102-482: (Redirected from Play It Again Sam ) Play it again, Sam may refer to: A misquotation of the line "Play it, Sam" from the 1942 film Casablanca . Play It Again, Sam (play) , a 1969 Broadway play by Woody Allen Play It Again, Sam (film) , the 1972 film based on Allen's play "Play It Again, Sam", a song on the album You Brainstorm, I Brainstorm, but Brilliance Needs
204-414: A Day , Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , and It's a Wonderful Life ). On May 5, 1936, Capra hosted the 8th Academy Awards ceremony. Although It's a Wonderful Life is his best-known film, Friedman notes that it was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), which most represented the "Capra myth". That film expressed Capra's patriotism more than any others, and "presented the individual working within
306-495: A German-made film biography of composer Frédéric Chopin . He purchased the film himself as a basis for his new production, and recruited one of Columbia's leading writers, Sidney Buchman , to fashion a screenplay. Capra spent a full year working on the Chopin project, and the film was ready to go into production. Capra wanted to make the film in the costly Technicolor process—a first for Columbia—but Columbia's New York office balked at
408-496: A Good Editor by Manchester Orchestra A work for solo viola by Milton Babbitt , written in 1989 Branding used by Superior Software , to re-release their old titles PIAS Recordings , an international record label, also known as "Play It Again Sam Records" See also [ edit ] PIAS (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
510-489: A bag. Nobody takes their clothes off. There's no ventilation, and it stinks like hell. They're all miserable. It's the most degrading place you could ever be. Capra remembers the ship's arrival in New York Harbor, where he saw "a statue of a great lady, taller than a church steeple, holding a torch above the land we were about to enter". He recalls his father's exclamation at the sight: Cicco, look! Look at that! That's
612-664: A dozen small roles in Casablanca an understanding and a desperation that could never have come from Central Casting ". Even though many were Jewish or refugees from the Nazis (or both), they were frequently cast as Nazis in various war films, because of their accents. Jack Benny may have appeared in an unbilled cameo, as was claimed by a contemporary newspaper advertisement and in the Casablanca press book. When asked in his column "Movie Answer Man", critic Roger Ebert first replied, "It looks something like him. That's all I can say." In
714-553: A framing device. The music was written by Max Steiner , who wrote scores for King Kong and Gone with the Wind . The song "As Time Goes By" by Herman Hupfeld had been part of the story from the original play; Steiner wanted to write his own composition to replace it, but Bergman had already cut her hair short for her next role (María in For Whom the Bell Tolls ) and could not reshoot
816-591: A fruit grower, and the former Rosaria "Sara" Nicolosi. Capra's family was Roman Catholic. Frank's siblings were Luigia, Ignazia, Benedetto, Antonino Giuseppe, Antonia, and Anne. The name "Capra", notes Capra's biographer, Joseph McBride, represents his family's closeness to the land, and means "goat". He notes that the English word "capricious" derives from it, "evoking the animal's skittish temperament", adding that "the name neatly expresses two aspects of Frank Capra's personality: emotionalism and obstinacy." In 1903, when he
918-513: A further scene, showing Rick, Renault and a detachment of Free French soldiers on a ship, to incorporate the Allies' 1942 invasion of North Africa . It proved too difficult to get Claude Rains for the shoot, and the scene was finally abandoned after David O. Selznick judged "it would be a terrible mistake to change the ending". The background of the final scene, which shows a Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior airplane with personnel walking around it,
1020-465: A gag writer for Hal Roach 's Our Gang series. He was twice hired as a writer for a slapstick comedy director, Mack Sennett , in 1918 and 1924. Under him, Capra wrote scripts for comedian Harry Langdon and produced by Mack Sennett , the first being Plain Clothes in 1925. According to Capra, it was he who invented Langdon's character, the innocent fool living in a "naughty world"; however, Langdon
1122-411: A later column, he responded to a follow-up commenter, "I think you're right. The Jack Benny Fan Club can feel vindicated". The film was based on Murray Burnett and Joan Alison's unproduced play Everybody Comes to Rick's . The Warner Bros. story analyst who read the play, Stephen Karnot, called it (approvingly) "sophisticated hokum" and story editor Irene Diamond , who had discovered the script on
SECTION 10
#17328520300291224-630: A love triangle. He is forcing the girl to live up to the idealism of her nature, forcing her to carry on with the work that in these days is far more important than the love of two little people. It was certainly impossible for Ilsa to leave Laszlo for Rick, as the Motion Picture Production Code forbade showing a woman leaving her husband for another man. The concern was not whether Ilsa would leave with Laszlo, but how this outcome would be engineered. According to Julius Epstein, he and Philip were driving when they simultaneously came up with
1326-654: A million-dollar cash offer from Warner Bros. Columbia ultimately went ahead with the Chopin biography, in Technicolor, under the direction of Charles Vidor : A Song to Remember (1945). Capra's first Warner project was Meet John Doe (1941). So important was the Capra name that Warner Bros. took its own name off the main title. Instead of the usual "Warner Bros. Pictures presents", Meet John Doe begins with "Presenting". Some consider Meet John Doe to be Capra's most controversial movie. The film's hero, played by Gary Cooper ,
