neglected lover, tries to arrange a date for that evening, but Rick dismisses her attempts to pin him down and calls a cab to send her home. Louis tells Rick he's going to make an arrest and warns Rick against protecting the couriers' killer. "I stick my neck out for nobody," Rick responds. Louis also mentions Victor Laszlo, a famous Czech nationalist, will be arriving in Casablanca and warns Rick against trying to assist Laszlo, whose political activities are a threat to Nazi Germany. In the conversation that ensues, we learn that Rick was involved in anti-fascist wars in the 1930s, supporting the republicans in the Spanish Civil War and the Ethiopians against Italy. Strasser's arrival cuts the conversation short. With the German officer present, Louis decides the time has come to arrest the murderer of the German couriers. Cornered, Ugarte appeals to Rick for help, but Rick does nothing.
After things calm down, Laszlo enters the bar with Ilsa. They have come in search of exit visas. Strasser approaches Laszlo with hostility, and Louis politely requests that Laszlo report to his office the next day. Meanwhile, Ilsa and Sam, who recognize each other, begin to talk. At first Sam refuses Ilsa's request that he play "As Time Goes By," but eventually he relents. The music brings Rick to the piano. "I thought I told you never to play—" he begins, breaking off when he sees Ilsa. Laszlo and Louis join the group and Rick sits down for a drink, violating his rule of never drinking with customers. When the couple leaves, Rick picks up the check, breaking another personal rule.
Later that evening, Rick drinks alone after the bar closes. Sam plays "As Time Goes By" again, and Rick thinks about the past. In a flashback, we see a happier, less haggard Rick in Paris with Ilsa by his side. They drive through the city, ride a boat down the Seine, pop open a bottle of champagne, and dance at a club. Although they are clearly in love, they avoid all questions about each other’s pasts. When they hear word that the German army is approaching Paris, Rick knows he will have to leave the city. Rick proposes to Ilsa, who tries her best to hide her anguish, saying she doesn't plan that far in advance. Rick isn't worried, however. He thinks they'll leave together the next day for Marseille. At the train station the next day, Rick waits in the pouring rain, but Ilsa is nowhere to be found. Sam arrives and shows Rick a note. The note is from Ilsa and says that she can never see him again.
At this point, the flashback ends, and the scene shifts back to Casablanca. Ilsa enters the bar. She wants to explain what happened in Paris, but Rick is drunk and angry, and Ilsa leaves.
The next day, Ilsa and Laszlo go to Louis's office, where Strasser tells Laszlo he will never escape Casablanca alive. The couple then goes to the Blue Parrot to visit Signor Ferrari and arrive just as Rick is leaving. As Laszlo talks with Ferrari, Ilsa tells Rick that Laszlo is her husband and has been for years, even when she and Rick were together in Paris. Ferrari says he can obtain a visa for Ilsa but not for Laszlo. The couple decides not to split up. Ferrari suggests they speak to Rick, whom he suspects is holding Ugarte's stolen letters of transit.
That evening at Rick's, a young Bulgarian woman, Mrs. Brandel, approaches Rick to ask if Louis is "trustworthy." Louis, as Rick knows, has a habit of offering female refugees exit visas in exchange for sex. Rick says Louis's word is good, but, not wanting to let Mrs. Brandel's new marriage be harmed, he arranges for her husband to win big at the roulette table so they can buy a visa on their own. Later, Laszlo asks to speak to Rick. He offers to buy the letters of transit, but Rick says he'll never sell them. When Laszlo asks why, Rick replies, "Ask your wife."
German soldiers have gathered around Sam's piano and are singing the German national anthem. Laszlo tells the band to play "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem, and leads the patrons of the bar in a stirring rendition of the song, which drowns out the Germans. Strasser is furious and demands that Louis shut down Rick's. Louis closes Rick's on the pretext that gambling takes place there, even as he accepts his evening's winnings.
Back at their hotel, Laszlo asks Ilsa if there is anything she wants to tell him about Paris, and she replies “No.” Husband and wife reaffirm their love for each other. As Victor leaves for a meeting of the underground resistance, Ilsa leaves too and surprises Rick by showing up in his apartment. She pleads with him for the letters of transit, urging him to put aside his personal feelings for something more important. When Rick still refuses, she pulls a gun on him. Rick dares her to shoot, but Ilsa cannot. Instead, she breaks down in tears and claims she still loves Rick. They embrace.
Later, Ilsa explains what happened in Paris. After she married Laszlo, he had to return to Prague, where he was arrested and put in a concentration camp. Months later, she heard he was killed in an escape attempt. She met Rick shortly thereafter. Ilsa learned Laszlo was still alive just when she and Rick were about to leave Paris together. Laszlo needed her, and she decided to stay with him. She didn't tell Rick because she knew he wouldn't leave Paris if he found out, and then the Gestapo would arrest him. Her story finished, Ilsa says she'll never be able to leave Rick a second time, but she begs that he help Laszlo escape. As for whether she will go with Laszlo or stay with Rick, she says she doesn't know what's right anymore and tells Rick, "You have to think for both of us."
Later that evening, Laszlo claims to know that Rick loves Ilsa and asks for the letters of transit for her sake. Just then the German soldiers burst into Rick's and arrest Laszlo. The next day, Rick pleads with Louis to release Laszlo, saying that Laszlo can be arrested on a more serious charge, possession of the stolen letters of transit. Rick also tells Louis that he plans to use the letters to escape with Ilsa. That afternoon, Rick sells his club to Ferrari. That evening, back at Rick's, as he hands the letters to Laszlo, Louis emerges from the shadows to make the arrest. Just as suddenly, Rick pulls out a gun and points it at Louis. He orders Louis to call the airport to make sure that evening's flight to Lisbon will take off as planned. Louis pretends to call the airport, but actually calls Strasser.
At the airport, Rick makes Louis fill in the letters of transit for Mr. and Mrs. Victor Laszlo. Ilsa objects, but Rick says he did the thinking for both of them and decided that for Laszlo to continue doing his work, he needs Ilsa by his side. Rick tells Laszlo that Ilsa visited him last night and pretended to still love him to get the letters. He knew she was lying, Rick says, because it was over a long time ago. As Rick is talking, Ilsa sobs in the background.
