Casablanca

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

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