1428-399: A month after shooting had finished. Bogart's line "Here's looking at you, kid", said four times, was not in the draft screenplays, but has been attributed to a comment he made to Bergman as she played poker with her English coach and hairdresser between takes. Despite the many writers, the film has what Ebert describes as a "wonderfully unified and consistent" script. Koch later claimed it
1530-458: A movie extra, playing poker, and selling local oil well stocks. During this time the 24-year-old Capra directed a 32-minute documentary film titled La Visita Dell'Incrociatore Italiano Libya a San Francisco . Not only did it document the visit of the Italian naval vessel Libya to San Francisco, but also the reception given to the crew of the ship by San Francisco's L'Italia Virtus Club, now known as
1632-482: A newspaper article about a new movie studio opening in San Francisco. Capra phoned them saying he had moved from Hollywood and falsely implied that he had experience in the budding film industry. Capra's only prior exposure in films was in 1915 while attending Manual Arts High School. The studio's founder, Walter Montague, was nonetheless impressed by Capra and offered him $ 75 to direct a one-reel silent film. Capra, with
1734-492: A picture for First National, For the Love of Mike (1927). This was a silent comedy about three bickering godfathers—a German, a Jew, and an Irishman—starring a budding actress, Claudette Colbert . The movie was considered a failure and is a lost film . Capra returned to Harry Cohn's studio, now named Columbia Pictures , which was then producing short films and two-reel comedies for "fillers" to play between main features. Columbia
1836-463: A picture which makes the spine tingle and the heart take a leap." He applauded the combination of "sentiment, humor and pathos with taut melodrama and bristling intrigue." Crowther noted its "devious convolutions of the plot" and praised the screenplay quality as "of the best" and the cast's performances as "all of the first order". The trade paper Variety commended the film's "combination of fine performances, engrossing story and neat direction" and
1938-433: A police raid on a Resistance meeting, Rick has waiter Carl spirit Ilsa away. Laszlo, aware of Rick's love for Ilsa, tries to persuade him to use the letters to take her to safety. When the police arrest Laszlo on a trumped-up charge, Rick persuades Renault to release him by promising to set Laszlo up for a much more serious crime: possession of the letters. To allay Renault's suspicions, Rick explains that he and Ilsa will use
2040-461: A reality only when they all learn to love each other. This added goal was inspired after meeting with a Christian Scientist friend who told him to view his talents in a different way: The talents you have, Mr. Capra, are not your own, not self-acquired. God gave you those talents; they are his gifts to you, to use for his purpose. Capra began to embody messages in subsequent films, many of which conveyed "fantasies of goodwill". The first of those
2142-518: A total cost of $ 1,039,000 (equivalent to $ 15,324,000 in 2023), above average for the time. Unusually, the film was shot in sequence, mainly because only the first half of the script was ready when filming began. The entire picture was shot in the studio except for the sequence showing Strasser's arrival and close-ups of the Lockheed Electra (filmed at Van Nuys Airport ) and a few short clips of stock footage views of Paris. The street used for
SECTION 20
#17328520300292244-501: A trip to New York in 1941, convinced Hal Wallis to buy the rights in January 1942 for $ 20,000 (equivalent to $ 320,000 in 2023), the most anyone in Hollywood had ever paid for an unproduced play. The project was renamed Casablanca , apparently in imitation of the 1938 hit Algiers . Casablanca also shares many narrative and thematic similarities with Algiers (1938) , which itself
2346-409: A veteran who had previously shot The Maltese Falcon and Frankenstein . Particular attention was paid to photographing Bergman. She was shot mainly from her preferred left side, often with a softening gauze filter and with catch lights to make her eyes sparkle; the whole effect was designed to make her face seem "ineffably sad and tender and nostalgic". Bars of shadow across the characters and in
2448-507: A year without work, seeing how his siblings had steady jobs, he felt he was a failure, which led to bouts of depression. Chronic abdominal pains were later discovered to have been an undiagnosed burst appendix . After recovering at home, Capra moved out and spent the next few years living in flophouses in San Francisco and hopping freight trains, wandering the Western United States. To support himself, he took odd jobs on farms, as
2550-484: Is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Humphrey Bogart , Ingrid Bergman , and Paul Henreid . Filmed and set during World War II , it focuses on an American expatriate (Bogart) who must choose between his love for a woman (Bergman) and helping her husband (Henreid), a Czechoslovak resistance leader, escape from the Vichy -controlled city of Casablanca to continue his fight against
2652-520: Is a former baseball player now bumming around, lacking goals. He is selected by a news reporter to represent the " common man ," to capture the imagination of ordinary Americans. The film was released shortly before America became involved in World War II, and citizens were still in an isolationist mood. According to some historians, the film was made to convey a "deliberate reaffirmation of American values," though ones that seemed uncertain with respect to
