Yet escape routes took refugees to places such as Casablanca, Martinique, Mexico City, or San Cristóbal de las Casas, where stark inequalities, racial and otherwise, were a consequence of colonial rule, often justified with notions like fixed origins, static identities, and unchanging places.

Is the movie Casablanca historically accurate?

Casablanca was really concocted. There were never any “letters of transit”… it was made up. The other films I mentioned earlier were much more realistic.

Were the actors in Casablanca refugees?

It is a film about, and stocked with, the waves of refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe during wartime. And many of the actors playing those roles were, in fact, refugees. "When people speak here, the accents are real," says Leslie Epstein, the son and nephew of screenwriters Philip and Julius Epstein.

Did Rick and Ilsa sleep together?

All direct references to sex were deleted; Renault's selling of visas for sex, and Rick and Ilsa's previous sexual relationship were implied elliptically rather than referenced explicitly.

What is the historical significance of the movie Casablanca?

Casablanca Remains Forever Timeless

While it was released America's involvement during World War II, the film's action is set at a point when the USA was still neutral and, in many ways, was a commentary on how America likely should have gotten involved sooner.

Noah Isenberg talks about the real-life refugees in "Casablanca" | The New School

What is the famous line from Casablanca?

"Play It, Sam.”

“Play it, Sam,” is not only one of the most famous lines from Casablanca, but it's one of the most misquoted lines in film history.

What is the most memorable scene from Casablanca?

A most famous scene, American ex-pat saloon owner Rick (Humphrey Bogart) in wartime Morocco, with employee Sam (Dooley Wilson), brooding over Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) having turned up at his joint, a flashback montage revealing why, in Casablanca, 1942.

Who does Ilsa really love in Casablanca?

She claims to love Laszlo, but she also claims to be in love with Rick, both in Paris and in Casablanca. We might suspect that Rick is her great passion and that only circumstance and political necessity prevent their union, but Ilsa never makes the distinction clear.

Why did Rick call Ilsa kid?

"Here's looking at you, kid," when Rick said it in Paris, implied a childlike sense of an interminable present, when the looking promised to last forever. The playful "kid" at the end suggests the innocence of Rick and Ilsa's love.

Why was Casablanca censored?

At the time of release, the film was banned in Germany because the story was considered to be anti-Nazi propaganda by the wartime censors. After the end of World War II, the picture was finally released in Germany but with around 20 minutes of footage cut (all scenes with Major Strasser and all references to Nazism).

Was Ingrid Bergman a refugee?

Humphrey Bogart was American, born and raised in Manhattan, and although Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish immigrant, she came to the United States for her career rather than out of any desperate need to flee the Nazis.

Is anyone from the movie Casablanca still alive?

Madeleine Lebeau, who starred as the jilted lover of Humphrey Bogart's Rick Blaine, was 92. Madeline Lebeau, the French actress believed to have been the last surviving member of the classic film Casablanca, has died. She was 92.

Was any of Casablanca filmed in Morocco?

Casablanca is a timeless classic, and the production of this cinematic masterpiece took place in two regions: the Warner Bros lot in Burbank and the Metropolitan Airport at Van Nuys near Burbank.

Who turned down Casablanca?

Raft was reported to have turned down Bogart's role in Casablanca (1942), although according to some Warner Bros. memos, this story is apocryphal.

What did Humphrey Bogart think of Casablanca?

It would go on to win the Best Picture gong at the Oscars. Despite universal praise, Bogart himself once reflected on how he felt the picture was "ridiculous and unbelievable". JUST IN: Lauren Bacall's furious row with Humphrey Bogart: 'Having none of it!'

Did they actually say play it again Sam in Casablanca?

Despite being one of the film's most oft-quoted lines, the words “Play it again, Sam” are never said in Casablanca.

What did Bogart say at the end of Casablanca?

“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” It's the last line of the film. Rick and Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains) walk across the tarmac of the aerodrome, away from camera, and Bogart delivers the line to the unscrupulous Vichy Prefect of Police who “goes the way the wind blows”.

How many Oscars did Casablanca win?

It went on to win three Oscars for Best Picture, director for Michael Curtiz and adapted screenplay for Julius J. and Philip Epstein and Howard Koch. Let's take a look back on the occasion of the 80th anniversary.

Who does Rick stick his neck out for in Casablanca?

According to his own admission, he's a drunkard who doesn't stick his neck out for nobody. That changes when his former lover, Isla Lund (Ingrid Bergman) walks into his gin joint with her husband, the famed Czech resistance leader Victor Laszlo.

Who does Victor Laszlo represent in Casablanca?

Laszlo is a symbol of the resistance. He represents unwavering commitment, a quality that makes him as valuable to the Allies as he is dangerous to the Nazis.

Who does Rick end up with at the end of the film Casablanca?

Rick's substitution of Louis for Ilsa at the end of the film underscores the idea in Casablanca that politics trump romantic love, and the public is of greater significance than the personal. We can only speculate on Rick's and Ilsa's true feelings and motives, and the point is that the ending remains a mystery.

What does Rick call Ilsa in Casablanca?

During the course of the film, Humphrey Bogart's Rick says “Here's looking at you, kid” to Ingrid Bergman's Ilsa four times, and what was once a jovial toast becomes a poignant farewell.

What is the main message of Casablanca?

Casablanca is an exploration of the universal themes of love and sacrifice, but when the film was released in 1942, audiences viewed it as a political allegory about World War II. The film is set in December 1941, the month in which the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

What was surprising about Casablanca?

Casablanca Was Based On An Unproduced Play

In 1940, prior to U.S. forces' entry into World War II, Murray Burnett and Joan Alison wrote a play called Everybody Comes to Rick's with an anti-Nazi, pro-French Resistance message, but it was never produced. Warner Bros.

Was Casablanca filmed in Casablanca?

Virtually the entire picture was shot on the Warner Bros. sound stages in Burbank and the studio lot's French Street. The sole location was Major Strasser's (Conrad Veidt) deplaning arrival at Casablanca, which was filmed at the nearby Van Nuys airport.