Cinema
Casablanca
Michael Curtiz · 1942
Synopsis
Casablanca, December 1941. The city, under Vichy administration, serves as a stopover for refugees from Europe waiting for a visa to Lisbon. Rick Blaine, an American who keeps himself apart from everything, runs Rick's Café Américain there. Ugarte, who has killed two German couriers, entrusts him with their letters of transit before being arrested by Captain Renault. Major Strasser arrives to prevent the departure of Victor Laszlo, leader of the Czech resistance. Laszlo enters the café with Ilsa Lund, whom Rick had loved in Paris.
Context
The screenplay was rewritten during the shoot; according to Roger Ebert, no one on set knew until the last day how the film would end, which the historian Aljean Harmetz partly disputes. Most of the supporting roles are played by European refugees, including Conrad Veidt, Paul Henreid, Marcel Dalio and Helmut Dantine; among the credited actors, only three were born in the United States. The film received three Oscars, including Best Picture, at the March 1944 ceremony.
Who it is for
A film of one hour forty-two. The action takes place just before the United States entered the war, which explains the hero's reserve.
Prizes and reception
Academy Award for Best Picture for films released in 1943, added in 1989 to the National Film Registry, and the film with the most quotes on the AFI list.
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