Have you seen the classic film Casablanca directed by Michael Curtiz?
Casablanca, though it takes place in Morocco, is perhaps one of the greatest American films
of all time and is a representation of the class, influence, and magnificence that Hollywood
brought us.
It was a great story with some of the best actors of their time and ones whom we consider
to be icons of cinema today.
Coupled with great writing and direction and you’ve got a great film.
But, there are many details in Casablanca that you probably didn’t notice and these
helped make the film the major success it was.
Whether you’ve seen Casablanca once or several times, you might have missed out on these
details.
Join FactsVerse to look back at some of the hidden details in Casablanca you probably
didn’t notice…
THE LOVE STORY
A major aspect of Casablanca is the love triangle between Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and
Paul Henreid’s characters.
Yet, Humphrey Bogart was a bit nervous at first and he felt he wasn’t up to date on
romantic acting.
Ingrid Bergman herself wasn’t sure whether she should show affection to Bogart or Henreid.
Michael Curtiz had enough faith that Humphrey Bogart could pull it off and he told Ingrid
Bergman to show affection to both men.
Clearly, his faith worked as the film became such a huge success and is considered one
of the greatest love stories ever captured on film.
This is often what makes a film a success – when a director chooses the right cast
members and has full faith in their abilities.
Such was the case with Casablanca and credit must go to Michael Curtiz for his direction
and his handling of whatever issues came to be.
MANY MEMORABLE LINES
If you’ve seen Casablanca a few times then you’ll probably be able to quote many of
the film’s most memorable lines.
Well, one detail that you might not have known about is that Casablanca is one of the most
quotable films of all time.
Think for a moment of all the great lines from the film:
• “Here’s looking at you kid!”
• “We’ll always have Paris” • “Louis, I think this is the beginning
of a beautiful friendship.”
And of course, “Play It Again Sam.”
The writing of Casablanca was brilliant and the actors came up with these fantastic lines
that we’re still reciting 80 years later.
And if you’re a big Casablanca fan, you might have noticed one error we stated.
“Play It Again Sam” is often thought of as one of the most memorable lines from Casablanca.
But here’s the secret: not once in the film does anyone say “Play it again Sam!”
PLAY IT AGAIN SAM
It’s often thought that Humphrey Bogart says “Play it again Sam.”
However, he simply says “Play it Sam” and he’s referring to a song that he’s
heard many times before.
This gave way to the concept of Sam playing it again.
But this line has been an inspiration for so many things including a film featuring
Woody Allen called “Play It Again Sam.”
A lot of this film was inspired by Casablanca and even takes lines from the original film.
It’s probably the most famous film line that was never actually said.
HOW DID THEY COME UP WITH THE POSTER?
The Casablanca poster is arguably one of the most famous movie posters of all time.
But how exactly did they come up with this fascinating poster?
One part of the poster includes Humphrey Bogart looking out into the distance.
This particular image came from another Humphrey Bogart film called “Across the Pacific”
The image came from a photo from the film and then it was painted by artist Bill Gold!
We wonder how many people noticed that this happened!
IT WAS ALMOST REMADE
One can almost consider it sacrilegious to remake Casablanca today.
But in the 1970s, one famous director was given a chance to direct a possible remake.
Francois Truffaut was given a chance to make a French remake of Casablanca but turned it
down.
He stated that Casablanca wasn’t his favorite film of Humphrey Bogart’s and he felt that
many of the famous French actors, no matter how talented they were, wouldn’t be able
to replicate what Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman did in that film.
One wonders how such a film turned out and one wonders if there will be a remake of Casablanca
in the near future.
If there is, we wonder if it’ll have the same impact as the original classic.
INGRID BERGMAN TOWERED OVER HUMPHREY BOGART
When you watch Casablanca, you’ll see several scenes of Ingrid Bergman looking up at Humphrey
Bogart.
What could be more romantic than a beautiful woman looking up at a man who can protect
her?
Well, there was a bit of a challenge to get this done.
Humphrey Bogart stood tall at 5 feet 8 inches.
Whereas Ingrid Bergman was actually taller than him and stood at 5 feet 10 inches!
In many scenes, Humphrey Bogart had to stand on a cushion or a crate just to stand taller
than Ingrid Bergman.
In some scenes, he even wore platform shoes!
The trick worked as he certainly seemed to be at least 6 feet throughout the film.
