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.

Overall I found the mise en scene absolutely beautiful within Casablanca, from the luxuries of silk and table runners sold on Morocco’s streets to the outfits for the actors and light and shadows illuminating Ingrid’s beautiful facial features. This produces diegsis for the world back in 1941 in Morocco during WW2.

Interior Set & props

The atmosphere of Ricks club comes to life through the interior set, designed so the balance and composition of the screen fills up to show how popular and loved this site is by the people of Morocco. This also works well to enhance a contrast for when Rick is alone in his club, sometimes with Ilsa. This works so well that even though the film is in black and white, you can imagine the variance of bright colours of Ricks club. Understandable props such as maps of Morocco and older telephones help bring the authentic feel of the 40’s to the viewers, however this only applies to the more modern days as this was considered normal to those who watched this when it first came out. Viewers feel as is Ricks club feels like this is the café they go to every evening with the same crowd of people enjoying their time there.

Lighting and Shadows

Black and white film heavily relies on lighting to produce a contrast that is most pleasant to the spectators, but also produce anticipation, and especially in the following picture, seclusiveness as we can see Rick’s shadow take valuables out of a safe that we cannot see, but the other character can representing their relationship with one another, as well as the spectators relationship with Rick- a man who is unreadable and unpredictable. This brings more excitement to viewers as there is a slight feel of exclusivity to see ricks actions, but also a pull away from who he really is as a character, subconsciously letting doubt of mind take over.

Costumes

Costumes really bring together the feel of Morocco’s heat and era of time which explains the particular dress code that is seen. Spectators may also also notice the variance of costumes due to travellers and natives who seek refuge in Morocco.

Exterior Location

This also brings together the feel of Morocco, even though it was filmed in California. Verisimilitude is created as the spectators are reminded of the busyness and bustle of the streets, taking away the sad idea of having to seek refuge in America due to Nazi’s invading.

location:

The location of the Casablanca market is shown to be rural, exotic and busy to give off the chaotic feeling as people were rushing in and out of the city to escape the Nazis.

The location of Paris is made to look light hearted and romantic to reflect the good times Rick and Ilse had there. People back then were unable to visit Paris so it was seen in a higher light make this scene more desirable to the audience.

Sets:

Ricks café is seen to be expensive and glamorous being one of the busiest places in Casablanca. This is done to make Rick look important and mysterious.

The set of the hanger near the end of the film is made dark, open and foggy to give a sense of danger being chased by the Nazis as well as sadness as the two characters will never meet again.

Costumes:

The suit the main officer wears is dark coloured with overexaggerated features like the collar to give off a powerful and menacing feeling reflecting people views of Nazis in WW2.

The white formal suit Rick wears throughout the film makes him feel important standing out from the crowd to the audience as he takes an important role being the café owner.

Props:

The gun pulled by Ilse on Rick is one of the only times a gun is seen within the film making it more dramatic to the audience to see her threaten someone she’s had a close connection to.

The note from isle to Rick gives a strong emotional beat within the film with the note being smudged for added effect making it seem more tragic.

Conrad Veidt was a British-german actor, some examples of his movies include: the man who laughs (1928), Casablanca (1942), Waxworks (1924). he was famous for his silent films as well as horror films. in Casablanca he was chosen to play a Nazi which was risky at the time as he was German as well as WW2 going on whilst it was being filmed.

Humphrey Bogarts performances in classic Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart as the greatest male star of classic American cinema. Bogart began acting in Broadway shows. example of his films are: The Maltese Falcon (1941), The African Queen (1951), Sabrina (1954). He was given the role in Casablanca because he appears cold and standoffish .

Ingrid Bergman was a Swedish actress. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cinematic history. films: Gaslight (1944), Notorious (1946)

Paul Henreid was an Austrian-American actor, director, producer, and writer. He is best remembered for two film roles: Victor Laszlo in Casablanca and Jerry Durrance in Now, Voyager, both released between 1942 and 1943.

William Claude Rains was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man, he appeared in The Adventures of Robin Hood

Humphrey Bogart

• the maltesse falcon
• Sabrina
• the lonely place

Ingrid Bergman

• murder on the orient express
• gaslit
• notorious

Paul Henreid

• now, vouager
• the conspriters
• dead ringer

Claude Rains

character actor

• the invisable man
• the wolf man
• phantom of the opera

Conrad Veidt

feld the germany to avoidthe nazi

• the man who laughs
• the handsof orlac
• waxworks

Sydney Greenstreet

• the verdict
• conflict
• across the pacific

Peter Lorre

• M
• the raven
• the man who knew to much

auteur – a film director whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp

directors that are considered to be ‘auteurs’ – Wes Anderson, Spike Lee, Todd Haynes

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