Simon & Schuster paperback - 1992
This week's jaunt to London included the usual stop at Judd's Books in Marchmont Street. I kept a tight rein on my spending hand but came away with a paperback on the making of the famous movie Casablanca. I read it at two evening sittings in the Caledonian Club. It proved to be a fascinating, well-researched account which included so many things I never knew. The aggressive, explosive, charming, irritating, egomaniacal, emotional Jack Warner, a dictator who ran Warner Bros. took the credit at the Oscars, whilst chagrined Hal Wallis, the producer and second in-command at Warner Bros had to sit and watch. The origin of Casablanca was a three-act play called Everybody Comes to Rick's, which Murray Burnett wrote with Joan Allison in 1940. Late in 1941 the script found its way to the New York office of Warner Bros. The rest is History.
Reading about the 'obstacles' faced (no comparison with combatants in the War) - casting an all-star production, writing an acceptable version of the script (up until the proverbial 11th hour) - is also very interesting. Early ideas for the parts Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman would finally play, included Ronald Reagan and Ann Sheridan. For Bogart, following six years of studio build up, the time had come for a breakthrough - and the leap into the top ranks of Hollywood stars. Often playing parts rejected by George Raft, it was ironic that the latter, who had refused assignments such as box-office hits as High Sierra, The Maltese Falcon and The Sea Wolf, for once, tried to get the Rick part. Before Bergman, Wallis toyed with Hedy Lamarr but Bergman was chosen due to her natural beauty and gentle accent...and a warm, elegant presence unlike any other leading actress. For the part of Victor Laszlo, the Czechoslovakian underground leader, Joseph Cotten wasn't available, so the choice was Paul Henreid, an Austrian émigré - who agreed, as long as he got the girl in the end and received equal billing.
Gradually, the co-starring roles were filled: Dooley Wilson as Sam, whose singing voice Wallis wanted to dub; the solid theatre actor, Claude Rains, as Captain Louis Renault; and Conrad Veidt (in real life a violent anti-Nazi!) as Major Heinrich Straser. Veidt at $25,000 a week, was the highest paid performer on the payroll. Two further supporting roles were cast: Peter Lorre as Ugarte, the murderer of the two German couriers; and Sydney Greenstreet as Senor Ferrari, head of Casablanca's black market. 'Character' actors, to me, usually mean actors who can only play themselves. I never thought much of Lorre in any of his films. Madeleine LeBeau, the 19 year-old real-life émigré from France, only briefly appears as Rick's discarded mistress. In the 1990s she explained why: It wasn't that I was cut out, it was because they kept changing the script and each time they changed it, I had less of a part. It was not personal, but I was so disappointed.
Another key signing was Michael Curtiz as director - he had directed costume adventures (Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sea Hawk), musicals (Yankee Doodle Dandy, White Christmas) and westerns (Dodge City), but his part in Casablanca's success led to an Academy Award. Curtiz was notorious for all-compassing work habits and a temperament that swung from calm to rage and back again within seconds. He was also renowned for his use and abuse of the English language: "Next time I send some fool for something I go myself"; "I'm worried because I'm so optimistic"; and "Bring on the empty horses". He also developed a reputation for an unyielding sexual appetite!
The script kept changing and falling behind schedule; Claude Rains was still on another assignment, as was Paul Henreid - this led to scene juggling; the actors often did not know what words they would be using - we were shooting off the cuff, Bergman recalled, Every day they were handing out dialogue and we were trying to make some sense of it; originally planned to be shot in the back, Strasser would now face Rick's gun; Captain Renault's sexual indiscretions were systematically downplayed to pass the censors; shortages of raw materials meant wall panels, flooring, window frames etc. were scavenged from recent productions
There was also the element of luck or good timing. Two immense coincidences occurred to assist the film's rise to success. Warner Bros. originally intended to release the movie during the 1943 summer season. Then, in November 1942, the Americans invaded North Africa - one of the landing spots was Casablanca! The city was headlines in every newspaper, magazine and radio programme. The premiere was quickly set for 26th November - Thanksgiving Day - only 19 days after the Allied landing. Then, on 24th January 1943, a conference between the Big Three - Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin - was announced - location? Casablanca!
DVD - 1999
Having read the book, I found watching the film even more enjoyable. It 'glued' together very well; the actors were naturals in their respective parts; the scenes were atmospheric; the periods of tension well directed. Why Bergman was already thinking of For Whom the Bell Tolls, I don't know. A much inferior film with inferior acting throughout.
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