After goodbyes, the Laszlos board the plane. Just then Strasser arrives. He calls the radio tower to prevent the plane's taking off, but Rick shoots him, and the plane leaves. The French police arrive, and Louis, who has seen everything, orders, "Round up the usual suspects." As the cops drive off, Louis congratulates Rick on becoming a patriot and then becomes a patriot himself, symbolized by his throwing out a bottle of Vichy water (water produced in the unoccupied region of France that persecuted Jews and tried to win Nazi favor). Rick and Louis walk along the runway together. Louis says he can arrange for Rick to escape to Brazzaville, another French colony in Africa, and then announces he will go, too. The movie ends with Rick saying the famous final line, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." "La Marseillaise" plays in the background.
Characters
Richard "Rick" Blaine - Played by Humphrey Bogart
The owner of Rick's Café Americain and the film's protagonist. When we first meet Rick, he is a jaded bar owner in Casablanca who wears a dour expression as he drinks and plays chess alone. He constantly proclaims his freedom from all bonds, be they political or personal. After Ilsa enters the picture, he undergoes a considerable change. In a flashback, we see Rick in Paris. He is in love with Ilsa and visibly happy, and he is devastated when she doesn't show up at the train station. Rick never turns back into the lighthearted lover he was in Paris, but he does overcome his cynicism and apathy to become a self-sacrificing idealist, committed to helping the Allied cause in World War II.
Ilsa Lund - Played by Ingrid Bergman
A Norwegian beauty who is Victor Laszlo's wife and Rick's former lover. A devoted wife, Ilsa refuses an exit visa when Laszlo is unable to obtain one as well, saying she prefers to wait with him and leave Casablanca together. In Paris, Ilsa had fallen in love with Rick, because at the time she had believed Laszlo was dead. When she learned her husband was still alive, she sent a note to Rick at the train station, saying she could never see him again. Despite her obvious commitment to her husband and her confessions of love to Rick both in Paris and later in Casablanca, she rarely displays much passion. Ultimately, the letter may be the best insight into her personality. She can be so cold and distant that reading her true thoughts or feelings can be almost impossible.Read an in-depth analysis of Ilsa Lund.
Victor Laszlo - Played by Paul Henreid
A Czech nationalist writer and anti-Nazi partisan. Laszlo is a committed political leader who sees defeating the Nazis as his raison d'ètre. He endured time in a concentration camp, but he remains enthusiastic, courageous, and outspoken. Victor is a devoted husband to Ilsa and is willing to sacrifice himself to ensure her safety.Read an in-depth analysis of Victor Laszlo.
Captain Louis Renault - Played by Claude Rains
Vichy France's prefect of police in Casablanca. If Laszlo represents pure political idealism, Louis represents the very opposite—unscrupulous cynicism. Louis, like the Vichy government he serves and represents, has given up caring about right and wrong, and his only loyalty is to the winning side. (The Vichy government cooperated with the Germans during World War II.) Louis is a hypocrite, castigating Rick for allowing gambling in his bar just as he pockets his earnings for the evening. Despite his self-serving behavior and seeming amorality, Louis is always a good friend to Rick and shows signs of being a decent person at heart. At the end of the movie, this seed of decency blooms into genuine political action, as he refuses to arrest Rick and decides to join his friend in exile from Casablanca. Louis approaches everything with wit, and many of the film's best lines are his.Read an in-depth analysis of Captain Louis Renault.
Major Heinrich Strasser - Played by Conrad Veidt
A Nazi commander sent to Casablanca to capture Laszlo. Strasser is a stereotypical Nazi villain, ruthlessly cruel and robotically efficient. From the moment of his arrival in Casablanca, he is all business, immediately inquiring about the murderers of the German couriers. He is willing to resort to cruelty in punishing his enemies and is determined to prevent Laszlo from leaving Casablanca at all costs. Unlike Nazis depicted in other films, Strasser is never overtly sadistic. Despite his unpleasant demeanor, he is always civil and polite.
Signor Ferrari - Played by Sydney Greenstreet
The owner of the Blue Parrot. Like Rick's Café Americain, the Blue Parrot is a Casablanca bar, though it is noticeably less popular. At the beginning of the film, Ferrari offers to buy Rick's Café and the services of the pianist Sam. Rick initially refuses both offers, but when he decides to leave Casablanca, he does sell out to Ferrari. In addition to running the Blue Parrot, Ferrari is involved in the Casablanca black market and sells, among other things, exit visas. Although Ferrari is mostly concerned with making money, he is at heart a good person, which he demonstrates when he suggests that Laszlo approach Rick about the letters of transit.
Ugarte - Played by Peter Lorre
A member of Casablanca's criminal underworld. Ugarte's business is selling letters of transit to refugees. He may be helping them escape to Lisbon, but his aim is profit, not charity. Ugarte murders the German couriers to obtain the valuable letters of transit, which he plans to sell to Laszlo for a considerable fee. He is arrested before he can complete the sale.
Yvonne - Played by Madeleine LeBeau
A French woman who hangs out at Rick's. At the beginning of the movie, Yvonne is Rick's neglected, miserable lover. After being ignored by Rick one night, she shows up at the bar with a German soldier the very next evening. Her one redeeming moment comes during the singing of "La Marseillaise," when she shows herself to be a loyal patriot.
Sam - Played by Dooley Wilson
The pianist at Rick's Café. Sam is a warm-hearted, agreeable musician and a fiercely loyal friend to Rick. In Casablanca, he is Rick's only link to the past, since the two were together in Paris as well. When Rick drinks himself into a depressive stupor, he generally wants to be alone, but he doesn't seem to mind Sam's presence. At times, Sam seems like Rick's older brother or guardian. He looks out for Rick by trying to deny Ilsa's request that he play "As Time Goes By," and he cautions Rick about drinking too much. While Sam is a vivid presence in the scenes in which he is featured, his character is never fully developed.
Annina Brandel - Played by Joy Page
A young Bulgarian newlywed who desperately wants to escape to America. Mrs. Brandel comes to Rick to ask about Louis's reliability. Louis has offered to give her and her husband exit visas to leave Casablanca in exchange for sexual favors, and she fears that this is their only option. Her plight brings out the idealist in Rick, who arranges for Mr. Brandel to win big at the roulette table, scoring enough money to purchase the exit visas. In this way, Rick allows the Brandels to leave Casablanca with their marriage uncorrupted.