2754-500: Is a remake of the acclaimed 1937 French film Pépé le Moko , directed and co-written by Julien Duvivier . The original play was inspired by a trip to Europe made by Murray Burnett and his wife in 1938, during which they visited Vienna shortly after the Anschluss and were affected by the antisemitism they saw. In the south of France, they went to a nightclub that had a multinational clientele, among them many exiles and refugees, and
2856-599: Is accompanied by her husband, Victor Laszlo, a renowned fugitive Czechoslovak Resistance leader. A flashback reveals Ilsa left Rick without explanation when the couple were planning to flee as the German army neared Paris , embittering Rick. Laszlo and Ilsa need the letters to escape, while German Major Strasser arrives in Casablanca to prevent that. When Laszlo makes inquiries, Signor Ferrari, an underworld figure and Rick's friendly business rival, divulges his suspicion that Rick has
2958-480: Is more at ease as the bitter and cynical operator of a joint than as a lover, but handles both assignments with superb finesse." Some reviews were less enthusiastic. The New Yorker rated Casablanca only "pretty tolerable" and said it was "not quite up to Across the Pacific , Bogart's last spyfest". Frank Capra Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra ; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991)
3060-575: Is one of the first screwball comedies , and with its release in the Great Depression , critics considered it an escapist story and a celebration of the American Dream . The film established the names of Capra, Columbia Pictures, and stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in the movie industry. The film has been called " picaresque ". It was one of the earliest road movies and inspired variations on that theme by other filmmakers. He followed
3162-481: The Why We Fight series. After World War II, Capra's career declined as his later films, such as It's a Wonderful Life (1946), performed poorly when they were first released. Beginning in 1950, his cinematic output slowed, and he retired from filmmaking in the mid-1960s. In the ensuing decades, however, It's a Wonderful Life and other Capra films were revisited favorably by critics. Outside of directing, Capra
Play it again, Sam - Misplaced Pages Continue
3264-519: The Germans . The screenplay is based on Everybody Comes to Rick's , an unproduced stage play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison . The supporting cast features Claude Rains , Conrad Veidt , Sydney Greenstreet , Peter Lorre , and Dooley Wilson . Warner Bros. story editor Irene Diamond convinced producer Hal B. Wallis to purchase the film rights to the play in January 1942. Brothers Julius and Philip G. Epstein were initially assigned to write
3366-597: The Loyalist side in the Spanish Civil War . Petty crook Ugarte boasts to Rick of letters of transit obtained by murdering two German couriers. The papers allow the bearers to travel freely around German-occupied Europe and to neutral Portugal . Ugarte plans to sell them at the club and persuades Rick to hold them for him. Before he can meet his contact, Ugarte is arrested by the local police under Captain Louis Renault,
3468-570: The Manual Arts High School , with Jimmy Doolittle and Lawrence Tibbett as classmates. Instead of working after graduating, as his parents wanted, he enrolled in college. He worked through college at the California Institute of Technology , playing banjo at nightclubs and taking odd jobs like working at the campus laundry, waiting tables, and cleaning engines at a local power plant. He studied chemical engineering and graduated in
3570-614: The Production Code Administration (the Hollywood self-censorship body), who opposed the suggestions that Captain Renault extorted sexual favors from visa applicants, and that Rick and Ilsa had slept together. Extensive changes were made, with several lines of dialogue removed or altered. All direct references to sex were deleted; Renault's selling of visas for sex, and Rick and Ilsa's previous sexual relationship were implied elliptically rather than referenced explicitly. Also, in
3672-537: The San Francisco Italian Athletic Club . At 25, Capra took a job selling books written and published by American philosopher Elbert Hubbard . Capra recalled that he "hated being a peasant, being a scrounging new kid trapped in the Sicilian ghetto of Los Angeles. ... All I had was cockiness—and let me tell you that gets you a long way." During his book sales efforts—and nearly broke—Capra read
3774-432: The "variety of moods, action, suspense, comedy and drama that makes Casablanca an A-1 entry at the b.o. " The review observed that the "[f]ilm is splendid anti-Axis propaganda, particularly inasmuch as the propaganda is strictly a by-product of the principal action and contributes to it instead of getting in the way". Variety also applauded the performances of Bergman and Henreid and noted, "Bogart, as might be expected,
3876-449: The 1930s, winning three Academy Awards for Best Director from six nominations, along with three other Oscar wins from nine nominations in other categories. Among his leading films were It Happened One Night (1934), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can't Take It with You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). During World War II, Capra served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and produced propaganda films , such as
