re: Casablanc

goosebumps when Lazlo gets the joint singing "La Marseilaisse"

Rick : How can you close me up? On what grounds?
Captain Renault : I'm shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier : Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault : Oh, thank you very much.
Captain Renault : Everybody out at once.

+a

Casablanca is in my top three movies of all-time. I just love that movie, and there are a lot of interesting stories about the making of it. I could watch it anytime, anywhere.

And Ingrid Bergman....

One of the best scripts ever written, right up there with Ben Hur.

This movie is so perfect on so many levels. The dialogue, the tight storytelling, the characters. It all works.

What I really love are all the little nuggets of info they drop. It adds so much color.

The events of the movie happen in December of 41.

Rick is 37 based on his "dossier". So right on the edge age wise for participation in WW1, but would have been post college age for the salad days of the 20's in New York no less.

The way he dismisses the Deutsche Bank President...and when asked about it he says, "What makes you think I havent been dealing with them all my life?" Was his dad a banker? Was that his role in NYC?

He ran guns in Ethiopia and Spain for the losing sides. In Ethiopia that means he supported selaisse against the Italians and the....NAZIS. Thus why he was already on their list during the events of Paris. The loyalists in Spain lost to Franco. Neither paid well apparently. Yet Rick "never" sticks his neck out for anyone. I would say running guns to the losing side in two major conflicts negates that. Wonder what changed his mind?

Sam. Shows such an unwavering loyalty to Rick. Does not even flinch when offered double what he makes to go to the Blue Parrot (which as we find out is 25% of the profit of the cafe. Let that sink in for a minute). Where was this friendship forged? Back home? While he was running guns? The expat community in Paris?

Finally Louis. They both have a friendly respect for each other despite not knowing hard facts about the other background wise. They have their suspicions but thats about it. The respect, again, seems grounded in something more than just allowing him to win at the tables. Did Louis serve in WW1? Does he know what Rick really did in Ethiopia? Hell does Rick know what Louis was doing before Casablanca? Just so much to unpack there.

Ok, my bad for rambling. I just really love this movie!!

After Jaws, Casablanca is my most-watched movie.

The dueling anthems with La Marseillaise winning the night and shutting down the Germans is my favorite scene in the movie.

I watched it for the first time about 10-12 years ago and absolutely loved it. I figured it would be overrated but it wasn’t at all. And I was astonished at the amount of all-time classic and recognizable quotes it had in it (and they kept coming one after another in the final act).

I remember finishing it and being like “welp, pretty easy to see why that’s always ranked as one of the best movies of all time.” It was that good IMO.

I enjoyed the Peter Lorre character, Ugarte, although his end was sudden and tragic.

There are a very few nimrods who just don’t get it. They occasionally pop up, but not too often.