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Casablanca How such a great movie emerged from the chaos that was its development and filming is one of the greatest mysteries of Hollywood. The ending wasn't decided upon until the day they had to film it, many of the now-classic lines of dialogue were added daily as new sheets of the screenplay were written during filming (the famous "This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship" was added by the director at the last minute), and yet the final product is often touted as the greatest of all Hollywood films. The story is fairly simple: American ex-patriot living in Casablanca during World War II is confronted with his past when a former lover comes to his cafe in the company of her husband, a Resistance leader on the run from the Nazis. Bogart perfectly embodies the world-weary Rick, who "sticks his neck out for nobody." Or does he? Bergman walks a fine line, loving two men, for she did not know throughout the filming which one she would end up with — either outcome had to be believable. Fine performances all around, from many of Warner Bros. stock character actors (Sydney Greenstreet, Claude Rains, S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall, etc). The screenplay crackles with great dialogue, and the song "As Time Goes By" will be forever associated with the tragic and noble story of Rick and Ilsa (however, note that the line "Play it again, Sam" nowhere appears in the movie). **** out of **** Cast Directed by Michael Curtiz Year of Release: 1943 For Further Reading:
Page last updated 8/1/04 |
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