Stuck at home on a Saturday night in the middle of winter? Well, melt some butter, pop some corn, turn out the lights and press “play”on…

Casablanca (1942)

running time: 1hr., 42m. / original studio: Warner Brothers

produced by Hal B. Wallis; directed by Michael Curtiz; screenplay by Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein, and Howard Koch, from the play Everybody Comes to Rick’s by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison

director of photography, Arthur Edeson; edited by Owen Marks; music by Max Steiner

with: Humphrey Bogart (Rick), Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa), Paul Henreid (Victor), Claude Rains (Louis), Conrad Veidt (Maj. Strasser), Peter Lorre (Ugarte)

French Morocco, just before America’s entry into WWII: a mysterious Yankee is drawn into political intrigue when the only woman he ever loved shows up, escorted by a famous Czech resistance leader.

Currently the most beloved film from Classic Hollywood (circa 1930 to 1960), Casablanca is also one of the most talked about and written about movies of all time. Everyone has an opinion on why it works, everyone who contributed to the script or the production claimed credit for its diverse charms, and both sides of the Art/Commerce debate point to it as the exception to a rule. (more…)