3978-548: The French public was asked to select which film they wanted to see most, having been told by the Vichy government that soon no more American films would be allowed in France, the overwhelming majority chose it over all others. To a France soon to be invaded and occupied by Nazi forces, the film most expressed the "perseverance of democracy and the American way ." Capra became enchanted with
4080-690: The Hollywood Theater in New York City on November 26, 1942, to capitalize on Operation Torch (the Allied invasion of French North Africa) and the capture of Casablanca . It went into general release on January 23, 1943, to take advantage of the Casablanca Conference , a high-level meeting in the city between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt . The Office of War Information prevented screening of
4182-567: The Kremlin. The black cloud of war hung over the chancelleries of the world. Official Washington from the President down, was in the process of making hard, torturing decisions. "And here was I, in the process of making a satire about government officials; ... Wasn't this the most untimely time for me to make a film about Washington? When the filming was completed, the studio sent preview copies to Washington. Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. , U.S. ambassador to
Play it again, Sam - Misplaced Pages Continue
4284-737: The UK, wrote to Columbia head Harry Cohn, "Please do not play this picture in Europe." Politicians were concerned about the potential negative effect the film might have on the morale of the United States' allies, as World War II had begun. Kennedy wrote to President Roosevelt that, "In foreign countries this film must inevitably strengthen the mistaken impression that the United States is full of graft , corruption and lawlessness." Many studio heads agreed, nor did they want negative feelings about Hollywood instilled in political leaders. Nonetheless, Capra's vision of
4386-596: The United States on January 23, 1943. The film was a solid, if unspectacular, success in its initial run. Exceeding expectations, Casablanca went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture , while Curtiz was selected as Best Director and the Epsteins and Koch were honored for Best Adapted Screenplay . Its reputation has gradually grown, to the point that its lead characters, memorable lines, and pervasive theme song have all become iconic, and it consistently ranks near
4488-567: The background variously imply imprisonment, the Cross of Lorraine —the symbol of the Free French Forces —and emotional turmoil. Dark film noir and expressionist lighting was used in several scenes, particularly towards the end of the picture. Rosenzweig argues these shadow and lighting effects are classic elements of the Curtiz style, along with the fluid camera work and the use of the environment as
4590-695: The club on a flimsy pretext. Later, Ilsa confronts Rick in the deserted café; when he refuses to give her the letters, she threatens him with a gun but then confesses that she still loves him. She explains that when they met and fell in love in Paris in 1940, she believed her husband had been killed while attempting to escape from a concentration camp . She learned that Laszlo was alive and hiding near Paris. She left Rick without explanation to nurse her sick husband. Rick's bitterness dissolves. He agrees to help, letting her believe she will stay with him when Laszlo leaves. When Laszlo unexpectedly shows up, having narrowly escaped
4692-406: The dark. Even the sound man didn't know much about it. Frank lived through it. But he was quite intelligent. He was one of the few directors who knew what the hell they were doing. Most of your directors walked around in a fog – —they didn't know where the door was. During his first year with Columbia, Capra directed nine films, some of which were successful. After the first few, Harry Cohn said: "it
4794-558: The democratic system to overcome rampant political corruption". The film, however, became Capra's most controversial. In his research before filming, he was able to stand close to President Franklin D. Roosevelt during a press conference after the recent acts of war by Germany in Europe. Capra recalls his fears: And panic hit me. Japan was slicing up the colossus of China piece by piece. Nazi Panzers had rolled into Austria and Czechoslovakia; their thunder echoed over Europe. England and France shuddered. The Russian bear growled ominously in
4896-404: The expense. As Cohn's biographer Bob Thomas recounted, "They were aghast at the prospect of trying to sell an expensive costume film about a piano player and a woman novelist who wore pants and smoked cigars. The opposition was strong enough to veto the project." The enraged Capra quit Columbia. Harry Cohn tried to lure him back with an unprecedented profit-sharing split of 50/50, but Capra accepted
4998-613: The exterior shots had recently been built for another film, The Desert Song , and redressed for the Paris flashbacks . The film critic Roger Ebert called Wallis the "key creative force" for his attention to the details of production (down to insisting on a real parrot in the Blue Parrot bar). The difference between Bergman's and Bogart's height caused some problems. She was two inches (5 cm) taller than Bogart, and claimed Curtiz had Bogart stand on blocks or sit on cushions in their scenes together. Later, there were plans for
5100-419: The film script enlarged it to 22 speaking parts and hundreds of extras. The cast is notably international: only three of the credited actors were born in the United States (Bogart, Dooley Wilson, and Joy Page). The top-billed actors are: The second-billed actors are: Also credited are: Notable uncredited actors are: Much of the emotional impact of the film, for the audience in 1942, has been attributed to