Jan Brandel - Played by Helmut Dantine
Annina's husband, who wants to escape to America with his wife. Unaware that Louis has made Annina a proposal, Mr. Brandel believes that the only hope of escaping Casablanca is by winning big at the roulette table. Because of Rick's generosity, this is exactly what happens.
Berger - Played by John Qualen
A Norwegian member of the Casablanca underground.
Carl - Played by S. Z. Sakall
A waiter at Rick's Café. Carl is an amiable staff member who also participates in the Casablanca anti-Nazi underground. He sees through Rick's cynicism and considers him a decent, generous man.
Sacha - Played by Leonid Kinskey
The bartender at Rick's Café. Sacha is more playful, nosy, and cynical than Carl, but like his coworker, he is a member of the underground and can see Rick's essential generosity and goodness.
Pickpocket - Played by Curt Bois
A Casablanca street criminal. The pickpocket reveals the seedy, street-hustling, outlaw nature of Casablanca. He warns people to be careful and alert, then leaves with their wallets.
Singer - Played by Corinna Mura
A guitarist and singer at Rick's. The singer's performances entertain customers, and they also give them cover to make black market purchases and obtain illegal exit visas. Laszlo and Berger are able to discuss such a sale during her performance.
Abdul - Played by Dan Seymour
The doorman at Rick's Café.
Italian Officer Tonelli - Played by Charles La Torre
An officer who strives unsuccessfully to catch Major Strasser's attention. Tonelli comes across as hapless and buffoonish.
Emile - Played by Marcel Dalio
The croupier (the person who runs the gambling table) at Rick's Café. Emile watches Rick carefully for clues about who should and should not win at the table. When Rick arranges for Mr. Brandel to win at roulette, he does so by giving Emile a subtle signal.
Richard "Rick" Blaine - Played by Humphrey Bogart
The owner of Rick's Café Americain and the film's protagonist. When we first meet Rick, he is a jaded bar owner in Casablanca who wears a dour expression as he drinks and plays chess alone. He constantly proclaims his freedom from all bonds, be they political or personal. After Ilsa enters the picture, he undergoes a considerable change. In a flashback, we see Rick in Paris. He is in love with Ilsa and visibly happy, and he is devastated when she doesn't show up at the train station. Rick never turns back into the lighthearted lover he was in Paris, but he does overcome his cynicism and apathy to become a self-sacrificing idealist, committed to helping the Allied cause in World War II.
Ilsa Lund - Played by Ingrid Bergman
A Norwegian beauty who is Victor Laszlo's wife and Rick's former lover. A devoted wife, Ilsa refuses an exit visa when Laszlo is unable to obtain one as well, saying she prefers to wait with him and leave Casablanca together. In Paris, Ilsa had fallen in love with Rick, because at the time she had believed Laszlo was dead. When she learned her husband was still alive, she sent a note to Rick at the train station, saying she could never see him again. Despite her obvious commitment to her husband and her confessions of love to Rick both in Paris and later in Casablanca, she rarely displays much passion. Ultimately, the letter may be the best insight into her personality. She can be so cold and distant that reading her true thoughts or feelings can be almost impossible.Read an in-depth analysis of Ilsa Lund.
Victor Laszlo - Played by Paul Henreid
A Czech nationalist writer and anti-Nazi partisan. Laszlo is a committed political leader who sees defeating the Nazis as his raison d'ètre. He endured time in a concentration camp, but he remains enthusiastic, courageous, and outspoken. Victor is a devoted husband to Ilsa and is willing to sacrifice himself to ensure her safety.Read an in-depth analysis of Victor Laszlo.
Captain Louis Renault - Played by Claude Rains
Vichy France's prefect of police in Casablanca. If Laszlo represents pure political idealism, Louis represents the very opposite—unscrupulous cynicism. Louis, like the Vichy government he serves and represents, has given up caring about right and wrong, and his only loyalty is to the winning side. (The Vichy government cooperated with the Germans during World War II.) Louis is a hypocrite, castigating Rick for allowing gambling in his bar just as he pockets his earnings for the evening. Despite his self-serving behavior and seeming amorality, Louis is always a good friend to Rick and shows signs of being a decent person at heart. At the end of the movie, this seed of decency blooms into genuine political action, as he refuses to arrest Rick and decides to join his friend in exile from Casablanca. Louis approaches everything with wit, and many of the film's best lines are his.Read an in-depth analysis of Captain Louis Renault.
Major Heinrich Strasser - Played by Conrad Veidt
A Nazi commander sent to Casablanca to capture Laszlo. Strasser is a stereotypical Nazi villain, ruthlessly cruel and robotically efficient. From the moment of his arrival in Casablanca, he is all business, immediately inquiring about the murderers of the German couriers. He is willing to resort to cruelty in punishing his enemies and is determined to prevent Laszlo from leaving Casablanca at all costs. Unlike Nazis depicted in other films, Strasser is never overtly sadistic. Despite his unpleasant demeanor, he is always civil and polite.
Signor Ferrari - Played by Sydney Greenstreet
The owner of the Blue Parrot. Like Rick's Café Americain, the Blue Parrot is a Casablanca bar, though it is noticeably less popular. At the beginning of the film, Ferrari offers to buy Rick's Café and the services of the pianist Sam. Rick initially refuses both offers, but when he decides to leave Casablanca, he does sell out to Ferrari. In addition to running the Blue Parrot, Ferrari is involved in the Casablanca black market and sells, among other things, exit visas. Although Ferrari is mostly concerned with making money, he is at heart a good person, which he demonstrates when he suggests that Laszlo approach Rick about the letters of transit.
Ugarte - Played by Peter Lorre
A member of Casablanca's criminal underworld. Ugarte's business is selling letters of transit to refugees. He may be helping them escape to Lisbon, but his aim is profit, not charity. Ugarte murders the German couriers to obtain the valuable letters of transit, which he plans to sell to Laszlo for a considerable fee. He is arrested before he can complete the sale.
Yvonne - Played by Madeleine LeBeau
A French woman who hangs out at Rick's. At the beginning of the movie, Yvonne is Rick's neglected, miserable lover. After being ignored by Rick one night, she shows up at the bar with a German soldier the very next evening. Her one redeeming moment comes during the singing of "La Marseillaise," when she shows herself to be a loyal patriot.
