Casablanca (1942)

 Michael Curtiz's "Casablanca"

When you look back on the 'Golden Age of Hollywood,' there are many films that stand out. However, because of the power that the studio has to dictate its programming, there were not many films that held true to any artistic integrity. Despite this, many filmmakers were able to overcome these obstacles and make sustainable pieces of art that transcended the Hollywood-ness of its production. There is one particular Golden Age Hollywood film, however, that has stood the test of time. Sure, there have been better films, more profound films, and films that hold truer to a higher class of realism and/or artistic classification, but "Casablanca" stands even still. 

There are many individual elements of "Casablanca" that don't quite hit the nose. There are some hokey elements to the screenplay, a bit of cheese if you will. The overall point of the film is for the sake of wartime propaganda. Retrospectively, pro-Allied propaganda is still favorable, but the very notion of propaganda in the story defiles the integrity of the story a bit. Also, there is so uninspired directional choices, as Michael Curtiz isn't a director who takes significant risks. He is more of a traditional studio director. I can keep going on about individual elements of the film that don't quite work. Despite all of this, the final product defies the individual shortcomings. The end result of a film is nothing short of charming, earnest, and simply entertaining. 

At the time of the film's writing, the US had not officially entered the war efforts. This neutral perspective held by the US is used as the focal thematic character personification of Humphrey Bogart's protagonist, Rick. Rick, who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, continuously states that he only looks out for himself and doesn't "stick [his] neck out for nobody." Because he is so neutral, the Nazis that are in Casablanca use his nightclub to make arrests. When his ex-girlfriend, Ilsa, shows up with her husband, Rick finds himself having to make a moral decision about getting them to safety. In the end, Rick decides to sacrifice his own safety to help them escape. Through this decision, the filmmakers are influencing the social narrative around the US's involvement in the war, that we must not continue being neutral. Of course, by the time the filming actually took place in 1942, the US had entered the war (due to Japan bombing Pearl Harbor). But, the sentiment of the film and the moral decision the character makes remains the same. 

Although the film is a propaganda film essentially swaying an American populace to not be neutral in World War II, this metatextual element does not become distracting within the story itself. Rather, the story becomes about moral decisions and the debate on acting on virtue. I believe this to be a completely compelling theme in the film and something far more engaging and interesting than the typical Hollywood film could provide at the time. The two most forefront characters at the very beginning, Rick and Captain Louis Renault, both present as 'neutral' and 'don't choose sides.' However, this passivity makes them morally complicit to the duplicitous things happening around them. In the case of Captain Renault, he himself becomes morally corrupted as well. Through the events that unfold in the story, these characters begin to learn that their inactivity allows for more moral corruption. By the end, they make the decision to stick their necks out for others and sacrifice their own well being for the sake of virtue. It's a completely compelling theme that transcends its own propagandic message. 

On top of the compelling story, its equally entertaining. It blends a thriller element with comedy, romance, and intrigue. It is somehow able to balance so many various tones and elements that seems to mirror some its own themes. One of the main themes comes across through the various hodgepodge of character race and nationality that pop up in the film. Through this blend of culture, race, and nationality, one of the primary effects of the film is that of unity through its diversity. It is meant to be a call for unity amongst the Allied forces, but also somehow manages to communicate a deeper message of the human spirit and the need to sacrifice yourself for your fellow man. 

The impact of the film is unparalleled. In the post-war landscape of American cinema, "Casablanca" is forever remembered. It is recognized for its aesthetical contribution to American cinema, its rally to a unified Allied resistance, its utter romance and eventually heartbreak, and its infinitely quotable lines. Lines like, "Here's looking at you, kid." "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the worlds, she walks in to mine." "We'll always have Paris." "Play it again, Sam." "Round up the usual suspects." and "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Not only this, by 1977, "Casablanca" was the most frequently broadcast film on American television. The integration of this film into the public consciousness was a major cultural moment in the war and post-war American landscape. It has become a monolith of classic American Hollywood and its Golden Age. Beyond its recognition, its Academy Award wins, its achievements, the film itself is a testament to the enduring value of cinema.