5202-471: The film to go into distribution and remembers the intensity of their decision making: Harry Cohn paced the floor, as stunned as Abraham must have been when the Lord asked him to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac . Cohn and Capra chose to ignore the negative publicity and demands and released the film as planned. It was later nominated for 11 Academy Awards, only winning one (for Best Original Story) partly because
SECTION 50
#17328520300295304-721: The film to troops in North Africa, believing it would cause resentment among Vichy supporters in the region. On March 19, 1943, the film was banned in Ireland for infringing on the Emergency Powers Order preserving wartime neutrality, by portraying Vichy France and Nazi Germany in a "sinister light". It was passed with cuts on June 15, 1945, shortly after the EPO was lifted. The cuts were made to dialogue between Rick and Ilsa referring to their love affair. A version with only one scene cut
5406-418: The film with Broadway Bill (1934), a screwball comedy about horse racing. The film was a turning point for Capra, however, as he began to conceive an additional dimension to his movies. He started using his films to convey messages to the public. Capra explains his new thinking: My films must let every man, woman, and child know that God loves them, that I love them, and that peace and salvation will become
5508-539: The film's significance was clear: The more uncertain are the people of the world, the more their hard-won freedoms are scattered and lost in the winds of chance, the more they need a ringing statement of America's democratic ideals. The soul of our film would be anchored in Lincoln . Our Jefferson Smith would be a young Abe Lincoln, tailored to the rail-splitter's simplicity, compassion, ideals, humor, and unswerving moral courage under pressure. Capra pleaded with Cohn to allow
5610-512: The film, the Epsteins were paid $ 30,416, (equivalent to $ 442,473 in 2023) and Koch earned $ 4,200 (equivalent to $ 61,946 in 2023). In the play, the Ilsa character is an American named Lois Meredith; she does not meet Laszlo until after her relationship with Rick in Paris has ended. Rick is a lawyer. The play (set entirely in the café) ends with Rick sending Lois and Laszlo to the airport. To make Rick's motivation more believable, Wallis, Curtiz, and
5712-615: The first talkie, Capra recalled his reaction: It was an absolute shock to hear this man open his mouth and a song come out of it. It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Few of the studio heads or crew were aware of Capra's engineering background until he began directing The Younger Generation in 1929. The chief cinematographer who worked with Capra on a number of films was likewise unaware. He describes this early period in sound for film: It wasn't something that came up. You had to bluff to survive. When sound first came in, nobody knew much about it. We were all walking around in
5814-459: The greatest light since the star of Bethlehem! That's the light of freedom! Remember that. Freedom . The family settled in Los Angeles 's East Side (today Lincoln Heights) on Avenue 18, which Capra described in his autobiography as an Italian "ghetto". Capra's father worked as a fruit picker and young Capra sold newspapers after school for ten years until he graduated from high school. He attended
5916-526: The help of a cameraman, made the film in two days and cast it with amateurs. After that first serious job in films, Capra began efforts to finding similar openings in the film industry. He took a position with another minor San Francisco studio and subsequently received an offer to work with producer Harry Cohn at his new studio in Los Angeles. During this time, he worked as a property man, film cutter, title writer, and assistant director. Capra later became
6018-475: The idea for Renault to order the roundup of "the usual suspects", after which all the details needed for resolution of the story, including the farewell between Bergman and "a suddenly noble Bogart", were rapidly worked out. The uncredited Casey Robinson assisted with three weeks of rewrites, including contributing the series of meetings between Rick and Ilsa in the café. Koch highlighted the political and melodramatic elements, and Curtiz seems to have favored
6120-485: The large proportion of European exiles and refugees who were extras or played minor roles (in addition to leading actors Paul Henreid, Conrad Veidt and Peter Lorre), such as Louis V. Arco , Trude Berliner , Ilka Grünig , Ludwig Stössel , Hans Heinrich von Twardowski , and Wolfgang Zilzer . A witness to the filming of the "duel of the anthems" sequence said he saw many of the actors crying and "realized that they were all real refugees". Harmetz argues that they "brought to
6222-435: The letters to leave for America. When Renault tries to arrest Laszlo as arranged, however, Rick forces him at gunpoint to assist in their escape. At the last moment, Rick makes Ilsa board the plane to Lisbon with Laszlo, telling her that she would regret it if she stayed, "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life." Strasser, tipped off by Renault, drives up alone. When Strasser attempts to stop
SECTION 60
#17328520300296324-487: The letters. Laszlo returns to Rick's café that night and tries to buy them. Rick refuses to sell, telling Laszlo to ask his wife why. They are interrupted when Strasser leads a group of German officers in singing " Die Wacht am Rhein ". Laszlo orders the house band to play " La Marseillaise ", and Rick allows it. French patriotism grips the crowd and everyone joins in, drowning out the Germans. Afterwards, Strasser has Renault close
