Eighty-three years ago today, the film Casablanca opened. The script had been plucked from the slush pile and greenlit the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The entire film was shot on a tight budget, on backlot locations quickly modified with a Moorish theme. It had name stars in Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, but most of the cast were foreign nationals working as day players. Many had fled Europe ahead of the Nazis. In fact, the main villain, a Nazi officer, was played by a renowned German Jewish actor (Conrad Veidt) who escaped Germany just ahead of the SS. Bogart was one of only two Americans in the film. It was expected to perform as many other studio B pictures had.

But the timing of the film’s release came less than a year after a violent attack ended American isolationism and plunged us into a world war. The almost prophetic speeches of Bogart hit a chord with American film goers. The themes of honor, love and sacrifice were deeply felt in homes sending their sons (and a few daughters) to war.

Bogart was America. Bergman was an embattled Europe. Paul Henreid represented all the brave men and women of the Resistance. And when at the end of the film Rick says goodbye to Ilsa and walks into the mist with Louis (Claude Raines), it is the beginning of a ‘beautiful friendship’ that represented the new Allied forces. Americans felt vindicated to be coming to the war late, but with determination.

The great film critic Roger Ebert wrote this about the film. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-casablanca-1942

A few years ago, a major research project was conducted to analyze millions of documents in the English language. Casablanca is considered to be the third most impactful film on American culture, closely behind The Wizard of Oz and Citizen Kane.

“Here’s lookin’ at you, kid!”