Ingrid Bergman Blogathon–“Casablanca” (1942)

Ingrid Bergman was born 108 years ago today, August 29th, in 1915. Her life came full circle with her passing 41 years ago on her 67th birthday in 1982. Throughout her life, Ingrid won 3 Oscars, was condemned for her affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini on the floor of the US Congress, and came out on the other side of the scandal stronger than ever. She appeared in more than 40 films (including films in the US, Italy, and her native Sweden), a half a dozen made-for-TV movies, and dozens of theatre and radio performances. Despite winning awards for Classic Hollywood films such as Gaslight (1944), Anastasia (1956), and Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Ingrid is best known for her role in Casablanca (1942).

Today, Casablanca is regarded as one of the best films ever made. It also ranks on the top of many lists as one of the most (if not *the* most) romantic films ever made. However, during the time of production, nobody involved thought much of the film–especially its star, Ingrid Bergman. The script was constantly being re-written to the point where the stars didn’t even know how the film was going to end. The crux of the climactic scene at the airport involves the resolution of the film’s classic love triangle. Ingrid was kept in the dark as to who her character, Ilsa Lund, would end up with–Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine or Paul Henreid’s Victor Laszlo.

One of the most famous love triangles in cinema history: Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), and Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart)

Casablanca takes place in the city of the same name in Morocco. Rick Blaine is an American who operates a nightclub, Rick’s Café Américain (aka “Rick’s”). His club offers a refuge for citizens from all countries and all walks of life who are desperate to escape the Nazis and leave for the United States, which has not yet joined the war effort. Rick is seen signing off on a bill dated a few days prior to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. Every refugee is desperate to procure a “letter of transit” which is required to leave Morocco for neutral Portugal, which then will allow them to get to the US. At the beginning of the film, a crook by the name of Ugarte (Peter Lorre) rushes into Rick’s, requesting a place to hide. Rick refuses and Ugarte is killed by the Nazis. Ugarte had stolen two letters of transit by murdering two German couriers. He manages to hide the letters of transit at Rick’s prior to his death. Rick’s possession of the letters of transit provides one of the main motivations for both the French and German police’s constant presence.

UGARTE: You despise me, don’t you?
RICK: If I gave you any thought, I probably would.
(Oof)

Nazi Major Heinrich Strasser (Conrad Veidt) and French Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains) are constantly at odds with one other, with their blows often coming to head at Rick’s. Louis, while he is the prefect of police, is corrupt and is friends with Rick. It is implied that Louis propositions young female refugees, asking for sex in exchange for an exit visa. Strasser and Renault’s main bone of contention is the arrival of Victor Laszlo, a Czechoslovakian who escaped from a concentration camp and is the leader of a resistance movement. Major Strasser’s main motivation in the film is to capture Victor Laszlo and return him to the concentration camp.

However, while the political strife of Casablanca is important to the plot, the film is mainly remembered for its love triangle between Rick Blaine, Ilsa Lund, and Victor Laszlo. Throughout the beginning of the film, Rick is shown to be cynical and completely apathetic to everything. He has funny lines such as when he’s asked if he is available for drinks later in the evening, and he responds: “I never make plans that far ahead.” One evening, Ilsa and her husband, Victor Laszlo enter the club. When Rick spots Ilsa, his face suddenly contorts into the look of sheer anger and heartbreak.

Rick is distraught after Ilsa re-enters his life. “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she had to walk into mine.”

In flashback, we learn that Rick and Ilsa used to be romantically involved, while living in Paris. They’re shown in blissful happiness: romantic drives around the French countryside, sipping champagne while engaging in flirty banter and dancing at romantic clubs. Rick and Ilsa are in love and when they learn that Germany is marching into Paris, they make plans to leave together on the train. One rainy afternoon, Rick waits for Ilsa at the train station, but she never shows up. Heartbroken, Rick reads the “Dear John” letter she sent and boards the train. Ilsa’s reappearance in Morocco brings back a flood of memories to Rick and reminds him of how much she hurt him.

Seeing Rick is obviously a blow to Ilsa as well. Her admiration and love for him comes flooding back to her gorgeously lit face (kudos to whoever lit Ingrid Bergman for this film) that just sparkles on screen. Throughout the film, Ilsa becomes conflicted, not knowing if she wants to leave Victor and rekindle her romance with Rick. In her confusion, she tries to convince herself that she doesn’t love Rick and tries to hold him at gunpoint to force him to give her the letters of transit. Rick isn’t convinced and soon Ilsa confesses that she still loves him.

Rick and Ilsa during happier times in Paris.

Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman acted out Rick and Ilsa’s romance perfectly. They are still in love, but Rick has been so hurt by Ilsa, that it’s hard for him to drop his defenses. The fact that she’s married makes him even more adverse to getting involved with her again. Ingrid portrays Ilsa’s dilemma perfectly, with her face displaying the conflicted feelings she has for Rick. She loves Rick, but she also admires Victor for his work in the resistance. In a very gallant speech, Rick tells Ilsa that Victor needs her, as she is his motivation. In the famous airport scene, Bogart’s face perfectly portrays the love that Rick has for Ilsa. Ingrid’s face beautifully portrays Ilsa’s confusion and overwhelming love for Rick. However, this time, Rick is able to end the relationship on his own terms, knowing that it’s for the best that Ilsa stays with Victor. Ilsa on the other hand, seems to have expected that she’d stay with Rick and send Victor packing.

“Play it Sam, play ‘As Time Goes By.'”

In the end, do we want Rick and Ilsa together? The Simpsons offered an alternate ending. As Rick and Louis walk away together as Sam (Dooley Wilson) plays piano. Sam then warns Rick that Louis has a gun. As Louis prepares to shoot Rick, Sam shoves his piano at Louis and knocks him out. Hitler then pops out of the lid of Sam’s piano, preparing to throw bombs at Rick and Sam. Ilsa suddenly parachutes down from her departing plane, lands on the piano lid, locking Hitler inside. Sam begins playing something that kind of sounds like “As Time Goes By” (but isn’t, obviously. Rights issues) and the scene segues into Rick and Ilsa’s wedding.

While this is obviously a ridiculous way to end the film, it does give the audience the happy ending that many in the audience want–Rick and Ilsa ridding the world of Hitler and living happily ever after. Personally, I cannot imagine Casablanca with that ending. The entire airport scene, oddly one of the most romantic scenes in cinema history, despite being basically a break-up scene, is so perfect. The credit for how the scene plays out entirely belongs to Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. The problems of three little people may not amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world, but for 102 minutes, we’re captivated. We’ll always have Paris. And we’ll always have Ingrid Bergman’s luminous face. Here’s looking at you, kid.

The alternate ending to “Casablanca” as envisioned by The Simpsons.

RICK: Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. We’ll I’ve done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you’re getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.

ILSA: But Richard, no, I…I…

RICK: Now, you’ve got to listen to me! You have any idea what you’d have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten, we’d both wind up in a concentration camp. Isn’t that true, Louis?

LOUIS: I’m afraid Major Strasser would insist.

ILSA: You’re saying this only to make me go.

RICK: I’m saying it because it’s true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You’re part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you’re not with him, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.

ILSA: But what about us?

RICK: We’ll always have Paris. We didn’t have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.

ILSA: When I said I would never leave you.

RICK: And you never will. But I’ve got a job to do, too. Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t be any part of. Ilsa, I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday, you’ll understand that.

(Ilsa lowers her head and starts to cry)

RICK: Now, Now…

(Rick lifts Ilsa’s chin, so their eyes meet)

RICK: Here’s looking at you kid.

Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine, Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund, and Claude Rains as Louis Renault in “Casablanca.”

Ingrid Bergman’s gorgeous face as Bogart gives her the most romantic brush-off in cinema history.

The Distraction Blogathon- “Casablanca” (1942)

“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.”

“We’ll always have Paris.”

“Play it Sam, play ‘As Time Goes By.'”

“I’m shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on here.”

“Here’s looking at you, kid.”

“Everybody comes to Rick’s.”

Humphrey Bogart (Rick), Claude Rains (Louis), Paul Henreid (Victor) and Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa) in “Casablanca.”

These are just some of the amazing quotes from Casablanca. Casablanca is considered one of the greatest films of all time, and for good reason–it is a fantastic movie. Almost every line of dialogue is quotable. The characters (especially Rick, Ilsa, and Louis) are iconic. The last scene between Rick and Ilsa at the airport and later, the ending scene with Rick and Louis walking off into the fog are forever symbolic of Classic Hollywood. Between the quotes, the scenes, the music, Rick and Ilsa’s romance, Louis’ corruption… there is so much to remember about Casablanca. However, does anyone remember the object that plays a central role in the film? ¹

¹ Obviously a rhetorical question, because duh, we’re all Classic Hollywood film fans, OF COURSE we know the answer to this question; but roll with it.