6426-423: The list of Movies." In December 1941, American expatriate Rick Blaine owns a nightclub and gambling den in Casablanca . "Rick's Café Américain" attracts a varied clientele, including Vichy French and Nazi German officials, refugees desperate to reach the neutral United States, and those who prey on them. Although Rick professes to be neutral in all matters, he ran guns to Ethiopia in 1935 and fought on
6528-500: The new sound technology than most directors. He welcomed the transition to sound, recalling, "I wasn't at home in silent films." Most studios were unwilling to invest in the new sound technology, assuming it was a passing fad. Many in Hollywood considered sound a threat to the industry and hoped it would pass quickly; McBride notes that "Capra was not one of them." When he saw Al Jolson singing in The Jazz Singer in 1927, considered
6630-447: The number of major pictures that were nominated that year was 10, including The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind . Hollywood columnist Louella Parsons called it a "smash patriotic hit" and most critics agreed, seeing that audiences left the theaters with "an enthusiasm for democracy" and "in a glow of patriotism." The significance of the film's message was established further in France, shortly after World War II began. When
6732-416: The original script, when Sam plays "As Time Goes By", Rick exclaims, "What the —— are you playing?" This line was altered to "Sam, I thought I told you never to play ..." to conform to Breen's objection to an implied swear word. Although an initial filming date was selected for April 10, 1942, delays led to production starting on May 25. Filming was completed on August 3. It went $ 75,000 over budget for
6834-450: The other credited writer, Howard Koch , was assigned; he produced thirty to forty pages. When the Epstein brothers returned after about a month, they were reassigned to Casablanca and—contrary to what Koch claimed in two published books—his work was not used. The Epstein brothers and Koch never worked in the same room at the same time during the writing of the script. In the final budget for
6936-505: The plane and then draws a gun on Rick, Rick shoots him dead. Policemen arrive. Renault orders them to "round up the usual suspects," protecting Rick. He suggests to Rick that they join the Free French in Brazzaville . As they walk away into the fog, Rick says, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." The play's cast consisted of 16 speaking parts and several extras;
7038-433: The production of Long Pants (1927), Capra argued with Langdon over the direction his next project would take. Langdon's other confidant was writer-director Arthur Ripley , a fellow Sennett alumnus, and Langdon followed Ripley's suggestions. Capra quit, and the split was disastrous for Langdon, who took matters into his own hands and directed his films himself, to poor reception. After Capra split with Langdon, he directed
7140-505: The prototype of Sam. In The Guardian , Paul Fairclough wrote that Cinema Vox in Tangier "was Africa's biggest when it opened in 1935, with 2,000 seats and a retractable roof. As Tangier was in Spanish territory , the theatre's wartime bar heaved with spies, refugees and underworld hoods, securing its place in cinematic history as the inspiration for Rick's Café in Casablanca ." The scene of
7242-416: The romantic parts, insisting on retaining the Paris flashbacks. In a telegram to film editor Owen Marks on August 7, 1942, Wallis suggested two possible final lines of dialogue for Rick: "Louis, I might have known you'd mix your patriotism with a little larceny" or "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship". Two weeks later, Wallis settled on the latter, which Bogart was recalled to dub
7344-424: The scenes that incorporated the song, so Steiner based the entire score on it and "La Marseillaise", the French national anthem , transforming them as leitmotifs to reflect changing moods. Even though Steiner disliked "As Time Goes By", he admitted in a 1943 interview that it "must have had something to attract so much attention". Dooley Wilson, who played Sam, was a drummer but not a pianist, so his piano playing
7446-403: The screenwriters decided to set the film before the attack on Pearl Harbor . The possibility was discussed of Laszlo being killed in Casablanca, allowing Rick and Ilsa to leave together, but as Casey Robinson wrote to Wallis before filming began, the ending of the film is set up for a swell twist when Rick sends her away on the plane with Laszlo. For now, in doing so, he is not just solving
7548-504: The script. However, despite studio resistance, they left to work on Frank Capra 's Why We Fight series early in 1942. Howard Koch was assigned to the screenplay until the Epsteins returned a month later. Principal photography began on May 25, 1942, ending on August 3; the film was shot entirely at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank , California , with the exception of one sequence at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles . Although Casablanca
7650-505: The singing of "La Marseillaise" in the bar is attributed by the film scholar Julian Jackson as an adaptation of a similar scene from Jean Renoir 's film La Grande Illusion five years prior. The first writers assigned to the script were twins Julius and Philip Epstein who, against the wishes of Warner Bros., left at Frank Capra 's request early in 1942 to work on the Why We Fight series in Washington, D.C. While they were gone,
7752-404: The soundtrack released on 78 rpm records, and Casablanca was no exception. In 1997, almost 55 years after the film's premiere, Turner Entertainment in collaboration with Rhino Records issued the film's first original soundtrack album for release on compact disc , including original songs and music, spoken dialogue, and alternate takes. The piano featured in the Paris flashback sequences
