CASABLANC

Film Brief:
Year of release: 1942

Directed by: Michael Curtiz

Screenplay by: Julius J. Epstein

Philip G. Epstein
Howard Koch

Starring: Humphrey Bogart

Ingrid Bergman
Paul Henreid

Synopsis: During World War II,

Europeans who were
fleeing from the Germans,
sought refuge in America.
But to get there they would
first have to go Casablanca
and once they get there,
they have to obtain exit visas which are not very easy to come by. Now the hottest spot in all
of Casablanca is Rick's Cafe which is operated by Rick Blaine, an American expatriate, who for
some reason can't return there, and he is also extremely cynical. One of Rick's regulars,
entrusts to him some letters of transit, but is arrested before he can take them back. Captain
Renault, the Chief of Police, neutral in his political views, informs Rick that Victor Laszlo, the
European Resistance leader, is in Casablanca and will do anything to get an exit visa but
Renault has been "told" by Major Strasser of the Gestapo, to keep Laszlo in Casablanca.
Laszlo has come looking for those letters of transit. Accompanying him is Ilsa Lund, who knew
Rick when he was in Paris, and when they meet some of Rick's old wounds reopen. It is
obvious that Rick's stone heart was because of her leaving him. And when they learn that
Rick has the letters, at first he refuses to give them to Laszlo, but later relents and leads to a
very interesting conclusion.
Theme:
The film is set in early December, 1941 in Casablanca, Morocco, as part of the erstwhile
unoccupied France. So, one of the underlying themes of course is World War II and the tension
between Nazi Germany and its occupied Countries. It shows the great difficulty characters like
Rick and Renault face in staying politically neutral in face of German oppression. And
throughout the film they’ve been shown to lean more towards the oppressed in small acts and
finally they give in and take side of the Allies and allow Laszlo to escape to America to continue
his work.

Along with being a war drama the film is also a love story of sorts, one without a happy ending.
It’s a story of a man with broken heart trying to forget his past and yet it comes back to him in
the form of Ilsa Lund, the one who broke his heart in the first place, as Laszlo’s wife. The film
follows Rick’s dilemma and pain in this situation as he tries to find a way out. In the end he
sacrifices his own love in favor of helping the resistance to German oppression and letting
Laszlo escape.

The film also explores the idea of America as a symbol to oppressed Europeans and Africans as
the land of ultimate freedom and realization of all their dreams.

The film also emphasizes on the double sided and vague nature of people by showing
characters like Renault and Rick who appear to be very different through the film than how
they turn out to be in the film. Even the motives and desires of Ilsa Lund are not clear through
the film. This element has been also shown in a humorous fashion using the pickpocket who
warns people of thieves and cheats while robbing them that very instance.

Script/Structure:
The 1942 Casablanca is said to have one of the most perfect script of all times. Its unique story
of a love triangle set against terribly high stakes in the war. Despite being a classic Hollywood
film, it has an ending most unhollywood-like in nature and is touted as one of the best endings
ever. In a typical Hollywood film the political and the personal would never conflict and every
issue would be sorted out in the end. But in Casablanca, it is not so and the feelings of both Rick
and Ilsa are left open to the audience to interpret for themselves as political interests take
precedence over the personal, which more often than not is closer to reality.

The script is more dialogue driven than action. Each and every character, no matter how small
the role in the film is has been made memorable because of the colorful one-liners each has to
say, which reflect upon the nature of each character and thus make an imprint on the
audience’s mind.

In terms of structure it is a classic example of a three act structure script with a definite
beginning, middle and end.

Sets/Lighting:
Though it was an A-list film, no one involved with its production expected Casablanca to be
anything out of the ordinary; it was just one of dozens of pictures produced by Hollywood every
year. It didn’t have a very big budget. The entire film was shot in the studio, except for the
sequence showing Major Strasser's arrival, which was filmed at Van Nuys Airport and a few
short clips of stock footage views of Paris. The film had just 6-7 locations throughout its length.

The lighting used was a very low key lighting and a lot of shadows were used to set a dark tone
to the film in a very film noir style. Also this saved the cost of having to light each and every
element in the background. The sets created were not very detailed, thus low lighting was used
to conceal that aspect. There are a lot of scenes there shadows of character on the wall have
been used. Also when showing close ups of Ilsa, the camera has been soft focused and the light
shines off her eyes and jewelry, to give a sad, lost as well as an angelic look.

Use of music:
Music had a major role to play at various instances throughout the film. The most important is
“As time goes by” sung by Sam at the bar. It is used as a leitmotif associated with Rick’s
heartbreaking past and Rick and Ilsa’s lost romance in Paris years ago. Next in line is the French
National Anthem, “La Marseillaise”, symbolic of defiance of the Allies. In one scene it is shown
to win in a duel of songs at the bar against the Nazi Anthem, “”. These 2 songs, “La Marseillaise”
and “As time goes by” have been used throughout the film with slight variations to fit the
mood. Another song, “Knock on wood”, sung by Sam at the bar is used to set the jovial and
festive mood of the bar despite the problems each person in their might be facing. Thus the
song sets the spirit of the people who come to Rick’s Café.

Casting:
Humphrey Bogart plays the allegedly apolitical cynical club owner of Rick’s Café. He was
typecast as a gangster in films and did tough guy routines, thus playing the Cynical club owner
at beginning of the film suited him, when he shows a soft heart in the end, it was all the more
endearing to see a tough guy soften up. Ingrid Bergman plays the lover who mysteriously
deserted him in Paris. Paul Heinreid is her heroic, slightly bewildered husband, though
throughout the film he seemed a bit stiff. Claude Rains, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and
Conrad Veidt are some of the best supporting actors in the history of Hollywood films.

Visual Communication Assignment 2

By

Shashwata Datta

078

MMC(AV)-2011
Submitted to

Mr. Cyrus Barucha