Casablanca (1943)
15 Jan 1943 ● English ● 1 hr 42 mins
In World War II Casablanca, Rick Blaine, an exiled American and former freedom fighter, runs the most popular nightspot in town. A cynical lone wolf, Blaine comes into the possession of two valuable letters of transit. When Nazi Major Strasser arrives in Casablanca, the sycophantic police Captain Renault does what he can to please him, including detaining a Czechoslovak underground leader Victor Laszlo.
Much to Rick's surprise, Lazslo arrives with Ilsa, Rick's one time love. Rick is very bitter towards Ilsa, who ran out on him in Paris, but when he learns she had good reason to, they plan to run off together again using the letters of transit. Well, that was their original plan....
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman
Crew: Michael Curtiz (Director), Arthur Edeson (Director of Photography), Max Steiner (Music Director)
Rating: U (United Kingdom)
Release Dates: 23 Jan 1943 (India), 17 Sep 1943 (Brazil), 23 May 1947 (France), 15 Jan 1943 (United Kingdom), 23 Jan 1943 (United States)
Tagline: They had a date with fate in Casablanca!
Did you know? When this film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Jack L. Warner was first on stage to accept the award, beating the film's actual producer, Hal B. Wallis, who was incensed at this slight and never forgave Warner. Wallis, at the time regarded as the "wunderkind" at the studio, left Warner Brothers shortly afterwards. Read More
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Direction
Director
Distribution
Distributor
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Screenplay Writer
Camera and Electrical
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Music
Music Director
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Costume Designer
Editorial
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Makeup Artist
Film Type:
Feature
Language:
English
Colour Info:
Black & White
Sound Mix:
Mono
Frame Rate:
24 fps
Aspect Ratio:
1.37:1
Stereoscopy:
No
Taglines:
They had a date with fate in Casablanca!
As big and timely a picture as ever you've seen! You can tell by the cast it's important! gripping! big!
As exciting as the landing at Casablanca! (NY Premiere Poster Ad)
As big and timely a picture as ever you've seen! You can tell by the cast it's important! gripping! big!
As exciting as the landing at Casablanca! (NY Premiere Poster Ad)
Filming Locations:
Goofs:
Audio/Video Mismatch
There are multiple instances throughout the film where the action of Sam's hands on the piano bears no resemblance to the piano part heard. Especially notable is the first time Sam sings "As Time Goes By" for Ilsa; a rapid treble run is executed that would have necessitated the movement of his right forearm. None is seen.
Audio/Video Mismatch
When Yvonne is kicked out of Rick's in the first scene there, the comments she shouts as she walks outside don't match her lip movement at all.
Audio/Video Mismatch
When the trumpet and trombone players raise their instruments to play "La Marseillaise", the music begins a split second before they start playing.
Character Error
Ferrari's "blue parrot" is a different species. It is hard to tell in black and white, but based on the face patch, size and gray scale of the colors, the parrot is a scarlet macaw (red and yellow with blue wing tips) or Ara Macao; and not a blue macaw (hyacinth or blue and gold).
Character Error
During Rick and Ilsa's night together in Paris they hear artillery firing; and Rick says that "it's German's new 77." The German's didn't use the 77 in World War II. They did use a 77mm gun in World War I; but in World War II the 88mm gun was the new gun.
Character Error
When Rick and Ilsa are listening to the sound of German guns out the window in Paris, Rick comments that they are from the "New German 77s". Actually, the German Army used a 77 mm. field gun in World War I, not World War II. The script writers, (or perhaps Rick himself) may have been thinking of this older weapon.
Continuity
Right before showing Rick the letters of transit, Ugarte begins lighting a new cigarette with his previous cigarette, but gives up doing so and puts the unlit cigarette on the ashtray in front of him, where it rests partially on the table. Moments later there are two cigarettes in the ashtray, none of which are resting on the table. Moments later, as Ugarte leaves the table, the cigarettes have disappeared from the ashtray.
Continuity
When Rick is listening to Annina explain the situation in Bulgaria with his back to the camera, we see him take a drink of brandy. The shot switches before he put his glass down. But in the new shot with the camera facing him, Rick only has a cigarette in his hand and the brandy glass isn't visible.
Continuity
When Rick gets on the train after standing in the rain, his coat is completely dry.
Crew/Equipment Visible
When the German plane approaches the airport the camera pans across a large group of refugees with their passports lined up outside the Police Headquarters. The camera moves close to the crowd and we suddenly see the individual persons. We see for a second or two a shadow moving across the wall behind them, which is most likely the camera crane.
Errors in Geography
On the map shown during the movie credits at the beginning, the area where Poland is shown (actually in reality Poland did not exist in 1942, it was politically considered part of Germany or more properly called "Occupied Poland") is in reality parts of Belarus and the Ukraine, which were dissolved into the USSR at the time.