Answer? The letters of transit. The letters of transit are introduced in the film as a piece of crucial documentation that refugees must present to leave Casablanca, Morocco. These refugees are hoping to obtain a letter of transit so that they can travel through German-occupied Europe to Lisbon, Portugal (which is neutral), then board a ship/plane to head to their new life in the United States. These documents are the objects that motivate the main characters’ actions in the film. The audience is first introduced to Peter Lorre’s character in the film, Ugarte, as he races through town and into Rick’s (Humphrey Bogart) club, Rick’s Cafe American. Ugarte boasts that he murdered two German couriers to obtain these precious letters of transit. He wants to sell them in Rick’s club. In the meantime however, Ugarte asks Rick to keep the letters of transit safe.

Later, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) and Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) arrive in Casablanca and head over to Rick’s. Victor is the leader of the Czech Resistance movement. Because of his activity, Victor ranks high on the Germans’ list of persons to not allow to leave Casablanca. Thanks to Rick’s business rival, Signor Ferrari (Sydney Greenstreet), Rick is suspected of having the letters of transit in his possession. This suspicion is what leads Ilsa and Victor to Rick’s. Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains), the corrupt prefect of police, also suspects Rick has the letters of transit. He is a subject of the German-controlled France and is supposed to be preventing Ilsa and Victor’s escape.

Dooley Wilson (Sam) attempts to comfort Humphrey Bogart (Rick) as he laments Ilsa walking into his gin joint.

But does the audience care about the letters of transit? No. Not really. As the audience, we are immediately captivated by Rick’s sour reaction to Ilsa’s showing up at his club. What’s the story there? That’s what we want to know. Judging from Ilsa’s acquaintance with Sam (Dooley Wilson), Rick’s pianist and friend, and her asking him to play “it,” we know that there’s a story there. Sam knows what “it” is and reluctantly agrees to play the song when Ilsa persists. When Sam acquiesces to Ilsa’s request and begins playing “As Time Goes By,” (i.e. “it”), Rick angrily emerges from his office, demanding to know why Sam is playing *that* song. He spots Ilsa and oof. If looks could kill. Rick’s reaction, combined with Sam quickly grabbing his piano bench and scurrying out of the way, is what we need to know about. What is the story behind Rick and Ilsa?

The story of Rick and Ilsa provides the main framework of the story and the main conflict. Add in the fact that Ilsa is married to Victor, and a love triangle develops. Rick and Ilsa’s romance is re-kindled and soon it’s up in the air as to whether Ilsa will want a letter of transit to leave Casablanca. A different side of Rick emerges. He was a cynical, world weary ex-pat living in Casablanca, seemingly impervious to everything. Then Ilsa shows up (unexpectedly) and the romantic side of him emerges. Louis is there, kind of playing both sides, both as an ally of Rick’s but also wanting to follow through on his “duty” and prevent Victor’s escape. He knows Rick knows where the letters of transit are, but he doesn’t really work too hard to look for them. Louis, a French police officer, is stuck in the middle between duty to his country and duty to the corrupt Nazi regime who had taken over Vichy France. At the end of the film, Louis tosses the full bottle of Vichy water into the trash, symbolically showing that he is severing his ties with the Nazis. Louis, like Rick, becomes a patriot.

At the end of the film, Rick makes the ultimate sacrifice and sends Ilsa off with Victor. He hands over the letters of transit very casually. There is no big fanfare, no big build up when Rick hands off the coveted documents. Instead, we are treated to Rick’s very self-sacrificing monologue, the monologue in which he finally severs ties with Ilsa and closes this chapter of his life. This is closure to the romance that we’ve been captivated by since the beginning of the film. We’re finally finding out the resolution of the love triangle. Which man will Ilsa end up with? The man she fell in love with after her husband was thought to be dead? Or her husband, whom she reunited with (and abandoned Rick in the process) after learning that he was still alive? Does she stay with the man who escaped the war to live in Casablanca? Or does she stay with the man who is conducting very important, but also dangerous work on behalf of the Resistance? The letters of transit are essentially irrelevant in the context of the real crux of the film.

Humphrey Bogart (Rick) and Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa) in the iconic airport scene from “Casablanca.”

RICK: “Last night, we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I’ve done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you’re getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.”

ILSA: “But Richard, no… I… I…”

RICK: “Now you’ve got to listen to me! You have any idea what you’d have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten we’d both wind up in a Concentration Camp. Isn’t that true, Louis?”

LOUIS: “I’m afraid Major Strasser would insist.”

ILSA: “You’re only saying this to make me go.”

RICK: “I’m saying it because it’s true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You’re part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you’re not with him, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.”

ILSA: “But what about us?”

