Casablanca

Rating: ****/*****, or 8/10

One of the greatest classics to come out of the Golden Age of Hollywood, though maybe not as brilliant as some would have you believe, and just a little too melodramatic. However, still stands tall as one of the most fondly remembered American movies of the WW II era. The nigh immortal Humphrey Bogart stars as Rick, the owner of his own cafe in WW II Casablanca, a city of scum and villainy balancing precariously between lawlessness and brutal Nazi oppression, the port from where many European refugees attempt to make the journey to the free United States, if Casablanca doesn't kill them first. Rick means to stay out of politics and make a decent buck out of his impartial liquor business, but when he meets a prominent freedom fighter (Paul Henreid) and his wife (the ever beautiful Ingrid Bergman), who happens to be his old lover, Rick must decide to either help them leave Casablanca, or stay huddled up in his own shady affairs and risk having them arrested by Nazi commandant Strasser (Conrad Veidt, ironically a German refugee himself). Tough call. A great ensemble cast (also including Claude Rains as a wonderfully corrupt local police captain and Peter Lorre as the usual creepy criminal character), great visual direction, a solid plot and a great number of unforgettable one-liners few people won't recognize, will have you play this war thriller again. And you'll have a hard time getting its main theme tune (based on the featured song 'As Time Goes By') out of your head for days: probably the reason Warner Bros. made it part of its present day logo tune.

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains

Directed by Michael Curtiz

USA: Warner Bros, 1942