Errors in Geography
The railroad car Rick boards in Paris is an American railroad passenger car. French railroad cars of the time would likely board from multiple doors into individual compartments. The two cars shown reveal their American heritage in handrails, side moldings and other minor details. Given the unavailability of French cars at the time of filming, the error is understandable.
Errors in Geography
Throughout the film, liquor bottles are seen with USA tax revenue stickers across the tops of the bottles.
Errors in Geography
In the initial scene with a map of Africa, Rabat is incorrectly placed at the location of the town of Kinitra and thus is too far north. Rabat is actually about 20 miles further to the southwest at the place where the map indicates a river flowing into the Atlantic. Note that Rabat is correctly placed on the map on the wall in the Prefect's office.
Errors in Geography
When Renault calls Strasser to tell of the upcoming events at the airport, Major Strasser is in the office of the "German Commission of Armistice" according to the sign on the door. The name should have been in German - or perhaps French, but not in English.
Factual Mistake
Major Strasser is wearing the uniform of a Luftwaffe Major, but his rank insignia and stripes on the trousers are those of a Luftwaffe General.
Factual Mistake
At the start of the final airport scene, the weather report that is telephoned to the radio tower visibility is quoted as being one and one half mile, light fog, but if the visibility is 1½ miles then it is called haze rather than fog. And the weather report is missing some very important items such as wind direction, wind speed, and air pressure.
Factual Mistake
During the flashback scene in Paris, loudspeaker trucks are shown with the Gestapo telling the Parisians not to act when the Germans arrive tomorrow. In fact, Paris issued no warnings about the German advance at all. The German blitzkrieg overwhelmed the French so completely that all communications were either stymied or went astray.
Factual Mistake
There was never any such thing as a "letter of transit".
Factual Mistake
Ugarte tells Rick about the "letters of transit signed by General DeGaulle". Since Charles DeGaulle was the Free French leader and the movie takes place in a Vichy France colony, letters signed by DeGaulle would have been meaningless.
Factual Mistake
There is a French tricolor with crescent and star in the middle waving over the Police offices at the beginning of the film. Such flag was never used in Morocco. During the time of the French Protectorate the flag of Morocco was the same as today, red with a green pentagram in the middle. The civil ensign used between 1923 and 1956 added a small French tricolor in the canton but never a crescent and star.
Revealing Mistakes
After police break up underground group's meeting and Laszlo escapes to Rick's café, Laszlo is trying to bandage his arm with a dish towel. The towel falls off several times yet there is no blood on it.
Revealing Mistakes
As Major Strasser gets shot, he falls down holding the telephone handset-the telephone cord between the phone and the handset is not connected. However, he actually got a hold of an operator and requested to speak to the radio tower. The phone was successfully operated earlier when the weather report was phoned to the radio tower, the cord is clearly connected-and the phone works.
There are multiple instances throughout the film where the action of Sam's hands on the piano bears no resemblance to the piano part heard. Especially notable is the first time Sam sings "As Time Goes By" for Ilsa; a rapid treble run is executed that would have necessitated the movement of his right forearm. None is seen.
Audio/Video Mismatch
When Yvonne is kicked out of Rick's in the first scene there, the comments she shouts as she walks outside don't match her lip movement at all.
Audio/Video Mismatch
When the trumpet and trombone players raise their instruments to play "La Marseillaise", the music begins a split second before they start playing.
Character Error
Ferrari's "blue parrot" is a different species. It is hard to tell in black and white, but based on the face patch, size and gray scale of the colors, the parrot is a scarlet macaw (red and yellow with blue wing tips) or Ara Macao; and not a blue macaw (hyacinth or blue and gold).
Character Error
During Rick and Ilsa's night together in Paris they hear artillery firing; and Rick says that "it's German's new 77." The German's didn't use the 77 in World War II. They did use a 77mm gun in World War I; but in World War II the 88mm gun was the new gun.
Character Error
When Rick and Ilsa are listening to the sound of German guns out the window in Paris, Rick comments that they are from the "New German 77s". Actually, the German Army used a 77 mm. field gun in World War I, not World War II. The script writers, (or perhaps Rick himself) may have been thinking of this older weapon.
Continuity
Right before showing Rick the letters of transit, Ugarte begins lighting a new cigarette with his previous cigarette, but gives up doing so and puts the unlit cigarette on the ashtray in front of him, where it rests partially on the table. Moments later there are two cigarettes in the ashtray, none of which are resting on the table. Moments later, as Ugarte leaves the table, the cigarettes have disappeared from the ashtray.
Continuity
When Rick is listening to Annina explain the situation in Bulgaria with his back to the camera, we see him take a drink of brandy. The shot switches before he put his glass down. But in the new shot with the camera facing him, Rick only has a cigarette in his hand and the brandy glass isn't visible.
Continuity
When Rick gets on the train after standing in the rain, his coat is completely dry.
