Review: Casablanca

Set in the title city in French-controlled Morocco in the early 40s, which has yet to be taken over by the Nazis. It is seen as a temporary stop for fleeing refugees (as well as thieves, other assorted criminals and eccentrics), and some of these people come to Rick’s Cafe, run strangely enough by a guy named Rick (Humphrey Bogart). Rick is a cynical, world-weary guy who claims to not want to stick his neck out for anyone. And then in walks Rick’s old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) and her husband, résistance hero Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), hoping to gain a visa to escape to America. Hoping to nab Victor are Nazi Maj. Strasser (Conrad Veidt- who in real-life absolutely hated the Nazis) and sly police captain Renault (Claude Rains), the latter of whom strongly suspects Rick of being in possession of two ‘letters of transit’ that would solve Laszlo’s problems. Further complications become evident when Rick and Ilsa appear to still harbour deep romantic feelings for one another. Bar piano player Sam (Dooley Wilson) certainly doesn’t help, by continually playing their song, ‘As Time Goes By’. Sydney Greenstreet turns up as an opportunistic black market operator, Peter Lorre plays a thief, and long-serving character actor John Qualen plays one of the regular visitors to Rick’s.

After managing to stomach “The Sound of Music”, I decided to give this 1942 film from director Michael Curtiz (“Angels With Dirty Faces”, “Captain Blood”, “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex”) another go. I had failed to sit all the way through it twice before for reasons I can’t quite recall. This time around, I had no such problems and even enjoyed it, though I pretty much consider it overrated and frankly, a B-movie. Since I like B-movies, I don’t consider that much of an insult, though the opening narration and accompanying Max Steiner (“Gone With the Wind”, “Johnny Belinda”, “White Heat”) music score certainly do feel a tad cheap and hokey. Apparently this one section of music was recycled from Steiner’s score for “The Lost Patrol”, which is a bit of a shame, as it certainly stands out from the rest of an otherwise fine score.

I also think the film gives Rick’s and Rick (Humphrey Bogart) himself a strangely inconsequential introduction. But after a while, one does indeed get engrossed in the story, thanks mostly to a stellar supporting cast and fascinating characters, right down to the cameo players and their little bits of business to the side. Peter Lorre in a mere cameo and Claude Rains in particular steal the show from everyone else (Rains’ arched eyebrows upstage everyone), with Sydney Greenstreet and the inimitable Dooley Wilson not far behind. It’s a shame Greenstreet only turned to cinema late in life because like Claude Rains, he was able to convey so much with so little effort, and that’s especially remarkable here given his obsequious and opportunistic character is pretty complex. Conrad Veidt is also tops as a much less complex, villainous Nazi character. Meanwhile, just as I felt Ben Kingsley’s character was much more heroic than the title character of “Schindler’s List”, well-cast Paul Henreid plays a much more heroic character here than Bogey’s Rick. And Henreid is a superior actor, too. Bogey is OK but has been better elsewhere (Especially in “The Caine Mutiny” and “The Harder They Fall”), Ingrid Bergman is much better than Bogey in a role that I just can’t see anyone else but Bergman in. They do have good chemistry together, I must say, and Bergman deserves extra credit for doing such good work with a script that didn’t even have a set ending until late in the shoot. What’s your motivation? Uh...we’ll get back to you on that, Ingrid!

I think my main problem with Bogey is more the rather rank dialogue he is sometimes given. The bitter romantic dialogue just seems too well-written for such a character to be saying these things organically, and his turmoil-ridden face does the job well enough on its own, so that the cheesy dialogue kinda ruins his performance a bit. Also not helping is the fact that Lt. Frank Drebin would pretty much take the piss out of this kind of dialogue some 45 or so years later. Bogey’s ‘hill of beans’ line makes me want to vomit in my mouth, and the dialogue has aged more than anything else in the entire film. The final line is unquestionably brilliant, however.

One thing I did find absolutely fascinating about the film was that WWII was well and truly going on by this point, and the film is set in the then present. The B&W cinematography by Arthur Edeson (“All Quiet on the Western Front”, “The Maltese Falcon”) definitely deserves a mention, with some really nice lighting and use of shadow throughout. Mr. Edeson definitely seems to have a hard-on for horizontal lines, and it adds texture and aesthetic appeal. Whatever my issues are with Steiner’s occasionally cheap-sounding score, ‘As Time Goes By’ really does take on a haunting, romantic quality here (Hilarious Fact: Dooley Wilson was actually a drummer and had to fake playing the piano!). And cheesy or not, the bit with the note with the ink running in the rain is just perfection. Oh, and one final note: Did you hear what Ingrid Bergman says to Dooley Wilson? ‘Play it Sam. Play As Time Goes By’. She does NOT say ‘Play it again, Sam’. That’s the title of a Woody Allen movie. Get it? Got it? Good.

This isn’t the great masterpiece many herald it as, in fact it’s extremely overrated and slow-moving. I’m not sure if the plot is especially earth-shattering, either (I think this stuff was told much more entertainingly on “Allo, Allo” to be honest), though being very much up to the minute for its era is certainly to be commended. It’s a much easier watch than my three attempts would suggest, and it’s a solid film. Certainly better than “Gone With the Wind” and “The Sound of Music”, that’s for sure. And a lot shorter. I wish I loved this film, but I don’t. It’s entertaining and worth seeing, however, even if it needed a lot more Peter Lorre.

The Oscar-winning screenplay is by Julius J. Epstein (“The Man Who Came to Dinner”, “Born Yesterday”, “Cross of Iron”), Philip G. Epstein (“The Man Who Came to Dinner”), and Howard Koch (“The Sea Hawk”, “Sergeant York”). The film also earned Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director, whilst Bogart, Rains, Steiner, and Edeson all received nominations.

Rating: B-