This paper examines what makes Michael Curtiz's 1942 film, Casablanca, such an enduring classic. The simple, solid story sets a star-crossed romance against a backdrop that combines an exotic location with a powerful sense of danger. The colorful cast includes a wide range of likeable, quirky characters that continue to ring true for modern audiences and pits them against a starkly evil villain. Casablanca is a satisfyingly tragic romance but, even more important, a genuinely affecting story of friendship. The film's hero is accused of having a sentimental heart under a cynical exterior, and both he and the film are wonderfully guilty as charged.
Casablanca opens by showing the tenuous escape route followed by Europeans fleeing the encroaching Nazi invasion that had, by that time, made its way into the heart of Paris. The film shows the refugee stream flowing down through Marseille and across the Mediterranean to Casablanca, where the hopeful few might then be able to obtain passage to Lisbon and, from there, to the freedom promised by America.
The film then begins to introduce some of the disparate characters gathered in Casablanca. They include a woman trying to pawn the family diamonds for some much-needed cash, a furtive pickpocket preying on unsuspecting tourists, "the usual suspects" who are rounded up whenever the local law enforcement needs someone to blame for a crime, peddlers and merchants and grifters from all walks of life, everyone trying to get by until they can get out.
One of the most popular local establishments is Rick's CafT Americain, a large bar with a lively band and an active back room where those with the clout to get in can test their luck. The place is run by Richard Blaine, a suave, cynical American ex-patriot who "sticks his neck out for nobody." As played by Humphrey Bogart, he is instantly compelling, immediately memorable, and an important reason for the film's enduring attraction. ...