Set against the backdrop of World War II, Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca premiered in 1942 (a year before its official U.S release on February 1, 1943), at a time when there were U.S. troops actively deployed in North Africa. Not only did the film skyrocket the careers of the two leading actors (Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart), but it also left a mark on countless other movies and television shows that came after it, across the globe. Movies such as Woody Allen’s Play It Again, Sam, Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious, Howard Hawks’ To Have and Have Not, and Jean Negulesco’s The Conspirators are just a few. The movie has also inspired iconic reboots such as Robert Zemeckis’ Allied and Michael Flatley’s Blackbird. One of the greatest films ever made, but not many know that Casablanca is living proof of the magic of cinematic improvisation. Filming this timeless classic was infamously chaotic, especially owing to an unfinished script and the ongoing World War. In this article, we’re unveiling how filming on the go without a bound script proved to be a boon in disguise for the film and how the creative chaos might have helped in enhancing Casablanca. Casablanca’s Scripting and Filming Casablanca’s first draft was originally an unproduced play, Everybody Comes to Rick's, written by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. Retaining the primary structure and themes, the draft was then passed on to Julius and Philip Epstein, who worked on the story arcs and dialogue before it was passed to Howard Koch...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Today