Casablanca Week(ish): Would a [GASP] sequel have worked?

I saved the most controversial for last. Would a sequel to the greatest movie of all time have worked? The correct answer is no because we all hate sequels and think it's sacrilege to consider them, especially to a perfect and timeless film with a satisfying conclusion.

Right?

Well, let's think about this for a minute. There were quasi-sequels (quasi is Latin for "not really one at all") like "Passage to Marseilles," an attempt by Warner Brothers to recapture the magic by getting the band back together, including the star, director, and several key cast members from "Casablanca." WB tried to resurrect the original in a weekly series format with "Casablanca," an hour drama starring Charles McGraw. In the 1980s, someone had the bright idea to try yet again to present the previous adventures (i.e. pre-Laszlo) of Rick Blaine, this time with David Soul!

None of these really worked, although "Passage" has its moments and I would love, love, love to see the full run of the 1955 series from Warner Archive. I will say I was pleasantly surprised by "Carrotblanca" with the great Bugs Bunny, but overall remaking, rebooting, or otherwise extending the franchise seems a silly idea.

And yet...

Part of me can't help but wonder. The movie has the perfect ending, but though we don't need to resurrect the Rick and Ilsa romance, maybe, just maybe, we could see the exploits of Rick and Louie?

Actually, that sounds like a big risk, doesn't it? The characters should live on in our imagination forever. I don't know if I need to see their witty banter translated to a more earnest setting, stripped of the air of cynicism that makes their exchanges in "Casablanca" crackle.

However, one of the best things about "Casablanca" is its sheer number of intriguing supporting characters, many of whom are brought to life not due to details in the screenplay, but due to the vivid performances by the great character actors. I do not want nor need to see Rick, Renault, Ilsa, and Laszlo again, but I would like to see some of the others. I think a sequel featuring the supporting players might--I'm hedging here, but it still seems crazy to write this--might have worked.

I know the idea of a "Casablanca" sequel without Humphrey Bogart sounds as ludicrous as an "Independence Day" without Will Smith or a "Speed" without Keanu Reeves. But go back to the 1940s, come up with a decent script (because it was such a snap getting the original "Casablanca" written, right?), and you have potential.

What you do is you focus on "Rick's Café," not on Rick. Ferrari owns the place, and he keeps it as a separate entity rather than razing it to funnel everyone to the Blue Parrot. We know that Sam is staying and getting a cut, so Dooley Wilson is on board. Assuming they're not rounded up for their resistance ties when Renault leaves the area, Sasha and Carl are still around. Even bit players like Emil the croupier and Yvonne (Rick's former fling) are interesting on screen and could have roles. And the dependable John Qualen and Curt Bois would be free to reprise their minor characters. How about Abdul the doorman? He has little to do in the original movie, but he is played by Dan Seymour, who took Sydney Greenstreet's role as Ferrari in the short-lived TV series, and presumably could do something of note in a sequel.

It's undeniable that there is a certain magic about "Casablanca," and it would have been foolish to attempt to replicate it with a blatant sequel. I still kind of wish they had tried. I just can't discard the notion that even without the big wheels, there was enough talent left to carry a compelling movie. It would not have been an all-time classic, but an unpretentious, smaller-scale flick? Hey, it just might have worked.

And if Warner Brothers had actually tried this and decided Greenstreet wasn't a big enough star to headline, you know who it could have called? That's right...George Raft!

Casablancs Week(ish): Should Rick really have stuck his neck out for Ugarte?

One of the pivotal early scenes in "Casablanca" is designed to show protagonist Rick Blaine's apparent indifference to the affairs of others (read: strict neutrality). When Peter Lorre's seedy Ugarte attempts to flee the police, he clutches Rick in desperation and shouts, "Help me!" Rick tells him he's a fool for trying to escape and lets Renault's men haul him away to the clink (and, I should point out, to certain death--the only question being whether he "committed suicide or died trying to escape."

We are supposed to think Rick is callous in this scene because he "betrays" this guy:

 

 

Surrrre. Nothing shady about this one. Just a good ol' wholesome black marketer who, it should be noted, just killed two people in order to snag the letters of transit they carried.

 

It's clear in their brief scene that Rick views the opportunistic Ugarte with contempt, recognizing him as a man without a code. Ironically, Ugarte sees that same quality in Rick and therefore decides to trust HIM with the letters of transit.

 

It doesn't end well for Ugarte, who is interrupted in the middle of a good illegal gambling session by the Vichy authorities:

Can I cash out my chips?





I'll cash out...by SHOOTING EVERY ONE OF YOU!

 

 





Look, I am not denying that Ugarte is in for it and is not about to receive a fair trial with Clarence Darrow representing him or anything, but he instigates a shootout on Rick's premises.

Here he is calmly laying out the case for Rick to assist him by lining up decent legal representation:

 

 

 

What is Rick supposed to do here? Stuff him in his pocket with the letters of transit? Say a magic word and transport him to Lisbon? Switch outfits with him and try to trick everyone into thinking each is the other (actually, that one would be great)?

