Casablanca

Michael Curtiz is to my mind one of the most overlooked directors of all time, (Whilst almost no-one today, [even hardcore movie buffs] could call him out by name), his films are quite simply legendary. To name just a few, Angels with Dirty Faces, Adventures of Robin of Hood, Mildred Pierce, Young Man with a Horn, Yankee Doodle Dandy and of course his most famous masterpiece of all, Casablanca.

The story takes place in Morocco during the war, mostly in a nightclub run by a reclusive American Expat named Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who spends his days cleaning glasses, monitoring poker games played by French and German officials and silently reflecting on his life’s regrets, which are played out through the film, via flashbacks. Then one day an old flame Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), enters his establishment with her husband Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a Czech resistance leader desperate to escape to America. Knowing that Rick is able to forge paperwork, Laszlo puts his faith in Rick to send him to the promised land, which Rick himself had left many moons ago.

Casablanca is an absolute classic and will remain so until the end of time, it won Best Picture, Best Director & Best Screenplay at the Oscars in March 1944 and quite rightly so with its  classic theme song, (Dooley Wilson singing As Time Goes By), memorable one-liners, stunning cinematography and an unforgettable last scene with probably the most famous closing line of all time. This is truly one of the greatest romantic dramas ever made. Casablanca is one of those films that just keeps getting better and better with age.

10/10 – Calum Roberts