Crew/Equipment Visible
When the German plane approaches the airport the camera pans across a large group of refugees with their passports lined up outside the Police Headquarters. The camera moves close to the crowd and we suddenly see the individual persons. We see for a second or two a shadow moving across the wall behind them, which is most likely the camera crane.
Errors in Geography
On the map shown during the movie credits at the beginning, the area where Poland is shown (actually in reality Poland did not exist in 1942, it was politically considered part of Germany or more properly called "Occupied Poland") is in reality parts of Belarus and the Ukraine, which were dissolved into the USSR at the time.
Errors in Geography
The railroad car Rick boards in Paris is an American railroad passenger car. French railroad cars of the time would likely board from multiple doors into individual compartments. The two cars shown reveal their American heritage in handrails, side moldings and other minor details. Given the unavailability of French cars at the time of filming, the error is understandable.
Errors in Geography
Throughout the film, liquor bottles are seen with USA tax revenue stickers across the tops of the bottles.
Errors in Geography
In the initial scene with a map of Africa, Rabat is incorrectly placed at the location of the town of Kinitra and thus is too far north. Rabat is actually about 20 miles further to the southwest at the place where the map indicates a river flowing into the Atlantic. Note that Rabat is correctly placed on the map on the wall in the Prefect's office.
Errors in Geography
When Renault calls Strasser to tell of the upcoming events at the airport, Major Strasser is in the office of the "German Commission of Armistice" according to the sign on the door. The name should have been in German - or perhaps French, but not in English.
Factual Mistake
Major Strasser is wearing the uniform of a Luftwaffe Major, but his rank insignia and stripes on the trousers are those of a Luftwaffe General.
Factual Mistake
At the start of the final airport scene, the weather report that is telephoned to the radio tower visibility is quoted as being one and one half mile, light fog, but if the visibility is 1½ miles then it is called haze rather than fog. And the weather report is missing some very important items such as wind direction, wind speed, and air pressure.
Factual Mistake
During the flashback scene in Paris, loudspeaker trucks are shown with the Gestapo telling the Parisians not to act when the Germans arrive tomorrow. In fact, Paris issued no warnings about the German advance at all. The German blitzkrieg overwhelmed the French so completely that all communications were either stymied or went astray.
Factual Mistake
There was never any such thing as a "letter of transit".
Factual Mistake
Ugarte tells Rick about the "letters of transit signed by General DeGaulle". Since Charles DeGaulle was the Free French leader and the movie takes place in a Vichy France colony, letters signed by DeGaulle would have been meaningless.
Factual Mistake
There is a French tricolor with crescent and star in the middle waving over the Police offices at the beginning of the film. Such flag was never used in Morocco. During the time of the French Protectorate the flag of Morocco was the same as today, red with a green pentagram in the middle. The civil ensign used between 1923 and 1956 added a small French tricolor in the canton but never a crescent and star.
Revealing Mistakes
After police break up underground group's meeting and Laszlo escapes to Rick's café, Laszlo is trying to bandage his arm with a dish towel. The towel falls off several times yet there is no blood on it.
Revealing Mistakes
As Major Strasser gets shot, he falls down holding the telephone handset-the telephone cord between the phone and the handset is not connected. However, he actually got a hold of an operator and requested to speak to the radio tower. The phone was successfully operated earlier when the weather report was phoned to the radio tower, the cord is clearly connected-and the phone works.
Trivia:
Humphrey Bogart had to wear platform shoes to compensate for the height disparity so he could play alongside Ingrid Bergman.
Several actors who played the Nazis were actually German Jews who had escaped from Nazi Germany.
In the famous scene where the "Marseillaise" is sung over the German song "Watch on the Rhine", several extras had real tears in their eyes; many of them were actual refugees from Nazi persecution in Germany and elsewhere in Europe and were overcome by the emotions the scene brought out.
This film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, while Michael Curtiz won Best Director and the Epsteins and Koch won Best Adapted Screenplay.
When this film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Jack L. Warner was first on stage to accept the award, beating the film's actual producer, Hal B. Wallis, who was incensed at this slight and never forgave Warner. Wallis, at the time regarded as the "wunderkind" at the studio, left Warner Brothers shortly afterwards.
Several actors who played the Nazis were actually German Jews who had escaped from Nazi Germany.
In the famous scene where the "Marseillaise" is sung over the German song "Watch on the Rhine", several extras had real tears in their eyes; many of them were actual refugees from Nazi persecution in Germany and elsewhere in Europe and were overcome by the emotions the scene brought out.
This film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, while Michael Curtiz won Best Director and the Epsteins and Koch won Best Adapted Screenplay.
When this film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Jack L. Warner was first on stage to accept the award, beating the film's actual producer, Hal B. Wallis, who was incensed at this slight and never forgave Warner. Wallis, at the time regarded as the "wunderkind" at the studio, left Warner Brothers shortly afterwards.
