Notes for Casablanca

ONE: EXPOSITION.

Refugees from the German occupation in World War II have streamed into Casablanca, Morocco, still part of unoccupied France. After Paris fell to the Nazis in June, 1940, refugees sought to escape by making their way to Casablanca. From there they could get a visa to get to Lisbon, Portugal, and from there passage to America.

1) The phrase "Round up all suspicious characters" becomes "Round up the usual suspects," one of the great lines in cinema history listen for it later in the film.

2) Notice the young couple who observe the man being shot down. They will play an important role in the film later.

TWO: Rick's Cafe Americain

We are introduced to Major Strasser, the Nazi commander, and the police inspector, Renault, who works for the Nazi installed Vichy Government. Renault's job is to walk a tightrope between his patriotic feelings for Occupied France and his need to perform a nasty job for the Nazis. The time is December, 1941.

3) Note how the director, Michael Curtiz, introduces Humphrey Bogart. CU of a check he okays, then camera up to show Rick. There he is, portraying the jaded, embittered, lonely, cynical tough guy who never gives away his feelings. Larger than life that's Bogart's character. The anti-hero as hero.

We see Rick in the scene with Ugarte (Peter Lorre). Is Rick cynical, unmoved by human conflicts? Or is he a rank sentimentalist? NOTE: He does hide the letters from Ugarte.

More exposition as Ferrari (Sydney Greenstreet) comes in and offers to buy Rick's club. Ferrari is involved in the human trade--that is, getting people out of Casablanca. He wants Rick to join him so that both can make lots of money. Rick isn't interested.

Rick's interaction with the woman who is angry that he has "dropped her" suggests that he is NOT interested in a permanent love relationship with a woman. Because she violates his "ethic" of relationships, she has to be escorted out.

4) The scene between Renault and Rick outside the cafe provides visual information that Rick is NOT exactly as cold and detached as he comes across. Shot selection helps you see that he has given some thought about getting out of Casablanca and that there is some mystery about his past.

Back inside the club, Renault keeps up the pressure on Rick. Is Rick perhaps more committed to the cause of freedom than he lets on? We can't be sure.

Ugarte is trapped. He appeals to Rick for help-- but there is no way out. Ugarte is carried off. The Nazis have made their point. Rick concludes, "I stick my neck out for nobody."

THREE. THE ENCOUNTER.

5) Into the cafe walks Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman). Who is she? Victor Laszlo's wife. [But Rick doesn't know this yet.] Laszlo is the great hero of the underground, leader of the Free French. Note the reaction shot of Sam, the pianist. We know there is more here than meets the eye.

6) Note the thunderstruck look on Ilsa's face when she finds out that she is in Rick's bar--she MUST know Rick. After her husband goes to confer with a confederate, notice the looks on her face (editing).

7) When Sam comes over to see Ilsa, we start with Sam's point of view, but when he delivers the key line   "Leave him alone, you're bad luck to him," we get it from her point of view. We see the pain on his face. Then we get the reverse angle CU of Ilsa--she can't let up. Watch her face. What is she thinking as this scene progresses?

8) Rick comes in, angry, and notice the CUT when Sam nods toward Ilsa, then we see Ilsa in a CU--what a LOOK! --then cut to Rick--what a look of pain and introspection. What's going on here?

9) Rick formally meets Victor Laszlo and Ilsa. Note the comparison of medium shots of the two men-- the TWO MEN IN ILSA'S LIFE. Then as they engage in dialogue, notice how they are again SEPARATED through the editing so that their words BITE. Watch the reaction shots of these two characters in this scene.

FOUR. RICK HITS BOTTOM.

10) Powerful transition to next scene--Rick alone at a table in the bar. Dark Night of the Soul time. Watch the frustration mount in his face. Something is really bothering him.

11) Transition to flashback. Note that flashbacks usually begin with camera on the character (in the present) who experiences the flashback and end when the camera returns to the character in the present. Notice that when she comes into the cafe on the day the Germans enter Paris, something is wrong with her expression. Something is on her mind. Why is she being so evasive?

12) When they kiss in the scene, note the cut to her accidentally knocking over the wine glass. This is a visual metaphor for the "accident of fate" that will separate them.

13) Of course, bad things happen in the rain. So Rick is stuck in the rain at the train station and the shot of him standing on the train and looking out symbolizes the pain and sense of betrayal he is feeling.

14) Return to the present.