# "Casablanca" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2007, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881 "2007-05-13T00:31:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/141 "2013-01-08T05:05:00Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I wondered about this myself, and launched (several years ago) a thread on this topic here. Part of my confusion stems from Howard Koch’s [book/screenplay](http://www.amazon.com/Casablanca-Script-Legend-50th-Anniversary/dp/0879513195/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-1804410-8971030?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179170793&sr=1-1) which I’ve owned for years. It gives the line as “DeGaulle”…but after listening closely (on the 51st viewing, after hearing “degaulle” 50 times) I think it is “Weygand”. **BMalion** and I watched _Casablanca_ tonight, listened closely, and both think that it was “DeGaulle.” Which makes no sense, obviously, as he was a foe of and had no standing with the Vichy regime. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/142 "2013-01-08T05:40:18Z")
It is Weygand. But it sure sounds like DeGaulle. A move that came together perfectly and has held up. > [@sciurophobic](#): > > I think what makes Casablanca great is that it starts out as a cynical guy film, turns into a romantic movie, and then, after one of the greatest romantic endings of all time, turns back into a cynical guy film. We find out why Blaine is cynical. It is because he is a romantic and a very decent man at heart and the world disappoints him. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/143 "2013-01-08T05:51:27Z")
“Philistines. I mean how can you re-make _Casablanca?_ The one starring Myra Dinglebat and Peter Beardsley was definitive.” – Lister ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/144 "2013-01-08T08:05:13Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I suppose that Spencer Tracy has some reputation In the sense that Bill Gates has some money. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/145 "2013-01-08T08:15:49Z")
> [@Wee\_Bairn](#): > > 100 posts, and I’m the only one who prefers To Have and Have Not, mainly becasue I think Bogart and Bacall had better chemistry than Bogart & Bergman? I watch both of them once a year or so, but I guess I like _Casablanca_ better. But I really like the episode of _Cheyenne_ where they did a 50-minute remake of _To Have and Have Not_. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/146 "2013-01-08T08:36:04Z")
Count me among those who put _Casablanca_ near the very top of the list! Sentimental love story; outstanding dialog; no wasted effort for special effects or “action.” – Love it! My regret is that I’ve seen it about 20 times already. :smack: To fully enjoy viewing it again, I’ll need to get a senility that affects long-term memory. 😃 > [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Picking “holes” in the storyline of _Casablanca_ by refusing to accept the underlying premise that forces suspension of disbelief is stupid. Yes. I’m confused by those who complain about the silly “letters of transit.” Some movies have plot inconsistencies that make the movie severely flawed, but _Casablanca_ isn’t one of them. It would be interesting to have a thread discussing what sorts of disbelief suspensions are troublesome and which not. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/147 "2013-01-08T09:25:19Z")
Originally Posted by Wee Bairn 100 posts, and I’m the only one who prefers To Have and Have Not, mainly becasue I think Bogart and Bacall had better chemistry than Bogart & Bergman. THAHN seems to have a lot more potential than Casablanca but the writing is nowhere near as good. It is also one of those rare films or television shows where Walter Brennan was more of an irritant than a positive part of the movie. “Was you ever bit by a dead bee?” is like chalk on a blackboard and “you just put your lips together and blow” is almost as bad. To StrangerOnATrain: Another vote for “The Third Man” one of the few perfect movies. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/148 "2013-01-08T12:53:07Z")
Just noting: until **Elendil’s Heir** revived this in post #141, this thread is from 2007. ---
**Author:** ![Oedipus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/149 "2013-01-08T13:14:53Z")
I just realized something. If a child was born when this thread was started, s/he would probably be in kindergarden right now. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/150 "2013-01-08T13:25:51Z")
TonySinclair, I disagree. My point (in so far as I remember it from almost six years ago) was that in 1940 Humphrey Bogart was not an immensely popular actor. He was not even as popular as any of the five I listed: 1. Mickey Rooney 2. Spencer Tracy 3. Clark Gable 4. Gene Autry 5. Tyrone Power I don’t think any of them today would be considered in the same league as Bogart, not even Tracy. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/151 "2013-01-08T13:48:46Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > TonySinclair, I disagree. My point (in so far as I remember it from almost six years ago) was that in 1940 Humphrey Bogart was not an immensely popular actor. He was not even as popular as any of the five I listed: > > 1. Mickey Rooney > 2. Spencer Tracy > 3. Clark Gable > 4. Gene Autry > 5. Tyrone Power > > I don’t think any of them today would be considered in the same league as Bogart, not even Tracy. Or Gable? ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/152 "2013-01-08T16:39:21Z")
Andall the doors have signs in english! ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/153 "2013-01-08T16:46:23Z")
Well, it \*was \ ***Rick’s Cafe Americain**. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/154 "2013-01-08T16:53:59Z")
> [@Siege](#): > > Yvonne, a French expatriot who’s had one too many is trying to get the bartender to serve her. I beg to differ. She was neither an expatriate nor, as it turned out, an ex-patriot. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/155 "2013-01-08T18:20:34Z")
In the movie, Capt. Renault descibes himself as a “poor corrupt official”. How much would Rick have to pay a guy like Renault to operate a bar? Or was Renault’s take from the crooked roulette games enough for him? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/156 "2013-01-08T18:21:34Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Well, it \*was \ ***Rick’s Cafe Americain**. Heh. I think **BMalion** meant that even the French police HQ and the German Commission of Armistice (Strasser’s office) have signs in English. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/157 "2013-01-08T18:23:20Z")
I disagree about Tracy. He is head and shoulders above Bogart. One example, The Big Sleep, the scene in which Bogart pretends to be looking for a rare book in the phoney rare book store. Bogart is completely over the top. The dialogue is clever but the scene is ruined by Bogart’s homophobic excess. I can’t think of any scene in Tracy’s career where the scenery was chewed to such a degree. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/158 "2013-01-08T19:38:50Z")
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He chews it twice. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/159 "2013-01-08T19:51:14Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Just noting: until **Elendil’s Heir** revived this in post #141, this thread is from 2007. 😕 But _Casablanca_ is immortal. There are several Bogart films I like better than _to Have or Have Not_. But I’d have been delighted to [get whisting lessons from Lauren Bacall](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MheNUWyROv8). ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881/160 "2013-01-11T07:19:59Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He chews it twice. Very clever and if true I am glad I missed it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/casablanca/403881.md?page=9)