I rewatched Casablanca last night and a couple things bugged me. I love the movie but I can’t help but think that I’m either missing something, OR there’s a couple plot holes.
Why does everyone act so suprised when Rick won’t agree to hide Ugarte when he’s running from the Police? I could understand being upset that he wouldn’t want to, but then again, Urgarte isn’t exactly an upstanding citizen, so I could imagine him not wanting to be seen to take sides with him anyway. That and even if he wanted to, what exactly was rick to do? Urgarte shoots a couple police officers and then runs to Rick pleading for help. He does this in plain view of about a hundred people and it takes a grand total of 5 seconds before the cops have him. I’m not quite sure what he expected Rick to do(Stuff in him in the Piano and hope nobody noticed?)Rick did the only thing he could do and expect to live(other then turning him in right there). There’s sympathy and then there’s stupidity and to help Ugarte in that situation would have been very stupid.
For a resistance leader, in fact THE resistance leader, Lazlo seems rather naive or foolhardy. He walks into a public spot, in a place allied to the Nazis(under vichy control, which was a puppet to the nazis), when there are nazis in the bar and uses his real name, despite being perhaps the most wanted man in Europe.
However, not only that, but he then goes up to meet with Rick in his office in plain view of everyone. Going to meet with the man who both the police and Germans suspect to have the letters of transit. I understand him wanting to meet, but maybe come back later after closing time?
Also, I noticed that Ilsa says “Nobody, not even our closest friends, knew of our marriage”. Okay, I can understand that. So, if you want to protect each other, exactly why are you hanging around in public places in such an obvious manner. Even aside from the fact that an unmarried couple that chummy may have been somewhat strange in the 1940’s, even moreso is the fact that even if they weren’t married, they obviously have a relationship of some sort, and thus still serve as an explotiable weakness, married or not.
They may not tell anyone they are married, but you’d have to be blind to not notice they are connected, and to those who wanted to Blackmail Lazlo, his Girlfriend would probably be just as good as his wife.
As a resistance leader, I’m kind of suprised he’s so sloppy in those aspects. I’m not suprised he’s been caught so many times,but I am suprised he wouldn’t have learned to be a little more…covert.
Considering the Nazis want him so badly, why didn’t the nazis just arrest him in the first place once they saw him? Sure, it’s not German occupied territory, but Maj. Strasse doesnt’ seem to have a problem getting the police to do whatever he wants. And I’m not sure why evidence or just cause should matter much to Maj. Strasse. The nazis didn’t seem too cocerned about Legalities and somehow I don’t think Louis could have done much to interfere they had decided just to toss Lazlo on a plane and send him to Triblanka.
As Karl said “I gave him the best table, knowing that he is German and would take it anyway”.
Hello? This movie takes place in a romantic fantasy land, and applying such questions is irrelevant. The whole “letters of transit” thing is a complete fiction. One can try to speculate answers, but … why bother? Enjoy the movie for what it is, and don’t critique it for what it isn’t. It isn’t a documentary about the resistance, it isn’t a history.
Vichy was aligned with the Germans but not a belligerent so was a neutral power. Neutral does not have to mean totally disinterested. Look at Sweden for instance.
There was only one guy who was annoyed with Rick for not helping Ugarte, and that was just probably because of the feeling you shouldn’t do anything to in any way support the Nazis. He probably already felt Rick worked to closely with the Vichy government (consider his friendship with Captain Renault).
They aren’t pretending anymore. That was just when he was working for the underground. Now that they are fleeing together there is less to worry about in that respect. In fact, the Nazis do know about the marriage now.
My favorite plot hole in Casablanca is that the letters of transit that everyone wants were signed by Charles de Gaulle, and therefore are presumably not valid with the Vichy government.
One other interesting plot hole, noted by Roger Ebert, is that at the airport, after Major Strasser is shot, there is absolutely nothing to prevent Rick and Captain Renault, if they so choose, from getting on the airplane and flying to Lisbon. The airline doesn’t care about the fictitious letters of transit, and neither would the Portugese government.
So for question one, the Frenchman turns to the American for help from the Germans and the American says no. Then an Englishman says “I hope you’re more helpful when the Germans come for me” is something you need to think of with the idea that the Germans are occupying France and are trying to take England.
Well if they are desperate to escape from the Nazi goons they would sit on the floor of the plane.
But I always felt that Bogy and Renault will set up a resistance movement and will actively fight them.
