Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in Morocco
Casablanca is also a 1942 movie set in the Moroccan city and starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet, and Conrad Veidt.
Richard Blaine, Bogart's character in the movie, was, like Bogart himself, a gentleman from New York, who could not return to New York. Bogart in Hollywood was surrounded by cut-throat studio heads, chiseling agents, fawning studio yes men, and admiring fans. Richard Blaine, in Casablanca, was surrounded by a cut-throat businessman (Senor Ferrari, owner of the rival cafe, The Blue Parrot), petty crooks (Ugarte, who stole the letters of transit), fawning yes men, and admiring women in his cafe.
Adding to the realism of the film, none of the actors knew whether Rick and Ilsa would remain together or not -- until moments before the final scene was filmed.
Casablanca is ranked by many the greatest Hollywood movie ever, and Bogart is at its center.
Casablanca won three Oscars:
- Best Picture - Hal B. Wallis, producer
- Best Director - Michael Curtiz
- Best Writing, Screenplay - Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch
It was alsdo nominated for another five Oscars:
- Best Actor - Humphrey Bogart
- Best Supporting Actor - Claude Rains
- Best Cinematography, black-and-white - Arthur Edeson
- Best Film Editing - Owen Marks
- Best Music Score - Max Steiner