 

No, Ugarte gets caught by the armed men pursuing him from FEET away, as was bound to happen:

 

 

 

This is a significant sequence but an odd one. Sure, it shows Rick's "neutrality," but it's not as if there is any alternative Rick can execute in this situation that will make things different. And it's certainly not as though Ugarte is an innocent. We later see Rick help some actual innocents, or at least a lot closer to it.  Still, I understand the rationale behind this whole scene.

 

What bugs me is this smug prick lurking in the background: 

 

This is the guy who comes up and sneers, "When they come to get me, Rick, I hope you'll be more of a help."

 

Again, what was he supposed to do? Come to think of it, what did THIS GUY do? He's just watching the rapid action unfold like everyone else. Then after it's done, he walks up and gets his little dig in on the proprietor. You just KNOW he goes back to his table a few minutes later and tells his companions, "You should have heard me totally call Rick out." He probably got a free drink or two off that story and enough self-righteousness to last through V-E Day.

 

Rick ends the moment by saying, "I stick my neck out for no one," but what he should say is, "Hey, Louie? Over here. Yeah, Ugarte had a partner. It's this guy next to me."

Casablanca Week: Rick's Cafe Americain vs. The Blue Parrot

One of the fascinating unexplored aspects of the "Casablanca" universe is the Blue Parrot, the nightclub and ostensible competitor to Rick's Café Americain across the way. The Blue Parrot is owned by Ferrari, and since he's played by the great Sydney Greenstreet, you know you have a character and a place worth examining.

The movie only gives us hints, though, with a few tantalizing exchanges between Rick and Ferrari that establish that the latter controls not only the black market in Casablanca, but also the shipments of goods that arrive to restock their establishments. As Rick points out, it's always just a little short when Ferrari sends the Cafe's portion over. But, hey, Rick sees it all as part of the cost of doing business.

When Ilsa is pumping Sam for info on where Rick is, he lies that he has taken a girl he's seeing over to the Blue Parrot. Just because it isn't true in this case doesn't mean it isn't ever the case. I like the idea of Rick taking a hot date over to his competitor's place. It just wouldn't be classy to take her to your own bar, I guess.

We don't see much of the Parrot, but it looks like a more mysterious place with less (as in zero) live music and maybe a less festive atmosphere. We don't SEE any gambling going on there, but I would be shocked--shocked--to find that gambling ISN'T going on in Ferrari's establishment as it is in Rick's.

What really intrigues me is the relationship between the two places. Rick and Farrari clearly have a semi-friendly relationship, but I would like to see kind of a Gary's Olde Towne Tavern/Cheers vibe, only without the outright hatred. It would be great if the two had annual prank wars. Oh, Rick would pretend to be all detached and not care, and Ferrari would also place himself above the fray, but you know that they'd be sitting in the back obsessing over how to screw the other one over.

I can see Sasha doing something juvenile like putting something sticky on Ferrari's flyswatter so he wouldn't be able to get it out of his hand. Then Rick would be like, "Think bigger, guys! Think bigger!" Surely Ferrari would have no problem creating outrageous pranks. I'll bet it would only take a couple exchanges before Sam's piano ended up on top of the Café.

It would escalate until one or both of the nightclubs exploded--during the morning, of course, when no one would be hurt--and a smirking Captain Renault collected ample reparations from Rick and Farrari for "disturbing the peace." Then the two proprietors would look at each other, grin, and start rebuilding...and thinking up new schemes.

"Casablanca" Week at Cultureshark

I know I promised to catch up on some other features this week, but you know what? I just experienced my annual viewing of "Casablanca," and I'm declaring this whole week a celebration of my favorite (and the best) movie of all time.

I like to watch the film every year on or around my birthday for several reasons: For one, it's the one that got me "into" older movies. I still remember catching it for the first time on a late-night screening by a local PBS station and being mesmerized by it. Perhaps more importantly, it gives me a certain sense of renewal. Each time I watch "Casablanca," I am reminded that there is good in the world and in humanity, that people are capable of making decisions based on ideals and concepts larger than their own immediate desires, and that S.Z. Sakall is funny as hell.

It still holds up for me every time, and it still feels like about a 30-minute movie instead of a 104-minute one. Over the years I focus on different things. For a while my favorite scene was the one in which Rick helps the Bulgarian couple get money for exit visas by manipulating the roulette game. Lately I find myself admiring Sam more and more but wishing he didn't have to address Rick as "Boss" and "Mister Rick."

Another thing I note as the years go on is that I like Paul Henreid's Victor Laszlo more than I ever did. In many ways it's a tough part, but you know, Victor's a pretty good guy. It would be easy to make him a humorless, insufferable bore, but even compared to Bogart, he comes off pretty well. His charisma is just a different kind, and it's an appropriate contrast in this setting.

I'm also more convinced that Claude Rains delivers one of the finest comic performances ever in this movie and that he deserves more acclaim for his work as Captain Renault. And I notice that while there are some plot elements that make no sense, the movie at least tries to offer explanations for most of them. Besides, who cares? The whole "Letters of Transit" thing always makes me smile, but there are worse gimmicks to build a narrative around.

It's hard to say new things about one of the most beloved and discussed motion pictures in history, but I have a few more thoughts I'll share this week. Stay tuned for more "Casablanca" thoughts, and I suggest you watch it again because...because why not?