... to an implied movie that we didn't see but sounds like it must have been cool. I give Casablanca credit for being unique in this way but it gets way more credit overall than it deserves. Probably Bogart's best acting but not his best film IMO.
So Casablanca is like a C+ sequel to what seems like what would have been an A+ prequel.
Depends on what you wanted out of the movie, I guess.
shareThe history of Casablanca now stretches over 70 years, and while it certainly made its mark as a candidate for "best movie of all time", some of those honors were doled out in the 60's, when the "Bogart cult" was sweeping campuses in America and Europe and when WWII was a more recent (and massively historic event.) Simply put: had WWII gone the wrong way(Major Strasser's way)...there would be no Bogart cult. Or campuses with freedom of thought. Or Jews.
So: (1) WWII and (2) 60's Bogart cult are lead "feeders" to the greatness of Casablanca over its first 40 years.
But wait, there's more:
Casablanca, like a lot of "perfect" movies, only became perfect after a bunch of near misses that would have made it IMperfect:
Had Ronald Reagan or George Raft had the lead, instead of Humphrey Bogart.
Had Ann Sheridan had the female lead, instead of Ingrid Bergman.
Had the movie had a different ending(and many were considered.)
And this:
Casablanca is chock-a-block of the best supporting actors Warners could provide , but rarely did each one of them get such a perfect role, no matter the length:
Claude Rains(above all, I see his Captain Renault as the TRUE hero of the piece; Bogie is lucky to get him in the end.)
Peter Lorre ("You de-SPISE me, don't you, Rick?")
Sydney Greenstreet(like Bogie and Lorre, from The Maltese Falcon and here saying: "As one of the leaders of crime in Casablanca, I am a very influential man."
And SZ Cuddles Sakall.
And Dooley Wilson, the guy who played Sam, and played it so well. (A key positive African American role in movie history.)
Plus a screenplay with the best collection of famous lines this side of The Godfather:
Here's looking at you, kid.
Round up the usual suspects.
Of all the gin joints in all the world, she walks into mine.
We'll always have Paris.
I'm shocked...SHOCKED..to find gambling in this establishment.
I stick my neck out for nobody.
This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
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Casablanca's one of those rare things: perfectly written(story, dialogue AND ending). Perfectly cast. Perfectly acted. It hit at just the right time in world history(WWII, shortly before President FDR went to Casablanca for a summit -- or was it after?) and hit just the right notes with viewers -- especially college viewers -- in the 40's, 50's and especially the 60's. (Its prominence since the 60's has largely been on the reputation begun IN the 60s.) The message at the end of the story remains timeless - and remember, when it was made and released, it was still possible that the Nazis could WIN.
Is Casablanca THE great one? No, but it is surely one of them.
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"Or campuses with freedom of thought."
Where are these supposed "campuses with freedom of thought"? Certainly not in America
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Touche. Well, we had them in the 60's...when a new generation remembered Casablanca.
And Casablanca provides the guidebook on how to get them back.