1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die- Casablanca

#165- Casablanca (1942)
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
Directed by: Michael Curtiz


Plot Summary: Rick Blaine is the owner of an upscale nightclub in Casablanca that attracts guests in the form of refugees trying to get to the United States and those who are tracking them down. Rick claims to be neutral in the situation, but in reality, he has fought on the side of the Loyalists against the Nationalists. Rick is in possession of papers that allow free travel and are very valuable to the refugees stuck in Casablanca. Ilsa Lund, Rick's former lover, enters his establishment with her husband Victor Laszlo, seeking Rick's help to get out of Casablanca and into the United States with the "letters of transit" that he possesses. Without revealing his past with Ilsa to Victor, Rick refuses to help, leading Ilsa with not many options left but to tell him that she still loves him and the reason why she left him all those years ago.


Casablanca is another one of those movies that you hear about a LOT from film aficionados, and is regarded as one of the great icons of cinema. Thanks to the star power of Humphrey Bogart, I was looking forward to checking this movie out immensely. And while I did enjoy it, I'm not sure if all of it has aged well throughout the decades. I hope no one twists my words, and understand that there is a whole lot to enjoy, but don't walk into it expecting the PERFECT movie.

Humphrey Bogart stars as the main protagonist, Rick Blaine. Whether it's James Stewart, John Wayne, Clark Gable, or in this case Humphrey Bogart, I always look at the leading men of yesteryear and see what their appeal was with audiences. For Bogart, he plays Rick with a gruff, no-nonsense attitude, but is still able to have a charm in how he talks. Rick is an amazingly quick thinker, both in his actions and in what he says (just listen to some of the comebacks that he has for people, or see the plans that he has made unravel). Many of the film's most iconic moments and quotes come from Rick and that can all be credited to Bogart's legacy as one of cinema's greatest leading men.

The film does have a pretty solid cast of supporting characters, including Paul Henreid as Victor Laszlo, Claude Rains as Captain Louis Renault, Conrad Veidt as Major Heinrich Strasser, and Peter Loree as Signor Ugarte. The biggest "supporting" character though is Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund. I get that she has a captivating look about her, but that does not make a good character. Using logistics, a lot of the conflicts that arise for Rick and Victor are from misunderstanding and miscommunication through Ilsa's actions in the past (they could have avoided the entire conflict had she just explained at the very beginning). Her performance is probably the one that has aged the worst, but that's because women have come into their own as strong and confident characters over the decades. Unfortunately, that also means that the classic love story between Rick and Ilsa suffers in terms of overall storytelling (curse my appreciation for logical storytelling).

One of the most memorable facets within the film is in its definitive atmosphere. The environment created through the use of lighting (particularly shadows), the sets are able to create the right amount of tone for the film's narrative. Picture the scene where Rick says "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine," or the climactic scene in front of the plane. If either of those scenes had been altered (more lighting in the former, and less fog in the latter), the overall aesthetic of the film would have been changed because tone would have been altered entirely.

Over 70 years have gone by since Casablanca is released, and there is still so much of it to appreciate. It embodies the look and vibe that a classic movie should have, highlighted by the aforementioned use of atmosphere and Bogart's leading man charisma. Even if some aspects of the film (Ilsa) haven't aged in the most graceful of ways, the film is still a powerhouse in the canon of monumental films.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Maybe the expectations were a little high, but some of the gravitas of the film remained stuck in its own time. Still, there are memorable lines, a tremendous amount of atmosphere, and a career defining performance from Humphrey Bogart that makes Casablanca one of the most iconic movies in history, and one that every moviegoer should at least see once.

Comment below to share your thoughts on the movie or to discuss a topic that I left out of my review 

Casablanca and movie images are copyrighted by Warner Bros.