Dialogue – Rick’s line “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” is effective as it tells the audience how certain he was that he’d never see Ilsa again, therefore he speaks in a shocked manner after she comes to his cafe.

Underscoring – A soft but noticeable piece of music accompanies the scene where Rick uses a gun to threaten Renault, building suspense and audience intrigue as to whether he will actually shoot him.

Sound Motif – The song ‘It had to be you’ recurs throughout the film as a reminder to the audience that Rick and Ilsa’s relationship was real and impacts their behaviours in the narrative of the film. The song is heard for the entirety of the Paris flashback, as this is when Rick and Ilsa’s love for each other was the strongest.

Synchronous Music – Synchronous music can be heard in the scenes taking place in Rick’s bar, with Sam playing the piano and singing to customers. Even when the attention is on other characters, the music continues to maintain the verisimilitude of the film.

Sound Mixing – In the scene where the plane is beginning to land in Casablanca, a musical score can be heard in addition to the sound of the plane flying and dialogue. These being heard all at once establishes the atmosphere of the scene and creates a sense of realism.

Realism is depicted in Casablanca through it’s themes of love and war. The romance between Rick and Ilsa is portrayed as real and powerful, while the second World War directly impacts the plot (emphasised by the use of authentic newsreel footage of Nazi soldiers in Paris).

In terms of tone, Casablanca is a dramatic and romantic film, retaining the idea of the ongoing war that was happening at the time while also allowing audiences to escape their real lives.

The film adopts a visual style of ‘Film Noir’, which can be seen through the low-key lighting, the darker tone and plot compared to other films released at the time, and the use of flashbacks to before the war.

Casablanca uses continuity editing in order for the scenes to flow seamlessly, so that the audience can focus on the story without interruptions.

For example, this scene in the film begins with Sam sitting down while speaking to Ilsa, then to a medium close-up of Ilsa encouraging Sam to play a piece of music. Another medium close-up is then used to show Ilsa’s disappointment when Sam turns down the request, although in the same shot Sam agrees to play the song. The film cuts between a medium close-up of Sam playing, a close-up reaction shot of Ilsa getting reminiscent and emotional, and a medium long-shot of Rick walking through the doors, getting annoyed and walking towards Sam. The intention here may be to show the audience how one simple thing can evoke different emotions for different people.

Locations

The town area, used to introduce the area of Casablanca to the audience at the beginning of the film, is overpopulated and people are clustered together. This suggests that since Casablanca was an occupied area, nobody was allowed to leave unless they either got permission from Nazi officials, or attempted to escape.

In the brief appearance of Paris, we see real newsreel footage of Nazi soldiers travelling through it in horses and tanks, implying it is too dangerous for Ilsa to return to.

Sets (Interiors)

The interior of Rick’s Café is shown throughout the film to be busy and crowded, suggesting to the audience that Rick is a very successful businessman and his café is a popular destination in Casablanca.

Renault’s office being as spacious as it is while accommodating only him suggests his high ranking and significance in the police force.

Costumes

Rick wears suits for the entirety of the film, connoting to the audience his professionality and high social class.

Renault wears a police uniform throughout, perhaps implying his loyalty to his position.

Props

Once Ilsa is introduced, the audience see Rick become more and more reliant on alcohol, suggesting he is ‘drowning his sorrows’ to block out his emotions towards Ilsa.

Sam’s piano is important to his character, as when Ilsa asks him to play a song and he begins to, Rick questions why since he told him at some point in the past never to play the song again. This gives the audience the idea that Sam has known Rick for a long period of time and that the two are very close.

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Humphrey Bogart had already starred in The Maltese Falcon, another Warner Bros film, the year before Casablanca released. Due to The Maltese Falcon being a success for the studio, they were likely confident casting Bogart in Casablanca would appeal to audiences more than an unknown actor would. In 1946, Bogart signed a 15-year contract with Warner Bros.

Ingrid Bergman also had starred in films before Casablanca, such as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, an MGM film, however Casablanca was her first film with WB.

Paul Henreid had starred in films such as Joan of Paris and Now, Voyager (the latter being a Warner Bros film) prior to the film. He also had a contract with Warner Bros, notably because of his accent.

Claude Rains was well known for his ‘character actor’ roles in horror films from Universal Pictures such as The Invisible Man (1933) and The Wolf Man (1941), so being cast in a romantic drama such as Casablanca was a departure from his previous roles, aswell as being with a different studio.

Conrad Veidt was the highest paid actor from Casablanca, and was a famous actor in the 20s for silent films such as The Man Who Laughs (which was the inspiration for the character of the Joker) and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. Veidt died not long after Casablanca had released.

Sydney Greenstreet, a British actor, was well known for his collaborations with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre, not only Casablanca but also The Maltese Falcon and Passage to Marseille.

Peter Lorre was recognised for the German film M (1931), directed by Fritz Lang, in which he portrayed a serial child killer. Following The Nazi Party coming to power in Germany, Lorre left Germany and went to Hollywood, where he began working with Bogart and Warner Bros.

Score: 8/10

Memorable Scene: When Rick reveals to Ilsa he won’t leave Casablanca with her and Victor. I found this memorable as it shows what Rick is willing to do in order to ensure that Ilsa is safe, even if he’s not with her.

Iconic shot:

1. What is meant by the invisible style of storytelling? – highlighting the narrative of a film not directly, but through the likes of lighting, framing or editing to achieve the immersion into the story.
2. What is continuity editing? – cutting related shots, or multiple components from a single shot, into a singular sequence.

•1) What were the Big 5 studios & what type of movies was each studio famous for? – MGM/Metro Goldwyn Mayer (The Wizard of Oz), RKO (Citizen Kane), 20th Century Fox (Miracle on 34th Street), Warner Bros (Casablanca), Paramount ( A Farewell to Arms)

•2) Explain what vertical integration and block-booking was? – When a media company controls two or more key stages of the release of their product.

•3) Why and when did the original studio system collapse? – The ‘block booking’ system (selling multiple films to cinemas as one unit) was killed in court, where it was also suggested that studio-theatre monopiles should be dismantled.

•4) What was happening in America(and around the world) at this time? – The stock market crash, the Great Depression and the events of the 2nd world war.