Key Facts
full title · Casablanca
director · Michael Curtiz
leading actors/actresses · Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Heinreid
supporting actors/actresses · Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter
Lorre
type of work · Melodrama, war movie
genre · Drama
language · English (with some German and French)
time and place produced · Hollywood, 1942
awards · Oscars (1943):
· Best Picture, Jack Warner (Warner
Bros.)
· Best Director, Michael Curtiz
· Best Screenplay, Howard Koch, Julius
J. Epstein, and Philip G. Epstein
date of release · Released in New York in late 1942 and
nationwide in early 1943
producer · Hal Wallis
setting (time) · December 1941
setting (place) · Casablanca in French-ruled Morocco
protagonist · Rick Blaine
major conflict · The major conflict is between Rick and Ilsa as he tries
to understand and she tries to explain their suddenly aborted relationship
in Paris. The conflict soon expands beyond their romantic past to
involve Laszlo and his attempt to escape to Lisbon.
rising action · The conflict between Ilsa and Rick is ignited when
Ilsa shows up in Rick's Cafe with Laszlo. Laszlo and Ilsa plan only
to pass through Casablanca, but the difficulty of obtaining letters
of transit and the fact that the jealous Rick has the letters forces
Ilsa and Rick into frequent contact and conflict.
climax · The climax of the film appears to be the lovers' reconciliation
in Rick's apartment, but Rick's decision at the airport to let Ilsa leave
with Laszlo soon trumps this earlier scene.
falling action · The falling action begins with Rick's idealistic pronouncements at
the airport about personal sacrifice, which justify his decision to
let Ilsa leave with Laszlo, and culminates in his murder of Strasser,
an act that ensures Ilsa and Laszlo's safe departure but forces
Rick into further exile.
themes · The difficulty of neutrality; the inescapable past;
the power of lady luck
motifs · Exile and traveling; dreaming of America in Africa;
spotlight
symbols · Sam's piano; Laszlo; the plane to Lisbon and the letters
of transit
foreshadowing · The plane to Lisbon that passes over Louis and Rick
as they sit outside Rick's Café on the first evening foreshadows
the end of the movie, when the two friends again watch a plane depart
for Lisbon, this one carrying Ilsa and Laszlo.
· Ferrari's attempt to purchase Rick's Café in the beginning foreshadows
the eventual sale of the Café when Rick decides to leave Casablanca.
· The gunfight in the Casablanca market at the beginning
of the movie foreshadows the gunfight between Rick and Strasser
at the end, though in the latter fight the good guy wins.
