The Making of 'Casablanca': How the Little Film that Could Became a Classic

Rating: 10/10 (2 July 2014)

INSIDE 'CASABLANCA' Star Henreid, Writers Recall Film's Labyrinthine Path to History
"Here's looking at you, kid."
"Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time."
"It's still the same old story/ A fight for love and glory..."
"Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine"
"If we stop breathing, we'll die. If we stop fighting our enemies, the world will die."
"Round up the usual suspects."
"Just because you despise me, you are the only one I trust."
"I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray, you wore blue."
YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS: "CASABLANCA" made its debut on Nov. 26, 1942, at New York's Hollywood Theater. Shooting had begun on May 25th of that same year -- with an unfinished script. The myths over who wrote what, and when, have become as much of cinema lore as the film's plot itself. In an interview on Dec. 3, 1987, Jules J. Epstein -- one of the three credited writers on the film -- said even he was uncertain: "To tell you the truth, it's almost impossible to tell who wrote what now. I read somewhere that (producer) Hal Wallis said he wrote the movie's last line -- when Bogart says to Claude Rains (a Vichy minion who helped Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid's characters escape the Nazis): 'I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.' And that could be. We originally had Rains saying that line, then Bogart finishing with, "Yeah, but don't forget you owe me 10,000 francs.' We writers thought that last was more typical of him, but it was changed and it may have been Hal who changed it. At the time there was much confusion because the studio had a deadline -- 52 films were released each year, and this was just one of them. We were like any other film -- we took 30 days to film, maybe a couple of days more, and that was it." Jules Epstein, his brother Philip and Howard Koch won screen writing Oscars for their work on the film, which also earned Academy Awards for best picture and best director (Michael Curtiz). Said Koch in a separate interview: "Looking back, the picture seemed to have a life of its own. Whatever happened to it seemed to be for the good. I had an almost mystical feel to it." Jules Epstein and Koch said two endings were considered. The first -- and the one that was used -- had Bergman flying to Lisbon with her husband (Henreid), leaving Bogart behind. The second had her staying with Bogart. Contrary to Hollywood legend, only the first ending was actually shot. "Bergman was the one who was worried about which ending we would use," Epstein said. "It didn't bother Bogart -- nobody looked at it as a classic film, and he made four or five pictures a year anyway. Bergman came up to us on the set and asked, 'How can I play love scenes without knowing which man I end up with? Which one will it be?' And we told her, 'As soon as we know, we'll let you know.'" In yet another interview Henreid said he knew all along what no one else knew -- that, under terms of his contract, he had to wind up with Bergman, something which even the writers didn't know. "There were no two ways about it," Henreid said. "That was written in the contract and signed by Warner Brothers. You musn't forget, they were very unsure of Bogart at that point. The film that brought him 'Casablanca' was 'High Sierra,' and the star of 'High Sierra' was not Bogart -- it was Ida Lupino."