Sam - Played by Dooley Wilson
The pianist at Rick's Café. Sam is a warm-hearted, agreeable musician and a fiercely loyal friend to Rick. In Casablanca, he is Rick's only link to the past, since the two were together in Paris as well. When Rick drinks himself into a depressive stupor, he generally wants to be alone, but he doesn't seem to mind Sam's presence. At times, Sam seems like Rick's older brother or guardian. He looks out for Rick by trying to deny Ilsa's request that he play "As Time Goes By," and he cautions Rick about drinking too much. While Sam is a vivid presence in the scenes in which he is featured, his character is never fully developed.
Annina Brandel - Played by Joy Page
A young Bulgarian newlywed who desperately wants to escape to America. Mrs. Brandel comes to Rick to ask about Louis's reliability. Louis has offered to give her and her husband exit visas to leave Casablanca in exchange for sexual favors, and she fears that this is their only option. Her plight brings out the idealist in Rick, who arranges for Mr. Brandel to win big at the roulette table, scoring enough money to purchase the exit visas. In this way, Rick allows the Brandels to leave Casablanca with their marriage uncorrupted.
Jan Brandel - Played by Helmut Dantine
Annina's husband, who wants to escape to America with his wife. Unaware that Louis has made Annina a proposal, Mr. Brandel believes that the only hope of escaping Casablanca is by winning big at the roulette table. Because of Rick's generosity, this is exactly what happens.
Berger - Played by John Qualen
A Norwegian member of the Casablanca underground.
Carl - Played by S. Z. Sakall
A waiter at Rick's Café. Carl is an amiable staff member who also participates in the Casablanca anti-Nazi underground. He sees through Rick's cynicism and considers him a decent, generous man.
Sacha - Played by Leonid Kinskey
The bartender at Rick's Café. Sacha is more playful, nosy, and cynical than Carl, but like his coworker, he is a member of the underground and can see Rick's essential generosity and goodness.
Pickpocket - Played by Curt Bois
A Casablanca street criminal. The pickpocket reveals the seedy, street-hustling, outlaw nature of Casablanca. He warns people to be careful and alert, then leaves with their wallets.
Singer - Played by Corinna Mura
A guitarist and singer at Rick's. The singer's performances entertain customers, and they also give them cover to make black market purchases and obtain illegal exit visas. Laszlo and Berger are able to discuss such a sale during her performance.
Abdul - Played by Dan Seymour
The doorman at Rick's Café.
Italian Officer Tonelli - Played by Charles La Torre
An officer who strives unsuccessfully to catch Major Strasser's attention. Tonelli comes across as hapless and buffoonish.
Emile - Played by Marcel Dalio
The croupier (the person who runs the gambling table) at Rick's Café. Emile watches Rick carefully for clues about who should and should not win at the table. When Rick arranges for Mr. Brandel to win at roulette, he does so by giving Emile a subtle signal.
Rick BlaineRick Blaine, the cynical owner of Rick's Café Americain, often appears too jaded to be impressed or moved by anyone. He refuses to accept drinks from customers, treats his lover Yvonne without affection or respect, and seems not to care that a war is being waged around him or that desperate refugees have flocked to Casablanca. He makes a point of broadcasting his aloofness, stating on several occasions, "I stick my neck out for nobody." However, another Rick lurks behind his façade of cynicism. Near the beginning of the film, he refuses entry to the bar's private back room to a member of the Deutsche Bank, even though other, less prominent people are allowed in—a clue that despite his proclaimed apathy, his political sympathies lie with the Allies. He also criticizes the criminal Ugarte for charging refugees too much for exit visas. Shortly thereafter, Louis calls him a sentimentalist, and we learn that before coming to Casablanca, Rick was involved in political causes, supporting losing sides against fascist aggressors in Spain and Ethiopia. From the opening scene, Rick shows himself to be a mysterious and complicated man—terse, solitary, and self-involved, but also generous, discriminating, and perhaps a political partisan.
When Ilsa arrives in Casablanca, we start to understand some of Rick's mysterious past. In a flashback to his time in Paris, we see a younger, happier, lighter Rick in love with Ilsa. As though to emphasize how different he is in Paris, he is called Richard, not Rick, in all the flashback scenes. Though Rick and Ilsa plan to leave Paris together after the Nazis' arrival, Ilsa stands Rick up at the train station, and this painful separation helps explain how the optimistic Richard became the aloof, cynical Rick we see at the beginning of the film. Rick is not coldhearted, but he suffers from heartbreak. When Ilsa appears at the bar, Rick initially reacts angrily and refuses to give her and Laszlo the letters of transit. By the end of the film, he acts heroically, sacrificing both a possible future with Ilsa and his comfortable life in Casablanca so that Laszlo can escape with Ilsa and continue his important political work. In effect, three Ricks appear in the movie. In Paris, he is a romantic innocent; in Casablanca, a jaded, hard-hearted capitalist; and by the end of the film, a committed, self-sacrificing idealist. Ultimately, Rick's story remains incomplete. A dark mystery from Rick's past prevents him from returning to his native America, and though we learn much about him, we never learn why he can't go home.
Ilsa LundIlsa is fiercely loyal to her husband, Laszlo, and the political cause—resistance to the Nazis—he represents, but the truth of her sentiments is constantly suspect. She claims to love Laszlo, but she also claims to be in love with Rick, both in Paris and in Casablanca. We might suspect that Rick is her great passion and that only circumstance and political necessity prevent their union, but Ilsa never makes the distinction clear. She has good reason to tell Rick she loves him in Casablanca, since she needs the letters of transit he holds. Her motives are always shadowy because she always has possible, logical ulterior motives, and she maintains a cold detachment that prevents her from being understood. The letter she sent to Rick in Paris so many years ago, saying she could never see him again, is evidence of her ability to shield her true feelings from those who love her the most.
Ilsa clearly has suffered from the whims of fortune more than any other character in Casablanca. First, her husband is arrested and rumored to be dead. When he reappears, she must run with him throughout Europe with the Nazis always on their heels. She meets Rick and falls in love, only to have to leave him, then meets him and perhaps falls in love with him again, only to leave him once more. No matter whom she truly loves, she has not had an easy life, and her fate is the most tragic in the film. At the airport we can see that for Ilsa, the possibility of a happy ending does not exist. Ilsa herself may not even know what her own happiness would entail.
