Movies from the Heart—Casablanca

Is there anyone who doesn’t know this film? It’s possible that people have never seen it, but you have to have heard of it. It’s an icon. Casablanca and Citizen Kane are always the number one and two films on most ‘best films of all time’ lists.

So how did Casablanca [1942], by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch and a few other uncredited writers, become such an icon?

The process by which the film was made is amazing in and of itself. The studio made a film a week and, as screenwriter Julius Epstein said, “This was just one of them.” No one had any idea that the film was going to be such an incredible hit. No one had any idea how much it would resonate with audiences. And no one even imagined that 80 years later people would still be watching and loving the film.

Ingrid Bergman, who played Ilsa in the film—the love interest of Rick, played by Humphrey Bogart—spent the shooting of the film on the phone with her agent working to shore up the deal for her to star in For Whom the Bell Tolls, with Gary Cooper. The book was huge and the film was thought to be a real catch for the actress who got the leading lady role. She was planning how she’d cut her hair, and she was looking forward to a role where she could climb mountains and DO things. In later years when reporters and critics would talk about the film and tell her how they remembered her so well from it, she almost always looked at them quizzically, as if to say, “Really? That’s your favorite film of mine?”

And the shooting of the film? Absolute chaos. The actors didn’t know what was coming next in the story because the screenplay was being written on the fly. They’d get the scenes for the afternoon just at the beginning of the afternoon shooting. Some have said their performances were so spontaneous, so in the moment, because they didn’t know how the script was going to turn out. They therefore couldn’t telegraph anything.

There are some filmmakers, Woody Allen most prominently, who don’t give their actors any of the pages of the script beyond those the actor is in. It seems like a good technique—forces the actors to be more like we all are in real life—not knowing what will come tomorrow or next week.

What made the film so great was the juxtaposition of the war, the urgency of people needing to escape it, and the love story about two who put their own happiness second to helping the war.

A love story, sure—but one that showcases courage.

And yet, no one making it knew it would become the best film of all time.

A few years ago, someone changed the script by only changing the names of the characters and a few other identifying facts, and every producer/agent/star/director turned it down. This was done to make the point that no one reads anymore [often true in Hollywood] and no one knows a good story. But all you have to do is watch the film, and you’ll know what a good story is.

Enjoy this clip and I’ll see you next week with a political love story: State of the Union.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7IWLZcVU64

Copyright © Diane Lake

10Dec23

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com