In fact, here’s a thought: what would have happened if Michael Curtiz didn’t try to
make Humphrey Bogart look taller?
Do you think that audiences back in 1942 would have accepted the heroine being taller than
the hero?
WHERE IS CASABLANCA?
Okay, so we know that Casablanca is one of Morocco’s most famous and charming cities.
But, was this classic film actually filmed in Casablanca – which was still a French
colony at the time?
Actually, the film was shot mostly at the studio in Burbank, California.
We’re not sure if this detail spoils the film for you but it certainly shouldn’t.
It shows the creativity of the studio heads at the time.
Today, many filmmakers are able to easily travel and shoot on location.
While this might be more authentic, it’s often challenging to recreate an entire city
within a studio and still make the audience feel that they’re sitting at Rick’s Café
in the North African city.
But this is exactly what the film managed to achieve by filming at the Warner Bros.
Studio in Burbank, California.
And what about the final scene when Rick and Louis are walking off into the distance?
That was filmed at Los Angeles’ Van Nuys Airport!
Perhaps some planes were heading to Casablanca that night?
WE HAD TO RUSH TO SEE CASABLANCA
Audiences rushed to see Casablanca in their local cinemas because the studio rushed to
get Casablanca out to cinemas.
While Casablanca was being filmed, the Second World War was still raging on.
The Nazis had captured Casablanca and the studio wanted the release to coincide with
the eventual capture of the city by the Allied Forces.
The film was released on November 26, 1942, at the Hollywood Theater in New York City.
Later, the film had a wider release in 1943 as it wanted to coincide with a meeting between
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill in Casablanca.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect and no doubt the right release got audiences
rushing to the cinemas.
One wonders if the film would have been such a huge hit if it was released after the Second
World War ended?
BOGIE & BERGMAN – BUT WHAT ABOUT GABLE AND HAYWORTH?
Watching Casablanca today, one can’t imagine anyone but Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman
playing Rick and Ilsa.
But there were two other huge stars who were originally considered for the roles.
Clark Gable and Rita Hayworth were the original two choices for the roles.
In fact, Casablanca was originally based on an unproduced play.
The co-writer of this play, Joan Alison, always had Clark Gable in mind for the role of Rick.
Not only did she like Clark Gable but she also hated Humphrey Bogart and felt that he
seemed to give the impression of a drunk – and certainly not a debonair actor who would own
a café in charming Casablanca!
Rita Hayworth indeed was cast but for unknown reasons she was replaced by Ingrid Bergman.
There were also rumors that Ronald Reagan was considered for the role of Rick.
In fact, Paul Henreid wasn’t the first choice for Victor Lazlo – originally, it was Joseph
Cotton.
Otto Preminger was originally considered to play Major Strasser.
One wonders what the film would have looked like if we didn’t see Bogie and Bergman.
In fact, who do you think would be great alternatives for the main cast members?
GETTING ON THE PLANE
The suspense of Casablanca came at the end of the film when audiences wondered whether
Ilsa would go with Victor or stay back with Rick.
In fact, the audiences weren’t the only ones who had to keep guessing until the end.
Even the cast themselves didn’t have the best idea.
The shooting for Casablanca began without a completed script.
This was because the film was made during the time that the Hays Code was in effect.
This was a set of strict guidelines on what was morally acceptable to be shown in a mainstream
film.
As a result, the film’s writers had to keep consulting the censor board to determine what
material would be acceptable to the film.
Eventually, they decided that Ilsa had to leave with Victor rather than Rick because
it was deemed morally unacceptable to see two adulterers escape without consequences.
Often, these censorship rules can hold filmmakers back and artists should get more creative
control for their work.
But the cast and crew managed to work despite the uncompleted script, Hays Code, rushed
film release, and other issues to make one of the best films to ever come out of Hollywood.
In fact, when we watch old Hollywood films like Casablanca, we can often lament that
much of today’s cinema isn’t as great.
But rather than lament, let’s enjoy films such as Casablanca and remember that, “We’ll
always have Paris…”
Now, let’s hear from you:
Are you a fan of Casablanca?
How many times have you watched this classic film?
In fact, here’s what we’d like to know:
Do you think that the film is still considered essential viewing for aspiring filmmakers
today?
Or are there other films that now define what makes great cinema better than Casablanca?