7854-541: The spring of 1918. Capra later wrote that his college education had "changed his whole viewpoint on life from the viewpoint of an alley rat to the viewpoint of a cultured person". Soon after graduating from college, Capra was commissioned in the United States Army as a second lieutenant , having completed campus ROTC . In the Army, he taught mathematics to artillerymen at Fort Point, San Francisco . His father died during
7956-461: The story rather than to stand alone. He contributed relatively little to development of the plot. Casey Robinson said Curtiz "knew nothing whatever about story ...he saw it in pictures, and you supplied the stories". Critic Andrew Sarris called the film "the most decisive exception to the auteur theory ", of which Sarris was the most prominent proponent in the United States. Aljean Harmetz has responded, "...nearly every Warner Bros. picture
8058-637: The story with his own life. Nonetheless, McBride insists that The Younger Generation abounds with parallels to Capra's own life. McBride notes the "devastatingly painful climactic scene", where the young social-climbing son, embarrassed when his wealthy new friends first meet his parents, passes his mother and father off as house servants. That scene, notes McBride, "echoes the shame Capra admitted feeling toward his own family as he rose in social status". During his years at Columbia, Capra worked often with screenwriter Robert Riskin (husband of Fay Wray ), and cameraman Joseph Walker . In many of Capra's films,
8160-506: The title Play it again, Sam . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Play_it_again,_Sam&oldid=1059220150 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Misquotations Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Casablanca (film) Casablanca
8262-445: The title" of his films, a first for the movie industry. Capra wrote of this period and recalled the confidence that Cohn placed in Capra's vision and directing: I owed Cohn a lot—I owed him my whole career. So I had respect for him, and a certain amount of love. Despite his crudeness and everything else, he gave me my chance. He took a gamble on me. Capra directed his first "real" sound picture, The Younger Generation , in 1929. It
8364-542: The top of lists of the greatest films in history . In 1989, the United States Library of Congress selected the film as one of the first for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Roger Ebert wrote, "If there is ever a time when they decide that some movies should be spelled with an upper-case M, Casablanca should be voted first on
8466-417: The unabashedly corrupt prefect of police . Ugarte dies in custody without revealing that Rick has the letters. Then, the reason for Rick's cynical nature—former lover Ilsa Lund—enters his establishment. Spotting Rick's friend and house pianist, Sam, Ilsa asks him to play " As Time Goes By ". Rick storms over, furious that Sam disobeyed his order never to perform that song again, and is stunned to see Ilsa. She
8568-400: The war in an accident (1916). In the Army, Capra contracted Spanish flu and was medically discharged to return home to live with his mother. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1920, taking the name Frank Russell Capra. Living at home with his siblings and mother, Capra was the only family member with a college education, yet he was the only one who remained chronically unemployed. After
8670-493: The wise-cracking and sharp dialogue was often written by Riskin, and he and Capra went on to become Hollywood's "most admired writer-director team". Capra's films in the 1930s enjoyed immense success at the Academy Awards . It Happened One Night (1934) became the first film to win all five top Oscars ( Best Picture , Best Director , Best Actor , Best Actress , and Best Adapted Screenplay ). Written by Robert Riskin , it
8772-434: Was Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), for which Capra won his second Best Director Oscar. Critic Alistair Cooke observed that Capra was "starting to make movies about themes instead of people". In 1938, Capra won his third Director Oscar in five years for You Can't Take It with You , which also won Best Picture. In addition to his three directing wins, Capra received directing nominations for three other films ( Lady for
8874-532: Was a rags-to-riches romantic comedy about a Jewish family's upward mobility in New York City, with their son later trying to deny his Jewish roots to keep his rich, gentile girlfriend. According to Capra biographer Joseph McBride , Capra "obviously felt a strong identification with the story of a Jewish immigrant who grows up in the ghetto of New York ... and feels he has to deny his ethnic origins to rise to success in America." Capra, however, denied any connection of
8976-637: Was active in the film industry , engaging in various political and social activities. He served as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , worked alongside the Writers Guild of America , and was head of the Directors Guild of America . Capra was born Francesco Rosario Capra in Bisacquino , a village near Palermo , Sicily , Italy . He was the youngest of seven children of Salvatore Capra,
9078-523: Was an A-list film with established stars and first-rate writers, no one involved with its production expected it to stand out among the many pictures produced by Hollywood yearly. Casablanca was rushed into release to take advantage of the publicity from the Allied invasion of North Africa a few weeks earlier. It had its world premiere on November 26, 1942, in New York City and was released nationally in