Victor LaszloOf the major characters in Casablanca, Laszlo is the least complex. He is the pure embodiment of the noble hero, as a good as any man can be. Laszlo is handsome, confident, idealistic, outspoken, unwavering, and impassioned. He is married to the beautiful Ilsa, and he loves his wife so much that when he learns about Ilsa and Rick, he claims to understand. He is willing to sacrifice himself so that Ilsa can escape Casablanca safely. Yet Laszlo's true love is politics. The desire to defeat the Nazis is the prime motivation for all his actions. Despite the difficulties of his political struggle, he considers himself privileged to struggle through it. Laszlo is a symbol of the resistance. He represents unwavering commitment, a quality that makes him as valuable to the Allies as he is dangerous to the Nazis.
Captain Louis RenaultLike Rick, Louis undergoes a transformation from cynicism to idealism, though in his case this change is less dramatic and more humorous. Casablanca is an intense film, and Louis supplies some levity, including most of the comic lines. Like the Vichy government he represents, which courted the Nazis for favors and better treatment, Louis is not a man of strong conviction, but a friend to whoever is in power at the time. He works with Strasser, but never with Strasser's sense of urgency or conviction. What he does for Strasser is meant to convey a veneer of loyalty. He arrests Ugarte, closes Rick's bar, and arrests Laszlo simply to impress his German superior. Louis himself seems not to care one way or the other. Louis demonstrates his sporting ambivalence about Laszlo's fate when he bets with Rick about whether or not Laszlo will escape Casablanca.
For a while, Louis seems to care about nothing and no one but himself. A hedonist, he takes advantage of pretty female refugees and regularly receives fixed winnings from Rick's casino. The gambling is illegal, but until Strasser pressures him to close the casino, Louis looks the other way. But Louis's obvious affection for Rick belies his seeming self-involvement. Although he tells Rick not to count on his friendship, he can't hide his feelings for his friend. He expresses this fondness early in the film when he says that if he were a woman, he would be in love with Rick. Later he commends Rick for being the only one in Casablanca with "less scruples than I." At the end of the film, the men cement their friendship when both commit themselves to the Allied cause. Rick commits by allowing Ilsa and Laszlo to escape Casablanca and by killing Strasser, while Louis does it by disavowing his relationship with the collaborationist Vichy government and deciding to escape Casablanca with Rick. Ever the follower, Louis copies Rick when he, too, has become a self-sacrificing idealist.
When Ilsa arrives in Casablanca, we start to understand some of Rick's mysterious past. In a flashback to his time in Paris, we see a younger, happier, lighter Rick in love with Ilsa. As though to emphasize how different he is in Paris, he is called Richard, not Rick, in all the flashback scenes. Though Rick and Ilsa plan to leave Paris together after the Nazis' arrival, Ilsa stands Rick up at the train station, and this painful separation helps explain how the optimistic Richard became the aloof, cynical Rick we see at the beginning of the film. Rick is not coldhearted, but he suffers from heartbreak. When Ilsa appears at the bar, Rick initially reacts angrily and refuses to give her and Laszlo the letters of transit. By the end of the film, he acts heroically, sacrificing both a possible future with Ilsa and his comfortable life in Casablanca so that Laszlo can escape with Ilsa and continue his important political work. In effect, three Ricks appear in the movie. In Paris, he is a romantic innocent; in Casablanca, a jaded, hard-hearted capitalist; and by the end of the film, a committed, self-sacrificing idealist. Ultimately, Rick's story remains incomplete. A dark mystery from Rick's past prevents him from returning to his native America, and though we learn much about him, we never learn why he can't go home.
Ilsa LundIlsa is fiercely loyal to her husband, Laszlo, and the political cause—resistance to the Nazis—he represents, but the truth of her sentiments is constantly suspect. She claims to love Laszlo, but she also claims to be in love with Rick, both in Paris and in Casablanca. We might suspect that Rick is her great passion and that only circumstance and political necessity prevent their union, but Ilsa never makes the distinction clear. She has good reason to tell Rick she loves him in Casablanca, since she needs the letters of transit he holds. Her motives are always shadowy because she always has possible, logical ulterior motives, and she maintains a cold detachment that prevents her from being understood. The letter she sent to Rick in Paris so many years ago, saying she could never see him again, is evidence of her ability to shield her true feelings from those who love her the most.
Ilsa clearly has suffered from the whims of fortune more than any other character in Casablanca. First, her husband is arrested and rumored to be dead. When he reappears, she must run with him throughout Europe with the Nazis always on their heels. She meets Rick and falls in love, only to have to leave him, then meets him and perhaps falls in love with him again, only to leave him once more. No matter whom she truly loves, she has not had an easy life, and her fate is the most tragic in the film. At the airport we can see that for Ilsa, the possibility of a happy ending does not exist. Ilsa herself may not even know what her own happiness would entail.
Victor LaszloOf the major characters in Casablanca, Laszlo is the least complex. He is the pure embodiment of the noble hero, as a good as any man can be. Laszlo is handsome, confident, idealistic, outspoken, unwavering, and impassioned. He is married to the beautiful Ilsa, and he loves his wife so much that when he learns about Ilsa and Rick, he claims to understand. He is willing to sacrifice himself so that Ilsa can escape Casablanca safely. Yet Laszlo's true love is politics. The desire to defeat the Nazis is the prime motivation for all his actions. Despite the difficulties of his political struggle, he considers himself privileged to struggle through it. Laszlo is a symbol of the resistance. He represents unwavering commitment, a quality that makes him as valuable to the Allies as he is dangerous to the Nazis.
Captain Louis RenaultLike Rick, Louis undergoes a transformation from cynicism to idealism, though in his case this change is less dramatic and more humorous. Casablanca is an intense film, and Louis supplies some levity, including most of the comic lines. Like the Vichy government he represents, which courted the Nazis for favors and better treatment, Louis is not a man of strong conviction, but a friend to whoever is in power at the time. He works with Strasser, but never with Strasser's sense of urgency or conviction. What he does for Strasser is meant to convey a veneer of loyalty. He arrests Ugarte, closes Rick's bar, and arrests Laszlo simply to impress his German superior. Louis himself seems not to care one way or the other. Louis demonstrates his sporting ambivalence about Laszlo's fate when he bets with Rick about whether or not Laszlo will escape Casablanca.
