Casablanca

Well that's one hour and three quarters of my life I won't get back watching that film. Not impressed at all.

Lesley

 

Surely you jest....

 

When it came out,the film was distributed in the large cities such as Leeds and then finally down to the local cinemas such as The Empire or as it was known by the locals as "The Scrat".

No restriction to children and queuing was the order of the day,those at the head of the queue would grab the best seats...no crisps to munch but a few titbits of sweets,the favourite one, off ration, being dried out liquorice roots to suck (root left after the liquorice extract had been boiled out) Pontefract had a substantial holding in liquorice fields supporting the local confectionery firms....roots that could not be pulled out as many a young boy found out while testing his strength.The root which extended into the soil for a metre or more and had to be dug out.

As I remember, the showing of Casablanca went down well with war newsreels of the time showing the British desert victories as the 8th Army drove westward across North Africa.

"Play it again Sam" yea play it again.

As time Goes By......You must remember this.A kiss is just a kiss etc..beautiful lyrics

Seen the film many times from first seeing it at The Scrat when first released but not this time round.It's an all time classic as time goes by

In a local Lincolnshire market town,about 40 years ago the name Casablanca became the name of a night club established with architecture, fabric and colour resembling a North African building.It was the venue of young men meeting young women which led to marriages.some went on to be failed marriages.(The business failed after a few years and the site was cleared for a garage and car showrooms.)

Jokingly I say to my sons "the Casablanca has a lot to answer for".The venue is often referred by us for incidents which occurred there...some hilarious, some not.

Ingrid Bergman was one of many outstanding actresses about during this era.Later she had to ride the scandal of her extramarital affair with her director Rossellini which evolved from the making of Stromboli...affairs which now are accepted as a fact of life and not as the public and film fans viewed them all those years ago.

 

Although Bogey doesn't actually say "play it again Sam". His words are something like "I she can stand it so can I, play it Sam"

 

Hey well, no film can please everyone.

 

Bergman's daughter, Pia Lindstrum, was a reporter on local TV and radio NYC news shows for a long time. I watched her for many years before I realized she was Bergman's daughter

Pia Lindström - Biography - IMDb

 

Black and white, the lighting and camera distances were exceptional. Richard

 

It's probably a tribute to the film's standing that it has produced pastiches, copies and rip offs. Apart from the Marx Bros comedic take, Charles Bronson appeared as the cafe owner in Caboblanco - reset in Peru (dreadful tosh). A novel in the Man - Kzin Wars series resets the action to Wunderland a future Kzin occupied Terran colonial world in the Alpha Centauri system (strangely recent observations suggest that there actually is a rocky exo planet in the location - nature imitating art?)

 

Wonderful film IMO.

And did anyone spot the great movie mistake?

As Rick and Sam wait on the Paris platform in the pouring rain, they are literally dripping wet. Seconds later when they board the train, they are both bone dry. Wonder who was responsible for continuity..