Casablanca (1943)

My Review

The Best Picture of 1943 is…..”Casablanca.” This is a romantic drama about a night club owner in 1941 French-controlled Morocco who is about to help a Czech resistance leader escape the Nazi’s when he learns that the man’s companion is his ex-girl friend who deserted him years ago in Paris. The heavy drama proceeds from there, well directed by Michael Curtiz (“The Sea Wolf” 1941) from an excellent screenplay by Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch. It was adapted from the 1940 play “Everybody Comes to Rick’s” by Joan Alison and Murray Bennett.

The cast is headed by Humphrey Bogart in his signature role as Rick Blaine and Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund. These two roles by these actors are so iconic that they stand out as if in their own cinematic category. This is genius casting at Hollywood’s best. The co-stars are also exceptional including Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, Joy Page, S. Z. Sakall, John Qualen, Frank Puglia, Dan Seymour, and Dooley Wilson as Sam.

“Casablanca” was the seventh highest grossing film of 1943 for producer Hal B. Wallis and Warner Bros. Pictures. It was filmed entirely on the Warner Bros. lot and sound stages in Burbank. “Casablanca” was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three – Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Non-winners include Best Actor (Bogart), Best Supporting Actor (Rains), Best Cinematography/Black-and-White (Arthur Edeson), Best Musical Scoring (Max Steiner), and Best Sound Editing.