Movie Monday: Casablanca (1942)
These photos are not mine.
Casablanca is arguably one of the most iconic and influential films to ever hit the silver screen! The music, the movie lines, the clothes, and the love story are all components that helped catapult this movie into instant success!
At the time of Casablanca‘s release, the world was in complete turmoil. It was in the midst of World War II and many people went to the theatre to escape reality even if it was just for a little while. Rick and Ilsa’s love story endeared audiences all over the world, and impacted society in a way those who made the film would have never thought.
These photos are not mine.
Many would be surprised to learn that it wasn’t until Casablanca that Humphrey Bogart would be considered the right actor for romantic leads. After starring alongside the beautiful Ingrid Bergman (another one of my favorite actresses) he would start receiving more romantic roles. This eventually led Bogart to starring in a little film called To Have and Have Not, where he would meet his future wife Lauren Bacall.
While making Casablanca, no one on the set knew what they would create by the end of the day, but maybe that was a part of the magic? One thing is for sure, this film played perfectly to how people felt at the time and that feeling is still shared among audience even to this day!
These photos are not mine.
In addition to the countless movie lines from Casablanca that live on in popular culture today, the fashion in this film created many style essentials for both men and women. Bergman’s character, Ilsa, wore the nautical look so well in the film that it made a large comeback after the film’s release and has never really gone back out of style. Bogart’s character, Rick, took the trench coat, which at the time was seen as a part of a military uniform, and established it as a timeless piece for the ordinary person.
These photos are not mine.
In the same vein of Al Capone, the fedora Humphrey Bogart wore added that flare of mystery and intrigue to his character, Rick. While the scarf that Ingrid Bergman wore in the scene when Ilsa confronts Rick gave the scene even more drama as the fabric easily moved with each word Bergman’s character hurled Bogart’s direction.
If you look closely enough, you will notice that Humphrey Bogart wears a ring on his ring finger on the right hand. This ring was handed down to him by his father and Bogart wore it in every film he ever starred in. There are many replicas of this ring on the internet and they are a popular gift for men today. Who wouldn’t want to be like Bogart?
These photos are not mine.
Casablanca is one of my favorite movies for many reasons, one being how fabulous the fashion was! There are so many things about this film I wish I could have covered in this post, but I wanted to keep it to the fashion. I’m sure I will make many more posts about this movie in the future, though. There are way to many iconic elements to ignore.
Until then: “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
Much Love,
Sarah
4 Comments
Steve
Good article
admin
Thank you, Dad! 🙂
Doug Quick
Nice job describing a terrific movie. You may or may not remember a couple of TV versions of the film, which was placed in a time before the actual movie. The first was produced in 1955 and ran one season on ABC starring Charles McGraw as “Rick Jason.” (I’m not sure why they changed the name).
The second version was from 1983 and starred David Soul. Even though it was produced in color, I remember tuning the color out of the video, but unfortunately, even that didn’t help me appreciate the series. It starred David Soul (of “Starsky and Hutch” fame- and he even had a hit record in the 70s, “Don’t Give Up on Us, Baby.”) He played “Rick Blaine” in that one. It lasted one month of NBC before it was canceled. I believe there were episodes produced that were never seen.
It’s also worth mentioning, the Marx Brothers were sued by Warner Brothers for their movie, ” A Night in Casablanca” but Groucho Marx made fun of the Warner Brothers by saying he was going to sue them for using “Brothers” in their name, because he and his brothers were “Marx Brothers” long before there was a Warner Brothers!
Doug
admin
Wow! Thank you for sharing these fun facts! I never knew there were television series of Casablanca!
It is interesting that this movie is seen as one of the most timeless films, but the television series based on the same plot never seemed to get off the ground.
Thank you for reading!
Sarah