For a while, Louis seems to care about nothing and no one but himself. A hedonist, he takes advantage of pretty female refugees and regularly receives fixed winnings from Rick's casino. The gambling is illegal, but until Strasser pressures him to close the casino, Louis looks the other way. But Louis's obvious affection for Rick belies his seeming self-involvement. Although he tells Rick not to count on his friendship, he can't hide his feelings for his friend. He expresses this fondness early in the film when he says that if he were a woman, he would be in love with Rick. Later he commends Rick for being the only one in Casablanca with "less scruples than I." At the end of the film, the men cement their friendship when both commit themselves to the Allied cause. Rick commits by allowing Ilsa and Laszlo to escape Casablanca and by killing Strasser, while Louis does it by disavowing his relationship with the collaborationist Vichy government and deciding to escape Casablanca with Rick. Ever the follower, Louis copies Rick when he, too, has become a self-sacrificing idealist.
Themes, Motifs, and Symbols
→Themes
The Difficulty of Neutrality
In love and in war, neutrality is difficult for Rick, Ilsa, and Louis to maintain. Rick makes a point of not being involved in politics. He refuses to discuss the war, shuts up Carl's attempts to tell him about meetings of the underground, and does everything in his power to present himself as nonpartisan. Later on, though, just as the United States abandoned neutrality in December 1941, Rick shifts from neutrality to commitment. His sympathy for the Allies has always been evident in small acts, such as his refusal to allow the Deutsche Bank employee entry into the back room of his casino, but his partisanship grows more overt as the film proceeds. Louis undergoes a similar transformation, and by the end of the film, neutrality seems an untenable position. Rick's Café, as well as Casablanca itself, is an oasis in the desert, a paradise far removed from the troubles of the world. Yet the underground and black market activities that take place at Rick's belie these qualities. The battle of German and French anthems that erupts in the bar shows that Rick's actually teems with political passion.
When Ilsa visits Rick in his apartment and confesses that she still loves him, she does her best to be neutral in the undeclared war between the two men who love her. For as long as she can, she tries to deny the dilemma she faces. When she finally acknowledges the dilemma and realizes she has to decide between Rick and Laszlo, she leaves the choice in Rick's hands. No clean, painless resolution is possible, and a choice must be made. In war as in love, Casablanca suggests, neutrality is unsustainable.
The Inescapable Past
The first words of "As Time Go By" announce, "You must remember this," and in Casablanca, Rick, Ilsa, and Louis cannot escape the past and their memories. Even when characters try to flee from the past, and many do, the past catches up with them. On two occasions, Ilsa believes she has lost men in her life, only to have them reappear at the most inconvenient times. In Casablanca, Rick has created a lifestyle for himself that he believes will allow him to forget his painful memories, but the war and the flock of refugees hoping to escape to America remind him of an event or events from his mysterious life that prevent his return home. Likewise, Ilsa's arrival in Casablanca reminds Rick of their painful love story, the memory of which he has been trying to erase. The only character who suggests that the past can be escaped is Louis, who seems able to switch alliances breezily. Yet even Louis eventually acknowledges that his decisions have consequences. He recognizes that he must flee Casablanca because there is no escaping the way he helped Rick. He might want to ignore the past, but in this case he cannot.
The Power of Lady Luck
Luck figures prominently in Casablanca, especially in Rick's Café. One of the bar's most popular activities is gambling, and one of Sam's most popular songs is "Knock on Wood." Mr. and Mrs. Brandel, the young Bulgarian couple, demonstrate how luck functions in the movie. "How is lady luck treating you?" Louis asks Mrs. Brandel as Mr. Brandel gambles at the roulette table. Mr. Brandel is trying to win enough money to buy two exit visas. For Louis, luck is the force that brings a beautiful woman like Mrs. Brandel to him and allows him to try to take advantage of her desperate situation. For him, luck is a lady, a sexualized concept that implies both seduction and powerlessness. Rick has a different view of luck, and he intervenes to help the unlucky Brandels, rigging the roulette game so the couple hits the jackpot twice, "miraculously" gaining the amount they need. When Mrs. Brandel approaches Rick to thank him for his generous deed, he dismisses her thanks by saying her husband is "just a lucky guy." This line has a double meaning. The literal meaning is that Brandel is just a lucky guy at the roulette table, which obviously isn't true. The metaphorical, and true, meaning is that he is lucky to have such a courageous, loving wife.
Particular people in Casablanca can bring both good and bad luck to each other. When Ilsa and Sam first speak, Sam tells Ilsa she should stay away from Rick because she's "bad luck" to him. But this statement isn't entirely true. Ilsa broke Rick's heart so tremendously that over a year later he still hasn't recovered, but, in this case, heartbreak has nothing to do with luck. "Luck" is simply a word used to cover up a more painful truth. Luck in Casablanca is also not entirely free of human influence. Ugarte is arrested while gambling, which suggests that he is unlucky to have been caught. The truth is that his own actions of murdering and stealing, rather than bad fortune, are the cause of his arrest.
Motifs
Exile and Travel
The city of Casablanca is filled with foreigners, most of whom are exiles. Among the characters in the film, only the doorman Abdul is actually Moroccan. Though some characters, such as the colonialist French or the conquering Germans, are not in Casablanca as exiles, the majority are. Rick appears at first to be just another disenchanted American expatriate, but he is actually an exile from America, to which he cannot return, and also from France, where he cannot return as long as the Germans still occupy it. An exile is someone who can never return home. Along with the idea of exile comes the idea of travel. The movie opens with a montage of various means of transport, including ships, trains, cars, and planes, that refugees use on their way to Casablanca. These images of hurried travel contrast with images of leisurely voyage, such as a car ride through Paris and a boat ride down the Seine, both of which Rick and Ilsa share during the Paris flashback. Travel can be both a means, as in the case of the refugee, and an end in itself, as in the case of a tourist, but for the exile, it is never-ending. Unlike both the refugee going to a new home and the tourist soon to return home, the exile is perpetually homeless, traveling forever.
Dreaming of America in Africa
Related to the motif of exile is the motif of America, which is where all of Casablanca's refugees hope to go. If Casablanca is the oasis in the desert, America is the promised land on the desert's far side. America offers itself not as a place of temporary exile, but as a new home, even for foreigners. The difference between the refugee and the perpetual exile is determined by the ability to go to America, because America represents the final stop on the refugee path, where exile ends and an actual new life begins. Only Rick cannot go to America. Instead, he must remain in Africa. At the end of the film, he leaves Casablanca, which is on the eastern edge of Africa, for Brazzaville, which lies at the country's heart. Neither desert nor promised land, Brazzaville is pure jungle. If America represents what is known and desired, Brazzaville represents all that is uncertain. For Rick, the journey has just begun.
