Casablanca: The Movie Behind the Scenes
Originally purchased in December 8, 1941, the play, Everybody Comes to Rick's, becomes the first working title of the movie later to be dubbed Casablanca.
The movie's name was changed to Casablanca thanks to an outbreak of movies titled by the single name of a mysterious place, such as Algiers, which had been a success for the studio. Warner Brothers leading man was uncomfortable with his part. When Bogart first took the roll, he thought that Rick was too aloof and weak. And, on top of everything, no one liked the ending.
The play's biggest issue was perhaps it's inability to pass by the Hayes Code censors, which was a major studio concern of any motion picture at the time. The Hayes Code clearly stated that men and women couldn't have "relations" outside of mariage. So, the studio had to make some decisions about how to hangle their main love triangle. Writers and director Micheal Curtis weren't sure which leading man should get Ingrid Bergman at the end of the picture. If Rick were to run off with Ilsa, the censors would have a hayday. If Rick stayed, Bogart would no longer be the romantic lead, and studio execs weren't sure if people would pay to see Paul Henreid get the girl.
Did you know? Ingrid Bergman said in later interviews that she didn't know during filming which man her character would choose at the end of the film, so she had no idea which actor to to favor in scenes, Rick or Laslo. In fact, they had filmed endings where she ended up with Rick, after Laslo had been shot by the police.
The censors continued to plague the movie, raising numorous problems that needed to be corrected. The list included Renault's sexual relationships, as well as the triangular relationship between Ilsa (who was originally just out to get the visas), Rick, and Victor. At first, the censors were unhappy with the prospect of Ilsa and Victor traveling together and not being married, but when the screenplay added the detail that they were married, the censors were upset because Rick and Ilsa had an affair while she was already married. To fix these problems, lines were rewritten so that Ilsa believed that Laslo was dead when she had her affair with Rick. Other scenes had to be reshot or rewrote because there were illusions that RIck and Ilsa did more than just talk in his place above the Cafe.
Off screen, Bogart and Bergman had different kinds of problems. Ingrid was upset because Bogey ignored her off screen and therefore gave her no help in trying to act off him. Bogart, who was already intimidated by being the romantic lead, had problems of his own, when his overly jealous wife called often to make sure that he wasn't spending too much spare time with his co-star. Igrid once said "I kissed him, but I didn't know him" and visited the local movie theaters to watch the Maltese Falcon, and Bogart admitted to getting acting advice on how to handle Bergman. The answer he was given was simple. "Make her come to you." However, after Bogart became angry with the number of men hanging around the set, rumors circulated that he was infact infatuated with Bergman and had it not been for their marital arrangements would have pursued the matter.
Even after the film was finished, there were still debated changes. However, ironically, Ingrid Bergman had been cast in the movie For Whom the Bell Tolls, which required her to have short hair. Had Bergman not cut her hair and been filming another picture, several of her scenes may have been reshot to make accomadations for minor changes that the producers had discussed in memos, such as dropping references to the song "As Time goes By", because the composer didn't think it was strong enough to be the main theme of the picture. However, the song stayed, and by the time Casablanca went to the theaters, "As Time Goes By" was arranged in almost every musical texure imaginable and was a hit in it's own right.
The ending wasn't finished until weeks after shooting, when they brought Rains and Bogart back to film the final line "This is the begining of a beautiful friendship." Of course, neither Bogart, Bergman, or any of Warner Brothers actually expected it to become part of history. The film was relitively low budget, and not a single foot of film was actually taken in Casablanca, Morocco. It was scheduled to be just one of the six or so movies that WB planned to release that year.
Like many other films that dealt with the invasion of Poland, France and World War II, Casablanca helped in boosting the American cause. Because of the political stance of America at the time, the characters were carefully chosen so as to not misrepresent any of the Allied countries, while portraying the Axis as the ultimate enemy. To learn more about World War II's affect on the movie, visit Casablanca: The movie and the War