Sheer entertainment, and also finely crafted

Rating: 10/10 (21 July 1999)

Is this really a love story? The leading man spends virtually all the film being really nasty to the leading lady, and the only decent thing he does is to give her away at the end to another man! I'd have thought that the real theme of this film is not really "love" - the private lives of a few people really don't amount to "a hill of beans" - it's heroism. In this respect, Paul Heinreid's part is superbly underplayed: the film would become unbalanced if he outplayed Bogie - he couldn't anyway - but, at the same time, we must think it right that Else ends up with him rather than with Rick. And Henreid is very convincing in projecting this heroism.
The whole thing is so irresistibly entertaining, that we often forget how finely crafted it is. The plot is complex, but we always know what's happening - there's even a little sub-plot included (about a young couple desperate to escape) that reflects the central plot. And, although Rick behaves badly through most of the film, director Michael Curtiz is careful to ensure that he never forfeits the audience's sympathy.
As for the rest, it's all been said before. The most entertaining film ever made? I wouldn't argue with that. On a par, in my book, with "The Maltese Falcon", "The Third Man" and "Singin in the Rain".