Michael Curtiz, “Casablanca” (1942)
One of Hollywood’s finest gems, “Casablanca” initially presents as a romantic drama in the middle of war. It’s 1942, France is ruled by Germany and Nazi forces occupy the city of Casablanca in Morocco, where human refuse in the form of refugees, spies, fugitives, thieves, freedom fighters and others have washed up in the hope of gaining exit visas to Lisbon and thence to the United States. In the middle of this maelstrom stands a night-club, the Café Americaine, owned by the cynical, hard-bitten and world-weary Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart). The club acts as a focal point for conspiracy and intrigue, secret deals, desperate gambles and illegal transactions. It draws in a petty crook, Ugarte (Peter Lorre), who boasts to Rick that he has obtained two letters of transit from two German couriers he murdered and which he plans to sell later. The Nazi authorities are on the look-out for him and Ugarte beseeches Rick to hide the letters before he runs off. Rick takes charge of the letters but before Ugarte can carry out his plan, he is arrested by officers of the corrupt Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains) and whisked away, later to be killed by the Nazis.
At this point, several important characters walk into the club, though not all at once: Signor Ferrari (Sydney Greenstreet), a business rival who wants to buy Rick’s club and hints that he knows where the letters of transit might be; Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt, of “The Cabinet of Dr Caligari” fame), the Nazi leader on the hunt for Czech resistance leader Viktor Laszlo (Paul Henreid); Laszlo himself and his young Norwegian wife, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). Lund sees the night-club’s pianist Sam (Dooley Wilson), recognises him and asks him to play the song “As Time Goes By”. Rick hears the notes and storms over to berate Sam, stopping in astonishment when he sees Ilsa. In 1940, Rick and Ilsa had been lovers in Paris before the Nazis marched into the city; at the time, Ilsa had believed her husband dead and had not told anyone that she and Viktor were married. When the Germans arrive, Rick and Sam had closed down their Paris club and fled to Marseilles, thence to Africa, but not before Rick had tried (and failed) to persuade Ilsa to come with them. The unexpected arrival of Ilsa leaves Rick reeling. Much later, when the club closes and everyone has gone, Rick stays back; Ilsa makes a surprise visit and Rick lashes out at her.
The following evening in the club, Ferrari tries to buy the letters of transit off Rick but he refuses. The Germans in the club start singing “Die Wacht am Rhein” and in retaliation, Laszlo who has just arrived, rouses the audience to sing “La Marseillaise”. For that act of rebellion, Strasser forces Renault to order the club closed until further notice and everyone leaves. Later that evening, Ilsa visits again to obtain the letters of transit – Ferrari having tipped her and Laszlo off during the day – and threatens Rick with a gun.
Ilsa confesses to Rick that she still loves him and explains the misunderstandings between them caused by the context of the war two years previously. Rick agrees to help Ilsa and Laszlo at the cost of his future and ropes in Renault to assist in a vaguely thought-out scheme that depends as much on serendipity and coincidence as on foolhardy daring.
The plot is creaky and strains credibility, especially towards the end, but the film was not expected to be a blockbuster and the script was changed many times with three script-writers working on an unpublished stage play. The characters tend to be one-dimensional but the cast lend considerable charm and individuality: notable among them are Claude Rains who steals every scene he appears in as the slippery and corrupt Renault, Bergman as the innocent and girlish Ilsa, Greenstreet as wily Ferrari and Lorre as the self-serving small-time crook Ugarte. Having fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s, Veidt, finding himself as a Nazi villain, plays the role with po-faced relish. Wilson shines briefly as Sam, Rick’s loyal assistant and go-between for Ilsa. Even minor characters are noteworthy: the pickpocket (Curt Bois) displays split-second smoothness in his two or three scenes; Sasha (Leonard Kinskey) is comic as the bartender infatuated with regular customer and Rick’s sometime gal pal Yvonne (Madeleine LeBeau); and Carl (S Z Sakall) is a treat as the club waiter and Rick’s accountant. Two Bulgarian refugees (Joy Page and Helmut Dantine) play very small but significant roles in changing Rick’s attitude towards helping Ilsa and Laszlo. Henreid, who receives third billing behind Bogart and Bergman, is perhaps the least effective in a crowded and talented ensemble of actors notable for their international origins and the tortuous paths many of them had to take to appear in a Hollywood film.
The obvious stars of the film of course are Bogart and Bergman: their roles might have been tailored just for them. The chemistry between the two is obvious and never were a pair so different in age and origin so well-matched. Bogart’s stoic and stony appearance and his hard-edged manner that supposedly gives nothing away are a contrast and foil to Bergman’s youth and angelic beauty: there are several close-ups of Bergman’s face throughout the film, her charm and flawless looks lighting up the screen and compensating for the character’s limited range of expression. Their acting can be subtle and the range of complex emotions Bogart and Bergman express through their expressions, body language and movements, and how these round out their characters and make them the stand-out features of the film, is at times astonishing and very moving.
Although the film concentrates on Rick’s moral development from a bitter, self-centred man nursing personal hurt, unwilling to commit to other people and preferring unhappy isolation, to a more enlightened and understanding man willing to sacrifice his future for others and for noble ideals in the realisation that he is part of a network and community striving for a better world, the film’s major theme is redemption: initially, most major and minor characters are either seeking something or are coasting aimlessly in their lives but by the end of the film, they have experienced a change, have done something worthwhile and by their actions are better people and have gained a new purpose and outlook. Ugarte starts out as a despicable petty thief but by passing the letters of transit to Rick and then (off-screen) denying their whereabouts and dying as a result, he has placed another person’s life above self-gain and redeemed himself. Renault is impressed by Rick’s generosity and vows to fight for French liberation, taking Rick with him to Brazzaville. Laszlo realises that llsa is valuable to him as his rock and accepts her back from Rick. Even Ferrari turns out to be a good guy by referring Ilsa and Laszlo to Rick. Yvonne is inspired by Laszlo’s call to patriotism and roused out of self-pity from being dumped by Rick. The Bulgarian refugees unknowingly inspire Rick and by their good deed get help from him in obtaining exit visas that will take them to freedom.
The film is crowded already with excellent ensemble acting and layers of meaning and messages alike yet it’s to director Curtiz’s credit that he finds many occasions throughout the film for ironic humour that underline character quirks and development, and comment on deception, intrigue and the unhappy circumstances of war and conflict that tear lovers apart and cause heartache and anguish. Renault’s apparent cynicism and penchant for expedience and breaking rules where convenient hide good judgement of character, insight and a quick-thinking intelligence and these quirks are highlighted in a number of quite comic scenes.
No wonder then that “Casablanca” is still considered a classic film of outstanding career-defining performances from several actors and messages that to be honest border on propaganda (one should rise above one’s own needs and circumstances to commit to and serve a greater, nobler cause) in spite of a patchy story and a confused film-shoot in which actors often didn’t know from one day to the next what they were supposed to be doing.