A Classic - great acting, directing, dialog & music - but has bad story flaws

Rating: 9/10 (4 March 2015)

Like all movie fans, I love the movie Casablanca. It's in the top 15 of my list of favorite movies. It is truly a classic. Its great actors, director, music, dialog, and romance arouse deep emotion. According to the film's makers, Casablanca was one of those amazing unexpected successes that fate occasionally surprises us with. Apparently no one involved in making this movie expected it to be the famous classic it became. Reportedly, some of the actors and film makers nearly turned it down because the script just seemed like another unremarkable war movie. What I find amazing is that it is set in late 1941, less than a year before it was written, filmed, edited and released; long before World War 2 even ended. Some reports claim it was a propaganda film; not sure that's true.
Casablanca contains two scenes that are among favorites of mine. The scene in which Ilsa and Laszlo first meet Sam and Rick in Rick's nightclub. And the scene in which Laszlo tells the nightclub orchestra to play the French national anthem to counter a group of Nazi officers loudly singing a patriotic German song; all the patrons then join in singing the French anthem, totally drowning out the Nazis. The emotion aroused by these and many other scenes in this film attest to the talent of the director, actors, film editors, music composers, and production staff.
But, although Casablanca is a very moving experience that captivates its audience, its story plot and subplots have very bad faults, at some points downright absurd. These are known among critics, authors, and even war historians. I'm a terrible stickler for detail by nature and I can't help but absorb all aspects of a movie. I consider these story flaws unfortunate because the screenplay is otherwise beautifully written; it won an Academy award. Casablanca also won Academy awards for best picture and best director, all very much deserved. The main criticism with the story is the fictitious "letters of transit" which are supposed to be some sort of super passport, and would certainly have to possess supernatural powers to wield the effect and great value depicted in this story. The letters (plural for some reason) play a key role in the plot. There are many flaws in this concept and in the entire story; it really becomes ridiculous at points. So, being the admitted (nearly anal?) stickler for detail that I am, I've actually listed some of those flaws below for anyone interested:
1) First, of course, there's no such thing as letters of transit, never has been. It would seem that a simple forged passport or visa would be a better travel authorization in 1941 unoccupied Morocco.
2) If there were such documents, they could easily be revoked and made useless, just as any document can, and just as governments routinely do with passports that are reported lost or stolen. The purported rareness of these letters, which is supposed to make them so ridiculously valuable, would actually make them much more a risk and a red flag in travel rather than an aid (unless they cause inspectors and soldiers to go into magical trances).
3) Suppose the far-fetched premise is true that these letters are worth over 200,000 francs in 1941 (about $100,000 in today's U.S. dollar). One could easily have them forged for far less. Passports and exit visas are being forged throughout this movie. If government passports can be forged, with their special paper, cryptic engravings and invisible watermarks, then letters and signatures can easily be forged.
4) Again, assume the letters really are that valuable. You'll realize, as I think everyone watching this movie realizes, Ugarte's dumb assumption that by handing the letters temporarily over to Rick somehow safeguards these valuable papers, is absurd. Ugarte could protect them a thousand times better by simply burying them or hiding them in a bush or under an old shed. And savvy Rick would certainly know this. But of course it's important to the story plot for Rick to possess these magic letters. As for Rick's piano hiding place, a 10 year old kid could find a more secure place.
5) Lastly (but not least), Rick's plan proposed to Renault is nonsense. He tells Renault to release Laszlo from petty charges so Rick can lure him into buying the transit letters. Renault is then supposed to arrest Laszlo and turn him over to the Nazis who can then supposedly imprison Laszlo for many years for the serious crime of possessing the letters. In the meantime Rick and Ilsa will be on the plane to Lisbon, using the omnipotent transit letters for travel. What's wrong with this picture? The absurdity is that Laszlo won't be in possession of the letters, Rick and Ilsa will. How will this incriminate Laszlo? Or are the Nazis going to give the letters back to Rick after Laszlo is in prison so that Ilsa and Rick can flee? Totally absurd. Even Renault would be smart enough to see that.
But, again with all of that said, Casablanca's other qualities are so great that they outweigh the drawbacks. It is still a brilliantly directed and beautifully produced classic. It's just a bit of a shame that more time wasn't spent developing a more realistic plot. That would have made it a near perfect film.