9180-459: Was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind several major award-winning films of the 1930s and 1940s . Born in Italy and raised in Los Angeles from the age of five, his rags-to-riches story has led film historians such as Ian Freer to consider him the " American Dream personified". Capra became one of America's most influential directors during
9282-411: Was an exception to the auteur theory". Other critics give more credit to Curtiz. Sidney Rosenzweig, in his study of the director's work, sees the film as a typical example of Curtiz's highlighting of moral dilemmas. Some of the second unit montages , such as the opening sequence of the refugee trail and the invasion of France, were directed by Don Siegel . The cinematographer was Arthur Edeson ,
9384-516: Was dubbed into German. Victor Laszlo was no longer a Resistance fighter who escaped from a Nazi concentration camp. Instead, he became a Norwegian atomic physicist who was being pursued by Interpol after he "broke out of jail". The West German version was 25 minutes shorter than the original cut. A German version of Casablanca with the original plot was not released until 1975. Casablanca received "consistently good reviews". Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote, "The Warners ... have
9486-421: Was five, Capra's family immigrated to the United States, traveling in a steerage compartment of the steamship Germania — the cheapest way to make the passage. For Capra, the 13-day journey remained one of the worst experiences of his life: You're all together—you have no privacy. You have a cot. Very few people have trunks or anything that takes up space. They have just what they can carry in their hands or in
9588-495: Was one of many start-up studios on " Poverty Row " in Los Angeles. Like the others, Columbia was unable to compete with larger studios, which often had their own production facilities, distribution, and theaters. Cohn rehired Capra in 1928 to help his studio produce new, full-length feature films, to compete with the major studios. Capra would eventually direct 20 films for Cohn's studio, including many of his classics. Because of Capra's engineering education, he adapted more easily to
9690-463: Was passed on July 16, 1974; Irish national broadcaster RTÉ inquired about showing the film on TV, but found it still required a dialogue cut to Ilsa expressing her love for Rick. Warner Brothers released a heavily edited version of Casablanca in West Germany in 1952. All scenes with Nazis were removed, along with most references to World War II. Important plot points were altered when the dialogue
9792-410: Was performed by Jean Plummer. Particularly memorable is the "duel of the anthems" between Strasser and Laszlo at Rick's café. In the soundtrack, "La Marseillaise" is played by a full orchestra. Originally, the opposing piece for this iconic sequence was to be the " Horst-Wessel-Lied ", a Nazi anthem but this was still under international copyright in non-Allied countries. Instead "Die Wacht am Rhein"
9894-498: Was sold in New York City on December 14, 2012, at Sotheby's for more than $ 600,000 to an anonymous bidder. The piano Sam "plays" in Rick's Café Américain, put up for auction with other film memorabilia by Turner Classic Movies at Bonhams in New York on November 24, 2014, sold for $ 3.4 million. Although an initial release date was anticipated for early 1943, Casablanca premiered at
9996-408: Was staged using little person extras and a proportionate cardboard plane. Fog was used to mask the model's unconvincing appearance. Wallis's first choice for director was William Wyler , but he was unavailable, so Wallis turned to his close friend Michael Curtiz . Roger Ebert has commented that in Casablanca "very few shots ...are memorable as shots", as Curtiz wanted images to express
10098-502: Was the beginning of Columbia making a better quality of pictures." According to Barson, "Capra became ensconced as Harry Cohn's most trusted director." His films soon established Capra as a "bankable" director known throughout the industry, and Cohn raised Capra's initial salary of $ 1,000 per film to $ 25,000 per year. Capra directed a film for MGM during this period, but soon realized he "had much more freedom under Harry Cohn's benevolent dictatorship", where Cohn also put Capra's "name above
10200-458: Was the tension between his own approach and Curtiz's that had accounted for this. "Surprisingly, these disparate approaches somehow meshed, and perhaps it was partly this tug of war between Curtiz and me that gave the film a certain balance." Julius Epstein later noted the screenplay contained "more corn than in the states of Kansas and Iowa combined. But when corn works, there's nothing better". The film ran into some trouble with Joseph Breen of
10302-407: Was used. The " Deutschlandlied ", the national anthem of Germany, is used several times in minor mode as a leitmotif for the German threat, e.g. in the scene in Paris as it is announced that the German army will reach Paris the next day. It is featured in the final scene, giving way to "La Marseillaise" after Strasser is shot. Other songs include: Very few films in the early 1940s had portions of
10404-428: Was well into this character by 1925. When Langdon eventually left Sennett to make longer, feature-length movies with First National Studios, he took Capra along as his personal writer and director. They made three feature films together during 1926 and 1927, all of them successful with critics and the public. The films made Langdon a recognized comedian in the caliber of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton . Following
#28971