Spotlight
The spotlight that shines from a tall tower and lights up the city of Casablanca reminds people that they are always being watched. The spotlight is a constant presence at Rick's, regularly circling past the front doors. The spotlight first swings past the doors immediately after Louis has assured Strasser that the murderer of the German couriers will be found at Rick's, as if to stress the relationship between government authority and the invasive, spying light. The spotlight crosses Laszlo's path as he leaves Rick's with Ilsa, underscoring the fragility of Laszlo's safety and the fact that he is constantly being watched. Later that evening, Ilsa returns to Rick's and opens the front door just as the spotlight passes by, backlighting her brilliantly in the doorframe. This dramatic image is important for several reasons. First, it marks the first time the light actually pierces the front doors and enters Rick's. The image also makes Ilsa look like an angel, and lets us see her as her lovers see her. The use of light here is also a meta-filmic comment about the artificiality of the cinematic lighting. The spotlight reappears as Rick gazes out his window after he and Ilsa kiss in his apartment. Even Rick and Ilsa's romance, the device suggests, is being watched, and the war has completely altered the conditions of their love. This change could partly explain Rick's self-sacrifice at the end of the film. In order for Ilsa to escape the eye of the spotlight, Rick realizes, he must let her escape to America.
Symbols
Sam's Piano
Sam's piano is the symbolic heart and soul of Rick's Café. All the guests want to sit beside it, in part because they want to be close to Sam, who is one of the most untainted characters in the film. The piano itself suggests purity, which may be why Louis doesn't even think to look there for the missing letters of transit. The music from the piano functions as an opiate, a drug that allows visitors to forget their worries. All is well at Rick's, at least on the surface, when Sam is playing. Sam's resumed playing after Ugarte's arrest, for instance, signals that everything has returned to normal, while his closing down of the piano when Rick and Ilsa first see each other signals that the club's peaceful innocence has been interrupted by painful memories. When the German soldiers take over the piano to play their national anthem, the bar's patrons rise in revolt and defiantly sing "La Marseillaise." More than the arrest of Ugarte, this singing proves the biggest disturbance in the bar, and Louis is forced to shut the place down.
The piano is also a symbol of Rick's heart. Rick forbids the playing of "As Time Goes By" so he doesn't have to wallow in the painful memory of Ilsa and Paris. Like many of his guests, he prefers to forget his pain. When Ilsa requests the song, Sam claims not to remember it, but at her insistence he goes ahead and plays, initiating the re-acquaintance of the former lovers. Sam awakens the song on the piano, and Rick's heart wakes painfully as well. For a while he suffers tremendously, but eventually he seems to come to grips with his aching heart and painful past and to reemerge a better person. Rick will leave Casablanca, but Sam and his piano will stay behind. Having regained his real heart, Rick is free to abandon the piano.
Laszlo
Laszlo is both a character and a symbol in Casablanca. His symbolic elements are rooted in his upstanding, moral personality. Before Laszlo arrives in Casablanca, Rick stirs from apathy at the mention of his name. Laszlo is a symbol of resistance to the Nazis, and his personal conflict of whether or not he can escape Casablanca represents a much larger struggle for power and control. The Nazis officially control the city, but the underground resistance has the support of the majority of the people. The balance of power teeters precariously between the two groups. Laszlo's ability to escape Casablanca will be a sign as to which group may ultimately prevail. That Laszlo was able to escape from a concentration camp and then make his way to Casablanca indicates that the Nazi control over the European mainland is not absolute. If Laszlo can find his way to America, his escape will be a symbol of the power of resistance to Nazi rule. What happens to Laszlo himself is important, but the implications of his fate make up Casablanca's broader themes.
The Plane to Lisbon and the Letters of Transit
The plane to Lisbon is the best way to leave Casablanca, and it represents the possibility of escape from war-torn Europe and the first, most difficult step of the journey to America and freedom. The letters of transit are the golden tickets out, the exit visas that cannot be refused. Throughout the movie these letters are what everyone wants, and whoever controls or holds the letters has tremendous power. As Casablanca proceeds, the power shifts hands. At first, the civic authority of Casablanca, in the person of Louis, controls the plane's flights, and Rick, who possesses the letters, wields this power and has control of people's fates. Later, Rick transfers the letters to Ilsa and Laszlo, allowing them to depart on the plane. As a result of this exchange, the escaping refugees gain a powerful status as political symbols, while Louis and Rick's own power in Casablanca is weakened. The two self-sacrificing heroes have no choice but to leave the city and start over elsewhere.
Context
The director of Casablanca, Michael Curtiz, was born in Budapest, Hungary, in the late 1800s. He began making films there in 1912, but left Hungary in 1919 because of political unrest. After leaving Hungary, he became a prolific filmmaker in Europe, primarily in Austria, and in 1926 the head of Warner Brothers’ Burbank, California studio, Jack Warner, asked him to come to Hollywood. Over the course of his career, Curtiz made almost one hundred films for Warner Brothers, including musicals, detective stories, and horror films. Curtiz never mastered the English language, though, and his cast and crew, disgruntled by Curtiz's stubbornness and mean streak, often made fun of his linguistic mistakes, calling them "Curtizisms."
Casablanca was released in 1942, and it was an immediate success, despite Warner Brothers' fears that it would fail. The film was nominated for eight Oscars and won three, including Best Director for Curtiz. Despite the award, Curtiz never really received credit for the film's remarkable achievements. Critics viewed Curtiz as a skilled technician, but they had little praise for his artistic sensibilities. Curtiz's other films never garnered much recognition, and even the success of Casablanca was not enough to elevate his reputation. Most of Casablanca's numerous fans wouldn't be able to identify its director by name.
Casablanca has become a legend in large part because of its two leading actors, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, who play Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund, respectively. Bogart's and Bergman's portrayals of Rick and Ilsa's tortured reunion and separations are as stunning now as they were in 1942. Yet both Bogart and Bergman proved to be difficult participants in Casablanca. Bogart acted in four other movies in 1942, and Casablanca was far from his favorite. Bergman took the part of Ilsa only because she was initially denied a role she really wanted, the female lead in Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. When she was eventually chosen for that film, she stopped thinking about Casablanca, prompting the envious Paul Heinreid, who plays Victor Laszlo, to denigrate her as a careerist "tiger."
