Dated, pre-war drivel

Rating: 3/10 (22 November 2007)

First, the cast - full of those annoying "comic-relief" that studios stuck in every movie from the 30's. Yes, I said the 30's, because Casablanca is much more a product of that decade than the 40's, which would deliver some truly great films. Those "funny" characters make Casablanca more like a menagerie than something with an intelligent plan. Humphrey Bogart - a great actor in The Caine Mutiny, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and even Petrified Forest...but not here. Totally unbelievable and unconvincing as a romantic lead. He doesn't even deliver as an anti-hero in this worn-out, overrated piece of pre-WWII propaganda. Ingrid Bergman - a beautiful lady, and a hundred times better in everything else she did...but a cartoon here. Claude Rains - typical 30's supporting role...goofy, but with a big heart; goes "straight" in the end. 30's nonsense.
The story - lame and predictable. Why did people love Casablanca? Because it stirred their patriotism at a time when Germany was threatening to bulldoze Great Britain and everywhere else. It never was a great, much less an exceptional film.
Nowadays, Casablanca coasts along on its shaky reputation, held up as a "masterpiece", but smelling like the aged soaper that it is.