Casablanca, the 1942 romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid. britannica
“Casablanca”, an often-quoted staple of movie history, succeeded wildly despite a cavalcade of issues. The underdog script began life as a failed play, which Warner Bros. bought for a then-record $20,000. Despite its incredible success, trouble began brewing from the outset. The star, Humphrey Bogart, admitted [he] wasn’t “up on this love stuff and don’t know just what to do.” During filming, he also reportedly told Orson Welles, "I'm in the worst picture I've ever been in."
On top of that, the writer, Murray Burnett, had no interest in the actual Casablanca, ''I never had any desire to go there. Maybe I don't want to destroy the image of Casablanca which I created.'' In spite of these and many other aspects of the film going against it, the movie captivated audiences with incredible quotes, fiery chemistry, and immersive realism. As you’ll learn, none of those appeared likely during the making of “Casablanca”.
The movie was based on the unproduced stage play called Everybody Comes to Rick's by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison.
A Contentious Set
Audiences ate up the various relationships between the characters but in real life, the actors were either actively trying to get out of the film or completely dismissive of their co-stars. According to Geraldine Fitzgerald, one of the rare off-screen interactions between Bogart and co-star Ingrid Bergman “centered on how they could get out of that movie. They thought the dialogue was ridiculous and the situations were unbelievable.”
Thanks to an unfinished script, Bergman also never knew if her character was supposed to fall in love with Rick or Victor Laszlo. The director Michael Curtiz gave her the wildly helpful direction to “play it in between.”
Bogart required boxes or pillows to appear taller than Bergman, either that or she slouched. cbc
Animosity Abound
Bogart's then-wife, actress Mayo Methot, added fuel to a growing fire by continually accusing the matinee idol of having an affair with Bergman. Apparently, he often arrived on set fuming, thanks to yet another dressing room confrontation regarding his supposed extramarital activities.
It’s a testament to their craft that both stars put that aside along with the fact that she was two inches taller than he was. That meant nearly every scene was filmed with Bogart standing on a block. Talk about awkward. As if that wasn’t enough, Paul Henreid was universally disliked. He described Bogart as "a mediocre actor" while Bergman felt Henreid was a "prima donna."
No expected Casablanca to make waves, much less become an a classic.
Casablanca In Burbank
Fans of Casablanca fell in love with the enveloping nature of the setting. However, nearly the entire film was shot in Burbank. In fact, thanks to WWII restrictions, they weren’t even allowed to shoot at an airport. Instead, they used a cardboard cut out for the plane and used little people to depict the crew preparing for take-off.
Dooley Wilson was the only member of the cast to ever visited the city of Casablanca. wacotrib
Real Life Experiences
Even though Burbank ranks as a poor replacement for Morocco, much of the cast experienced real-life trauma relating to Nazis and WWII. S. Z. Sakall, a Jewish-Hungarian, who played Carl the waiter, lost three of his sisters to concentration camps and was forced to flee Germany in 1939. Curt Bois, who played the pickpocket, and Conrad Veidt, who played Major Heinrich Strasser, were also both refugees. Veidt also became the target of an SS death squad.
In the scene where "La Marseillaise" plays over the German song "Die Wacht am Rhein," there weren’t many dry eyes on set. So many people involved in the movie suffered from actual Nazi persecution that the emotions became understandably overwhelming.
Strangely, the studio took out a $100,000 insurance policy on Humphrey Bogart, in case he died during production.
Not Enough Sex
Ironically, even though Warner Bros. bought the script for a record price, every major studio had their chance. Originally under the title of Everybody Comes to Rick’s, the general consensus felt it was “too dated," "too much dialog," and "not enough sex." In fairness, censorship in film during that period was at an all time high. If the powers that be had had their way, their film would have been much racier.
The American Film Institute ranked Casablanca as their #3 Greatest Movie of All Time. imdb
Censorship
One would expect that a love triangle set in the height of WWII would be rife with all types of debauchery. As screenwriter Julius J. Epstein recalled, "I remember after a long time we could finally say 'hell.' But it had to be a sparse use of 'hell.' So what we would do was write fifty 'hells' and then bargain with them. We'd say, 'How about twenty-five?' We'd wind up with two or three."
Apparently, even showing a woman filing for divorce crossed the line! The line "You like war. I like women," got red markered into "You enjoy war. I enjoy women" because there’s obviously a massive difference.
To prepare herself for Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman repeatedly watched The Maltese Falcon.
An All-Timer
In the face of all these difficulties, the film still received rave reviews. The New York Times wrote, “The performances of the actors are all of the first order, but especially those of Mr. Bogart and Miss Bergman in the leading roles. The urbane detail and the crackling dialogue which has been packed into this film by the scriptwriters, the Epstein brothers and Howard Koch, is of the best.” Sometimes, against all odds, a movie finds its way. As they incorrectly say, “Play it again, Sam.”
