# 75th Anniversary of the release of Casablanca **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866 "2017-11-27T12:38:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866/61 "2017-12-04T02:21:04Z")
I saw the film in college in the theater as part of a series of older films. I had seen it before on TV, but almost didn’t recognize it because it was so different on the big screen. I wish i had been able to watch it the other day when it was on here in Charlotte. It’s my all-time favorite movie. Mr. Leuchtag: Liebchen - sweetness heart, what watch? Mrs. Leuchtag: Ten watch. Mr. Leuchtag: Such much? Never got that bit until I took German in college. I crack up every time, now. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866/62 "2017-12-04T12:59:06Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > As was noted earlier in this forum, the Nazis at this point in the war were less heavy-handed than they might have been, since they needed the cooperation of the Vichy government. Gen Henri Giraud, who was captured in the Battle of France in 1940, escaped from captivity in Germany and made it to Unoccupied France. The Nazis wanted him back, but Vichy refused to extradite him. Eventually, in November 1942, he joined the Allies in NW Africa and vied with deGaulle for leadership of the Free French. > > Also, it is not true that the papers were signed by Gen deGaulle (who was in exile in London at the time), as has often been claimed. If you watch a clip of the scene where Peter Lorre shows the papers to Rick and follow the movements of his mouth, it’s clear he’s saying “General Weygand.” His German accent makes it hard to understand otherwise. Thank you for answering a question that nobody asked. I specifically wrote my comment that way because I didn’t want to get bogged down in a discussion we’ve had many times before ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866/63 "2017-12-04T14:06:19Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > That was my status when I entered college. I can’t recall it ever being on TV, although doubtless it was, but I never noticed or cared. I’d heard the phrase “Play it again, Sam”, but had no idea of its context (and even knew that it was the title of a Woody Allen play and movie). Reading all the comments I’m inspired to see it again. I have it on DVD as part of my Bogart collection but I’m going to have to find a remastered version in HD. As I’m sure most of you know, the line “play it again, Sam” never actually occurs in the movie, but it’s a natural misquote because Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) first asks Sam to play the song, and then later Rick asks him to play it a second time. But the actual lines are: Ilsa: Play it once, Sam. For old times’ sake. Sam: I don’t know what you mean, Miss Ilsa. Ilsa: Play it, Sam. Play “As Time Goes By.” And then later in the movie: Rick: You know what I want to hear. Sam: No, I don’t. Rick: You played it for her, you can play it for me! Sam: Well, I don’t think I can remember… Rick: If she can stand it, I can! Play it! ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866/64 "2017-12-04T16:07:26Z")
Another thing I like about this movie is that it has one of the greatest romantic endings of all time, followed by one of the greatest non-romantic endings of all time. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866/65 "2017-12-04T20:53:44Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > “Have you tried 22 tonight?” (Pause.) “I said 22.” (Wink to the croupier.) Number 22 wins. > > “Leave it there.” (Another wink.) Again, number 22 wins. > > “Cash it in and don’t come back.” > > Probably my favorite movie of all time. Probably a coincidence ( who knows?) but in The Sting, when Robert Redford blows his payday at an underground gambling joint, the rigged roulette wheel lands on 22. Apparently all roulette wheels have a button that makes the ball land on 22. 😉 My first time story: freshman in college, 1971…a time before DVDs and TCM, much less streaming services. So it was a rare 18 year old that had had an opportunity to see a 30 year old movie. My dorm acquired a copy (on film) plus projector and showed it on a sheet in the dining hall. The room was absolutely packed…and at the climax, when Renault says “Major Strasser has been shot…” you could hear a pin drop…followed by “…round up the usual suspects.” … I kid you not – it erupted in cheers. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866/66 "2017-12-04T21:56:25Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > … followed by one of the greatest non-romantic endings of all time. We will never know for sure, though. Hays Code and all, it could have been romantic. What is a “beautiful friendship”, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866/67 "2017-12-04T22:46:32Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > We will never know for sure, though. Hays Code and all, it could have been romantic. What is a “beautiful friendship”, anyway? Flash forward 20 years. It’s 1962, and two aging cowhands, one American one French, are looking for work in Wyoming. They hear of someone needing a couple fellas to watch over sheep up on some mountain or other. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866/68 "2017-12-05T03:20:57Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > We will never know for sure, though. Hays Code and all, it could have been romantic. What is a “beautiful friendship”, anyway? In this case two guys heading out to kill some Nazis, without some dame to complicate things. And speaking of the Hays Code, was there really any possibility that Ilsa would leave Victor for Rick? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866/69 "2017-12-05T03:40:14Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > And speaking of the Hays Code, was there really any possibility that Ilsa would leave Victor for Rick? As I understand it, they were kind of writing the story on the fly and were not sure how they were going to end it. Perhaps in those days, some movies were being shot sequentially, which is fairly uncommon these days. But I think the Code was flexible enough to allow Rick to leave with Ilsa, as he was not the “bad guy”. _Casablanca_ was, I think, pushing the limits of moral ambiguity at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866/70 "2017-12-05T03:56:38Z")
I saw it in Mexico, in San Miguel de Allende in 1973, I think. At that time San Miguel was just a small arty expat town with a couple of little art institutes which catered to Americans. Howard Koch, I believe, one of the screenwriters, hosted a screening and a talk about the film. It blew my socks off. I was 16. I’ve watched it many times since. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866/71 "2017-12-05T06:22:13Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Thank you for answering a question that nobody asked. > > I specifically wrote my comment that way because I didn’t want to get bogged down in a discussion we’ve had many times before Glad to be of service. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75th-anniversary-of-the-release-of-casablanca/802866.md?page=3)