RICK: “We’ll always have Paris. What we didn’t have, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.”

ILSA: “When I said I would never leave you.”

RICK: “And you never will. But I’ve got a job to do, too. Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t have any part of. Ilsa, I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you’ll understand that.”

(ILSA lowers her head and begins to cry)

RICK: “Now…now…”

(RICK gently grabs Ilsa’s chin and raises it, so they can look into each other’s eyes.)

RICK: “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

Humphrey Bogart (Rick), Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa), and Claude Rains (Louis) in one of the most iconic scenes in Classic Hollywood.

The final scene between Rick and Ilsa is one of my absolute favorite scenes in any film. Who knew that a scene where two people are breaking up could be so romantic and heartbreaking. It was beautifully written and acted. After taking in the emotional gravitas of this scene and the absolutely heart-wrenching ending to this romance, who is still thinking about the letters of transit?

Rick, hide me! Do something! You must help me, Rick!”

Classic Quotes Blogathon–“Casablanca” (1942)

One of the qualities a “classic” film has is memorable dialogue.  A movie’s scenes can only be enhanced by clever and well-written dialogue.  Prior to “talkies,” the character’s words were typed out across the screen on a title card.  When the characters are “speaking” on screen, oftentimes the actors are just filmed saying different words, but obviously, because the film is silent, the audience does not hear what is being said.  The audience is told what is being said, via the title card.

In Singin’ in the Rain (1952), a film that depicts the movie industry’s transition from silent to sound films, there is a memorable scene between Gene Kelly and Jean Hagen’s characters, Don and Lina, respectively.  Don and Lina are filming the scenes for their next silent film, The Dueling Cavalier.  Don is furious with Lina because she had his new lady friend, Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) fired from her job at the studio.  They’re supposed to be filming a love scene.  While Don is stroking Lina’s arm and kissing her passionately, he’s also telling her things like “I don’t like her half as much as I hate you.”  Later in the film, after converting The Dueling Cavalier from silent to sound, Don, Lina and the rest of the studio personnel watch their film in a theater.  Silent films were not known for having great dialogue.  Unfortunately, the crew in The Dueling Cavalier didn’t realize that they needed to actually write something for the characters to say.  The actors are no longer silent on screen.  Don’s character is reduced to saying things like: “I love you. I love you. I love you.”  If a movie, like Singin’ in the Rain, can make their scenes and dialogue memorable, then it is destined to be a classic.

Aside from Singin’ in the Rain, Casablanca is another classic film from the studio era.  One of the reasons that the film is so popular and memorable is the dialogue.  This film is one of the most quotable films of all times.  The dialogue in Casablanca is gold, from start to finish.  The iconic airport scene at the end of the film has so many memorable quotes, it’s hard to choose a favorite.

“Everybody comes to Rick’s”

My particular favorite quote is muttered by Claude Rains’ Captain Louis Renault, the shamelessly corrupt head of the Vichy French police in Casablanca.  German official, Major Strasser is also in Casablanca while he keeps track of Czech Resistance leader Victor Laszlo and his wife Ilsa.  Rick’s Cafe American, run by expatriate Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is the most popular club in town.  There is a backroom gambling den which though illegal, is popular and well attended.  Captain Renault frequently spends time at the roulette table.

On one particular night, Major Strasser and his cronies are spending time at Rick’s.  Strasser leads a rousing rendition of “Die Wacht am Rhine,” a patriotic German anthem.  Laszlo interrupts and has the band play “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem.  The dueling anthems is a very beautiful and powerful part of Casablanca (Anything to not hear that guitar lady sing again!).  Pretty soon, the French are drowning out the Germans.  Upset, Major Strasser orders Captain Renault to close Rick’s.

Captain Renault demands that Rick’s be shut down.  Rick naturally asks what grounds the Captain has for closing his establishment.  Captain Renault is grasping for a reason to close Rick’s down and then delivers one of the funniest lines in the whole film:

CAPTAIN LOUIS RENAULT: “I’m shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.”

(The dealer hands the Captain a stack of money)

DEALER: “Your winnings, sir.”

CAPTAIN LOUIS RENAULT: “Oh, thank you very much…everybody out at once!”

This scene perfectly sums up Captain Renault’s entire persona.  He’s a corrupt official.  He’s a hypocrite.  He doesn’t care about what is right or wrong, he just wants to win.  Even if it means allying with the Germans, he doesn’t care.  He wants to be on the winning side.  Captain Renault is ultimately a good guy and eventually comes around toward the end of the film when he agrees to join Rick who plans on leaving Casablanca.

“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”