Casablanca
             For the ages.
             The classic and much-loved romantic melodrama Casablanca (1942), always found on top-ten lists of films, is a masterful tale of two men vying for the same woman's love in a love triangle against the backdrop of the conflict between democracy and totalitarianism. With rich atmosphere, anti-Nazi propaganda, Max Steiner's superb musical score, suspense, and unforgettable characters and memorable lines of dialogue, it is one of the most popular, magical (and flawless) films of all time - focused on the themes of lost love, honor, self-sacrifice and romance within a chaotic world.
             Directed by the talented Michael Curtiz and shot almost entirely on studio sets, the film moves quickly through a surprisingly tightly constructed plot, even though the script was written from day to day as the filming progressed and no one knew how the film would end [Would Ilsa stay with Rick or leave with Laszlo?]. Eventually, love comes back into Rick's life and he is inspired to support the Resistance movement. Its collaborative screenplay was mainly the result of the efforts of Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch - and producer Hal Wallis contributed the film's final line.
             The sentimental story, originally structured as a one-set play, was based on an unproduced play entitled Everybody Comes to Rick's by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison - the film's original title. Except for the initial airport sequence, the entire studio-oriented film was shot in a Warner Bros. Hollywood/Burbank studio. Many other 40s stars were considered for the lead roles: Hedy Lamarr, Ann Sheridan, George Raft, and even Ronald Reagan - but the lead male part went to Humphrey Bogart in his first romantic lead as the tough and cynical on-the-outside, morally principled, on-the-inside cafe owner in Casablanca, Morocco. His appearance with co-star Ingrid Bergman was their first - and last. As a hardened American expatriate, Bogart runs Café ...