Other parts of the making of Casablanca are also sobering and pedestrian. The movie was filmed in a period of less than three rushed months, the actors didn't like each other or the director, and the screenwriters reworked the script on the fly. The film was one of many that Warner Brothers made during the summer of 1942, and it was hardly the most expensive or the one they anticipated to become a major hit. In short, the film was just another Hollywood studio production, a chaotic collaboration whose various parts might or might not come together successfully.
Of course, its parts did come together successfully—magnificently—but a few happy accidents are also responsible for the film's tremendous popularity and classic status. For example, composer Max Steiner created an original song to replace "As Time Goes By," a song he hated, but the scenes were not re-filmed because Bergman had already had her hair cut for her role in For Whom the Bell Tolls. Likewise, the screenplay for Casablanca evolved out of a play entitled Everybody Comes to Rick's, which was written in 1941, before the United States entered World War II. The play has a clear anti-Nazi slant, just as Casablanca does, but prior to Pearl Harbor, a movie studio in the neutral United States would probably not have made such a political movie. In this respect, the timing was perfect. Casablanca is an unusual World War II movie in that it isn't overly propagandistic—in other words, it doesn't go overboard in preaching about the justness of the cause and the certainty of victory. In 1942, the U.S. was suffering in the Pacific, and Allied victory seemed far from certain. Casablanca captures this unique moment in America's part in the conflict, when the nation was fully at war but not yet fully indoctrinated in a war ideology. Throughout the film, the war's outcome is uncertain, and Casablanca is a place of anxiety and uncertainty. This uncertainty lends the movie a genuine tension and renders the political activities of Laszlo and Rick all the more heroic.
Just the title of the film is enough to conjure up visions of a distant, longed-for past. Though perhaps not the greatest of the old Hollywood black-and-white films—that honor would probably fall to Citizen Kane---Casablanca may be the most loved. When someone says, "They don't make movies like they used to," it is a good bet that Casablanca is the film they're measuring against the disappointing present. Unlike many other great successes, Casablanca's popularity is well deserved. The film is deeply intelligent and functions both as a political allegory about World War II and a timeless romance. While many critics respect the film for the former achievement, the film's overwhelming popularity rests squarely on the latter, and Casablanca remains one of the greatest love stories in movie history.
The director of Casablanca, Michael Curtiz, was born in Budapest, Hungary, in the late 1800s. He began making films there in 1912, but left Hungary in 1919 because of political unrest. After leaving Hungary, he became a prolific filmmaker in Europe, primarily in Austria, and in 1926 the head of Warner Brothers’ Burbank, California studio, Jack Warner, asked him to come to Hollywood. Over the course of his career, Curtiz made almost one hundred films for Warner Brothers, including musicals, detective stories, and horror films. Curtiz never mastered the English language, though, and his cast and crew, disgruntled by Curtiz's stubbornness and mean streak, often made fun of his linguistic mistakes, calling them "Curtizisms."
Casablanca was released in 1942, and it was an immediate success, despite Warner Brothers' fears that it would fail. The film was nominated for eight Oscars and won three, including Best Director for Curtiz. Despite the award, Curtiz never really received credit for the film's remarkable achievements. Critics viewed Curtiz as a skilled technician, but they had little praise for his artistic sensibilities. Curtiz's other films never garnered much recognition, and even the success of Casablanca was not enough to elevate his reputation. Most of Casablanca's numerous fans wouldn't be able to identify its director by name.
Casablanca has become a legend in large part because of its two leading actors, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, who play Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund, respectively. Bogart's and Bergman's portrayals of Rick and Ilsa's tortured reunion and separations are as stunning now as they were in 1942. Yet both Bogart and Bergman proved to be difficult participants in Casablanca. Bogart acted in four other movies in 1942, and Casablanca was far from his favorite. Bergman took the part of Ilsa only because she was initially denied a role she really wanted, the female lead in Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. When she was eventually chosen for that film, she stopped thinking about Casablanca, prompting the envious Paul Heinreid, who plays Victor Laszlo, to denigrate her as a careerist "tiger."
Other parts of the making of Casablanca are also sobering and pedestrian. The movie was filmed in a period of less than three rushed months, the actors didn't like each other or the director, and the screenwriters reworked the script on the fly. The film was one of many that Warner Brothers made during the summer of 1942, and it was hardly the most expensive or the one they anticipated to become a major hit. In short, the film was just another Hollywood studio production, a chaotic collaboration whose various parts might or might not come together successfully.
Of course, its parts did come together successfully—magnificently—but a few happy accidents are also responsible for the film's tremendous popularity and classic status. For example, composer Max Steiner created an original song to replace "As Time Goes By," a song he hated, but the scenes were not re-filmed because Bergman had already had her hair cut for her role in For Whom the Bell Tolls. Likewise, the screenplay for Casablanca evolved out of a play entitled Everybody Comes to Rick's, which was written in 1941, before the United States entered World War II. The play has a clear anti-Nazi slant, just as Casablanca does, but prior to Pearl Harbor, a movie studio in the neutral United States would probably not have made such a political movie. In this respect, the timing was perfect. Casablanca is an unusual World War II movie in that it isn't overly propagandistic—in other words, it doesn't go overboard in preaching about the justness of the cause and the certainty of victory. In 1942, the U.S. was suffering in the Pacific, and Allied victory seemed far from certain. Casablanca captures this unique moment in America's part in the conflict, when the nation was fully at war but not yet fully indoctrinated in a war ideology. Throughout the film, the war's outcome is uncertain, and Casablanca is a place of anxiety and uncertainty. This uncertainty lends the movie a genuine tension and renders the political activities of Laszlo and Rick all the more heroic.
Just the title of the film is enough to conjure up visions of a distant, longed-for past. Though perhaps not the greatest of the old Hollywood black-and-white films—that honor would probably fall to Citizen Kane---Casablanca may be the most loved. When someone says, "They don't make movies like they used to," it is a good bet that Casablanca is the film they're measuring against the disappointing present. Unlike many other great successes, Casablanca's popularity is well deserved. The film is deeply intelligent and functions both as a political allegory about World War II and a timeless romance. While many critics respect the film for the former achievement, the film's overwhelming popularity rests squarely on the latter, and Casablanca remains one of the greatest love stories in movie history.