WHAT: Casablanca (1942)
WHEN: February 12, 2025 1 PM & 7 PM
WHERE: Pickwick Theatre, Park Ridge, IL
WHAT ELSE: Pre-show music by Jay Warren at 6:30 PM
HOW MUCH: $12/$10 Advance or $10 for the 1 PM matinee
Advance Tickets: Click Here and select date and time.
“Casablanca has been called a perfect film, capturing the spirit of romance, patriotism, intrigue, and idealism with artistic integrity and honesty that is rarely found in film. I tend to agree.” ~ Lauren Bacall
Join us for an early Valentine’s Day treat when we present Casablanca (1942), a film that is not only one of the great screen romances, but is considered to be the greatest studio film ever made. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman– along with an outstanding supporting cast– star in this World War II story of love and intrigue in Morocco.
Casablanca was a winner of three Academy Awards including Best Picture. It was honored in its day and continues to be celebrated now. The film is often listed near the top of most lists devoted to the greatest films ever made. (The AFI lists it as #2 behind Citizen Kane.) The film’s screenplay also won an Academy Award. This should come as no surprise since so many of the film’s lines are instantly recognizable and quoted– eighty-three years later.
Casablanca remains one of the finest examples of studio film-making starring some of the best actors of its time– names like Bogart, Bergman, Rains, Veidt… It was directed by one of the most proficient craftsman in Hollywood, Michael Curtiz, whose films are noted for their fluid camerawork, lighting, and story pacing. Curtiz embodied the studio system, and under it, he made dozens of classic motion pictures.
Beyond its many fine technical merits, Casablanca is a film that reaches its audience– then and now. There is truth that viewers instantly recognize and respond to. It is a story of redemption and sacrifice. Its images and words have become iconic, and it is part of American movie mythology.
When we last presented this film in 2015, the highlight of the evening was a written introduction prepared by Monika Henreid, daughter of actor Paul Henreid. For those who were not present, we’d like to share with you once again Monika’s words about her father.
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WISHING YOU GREAT SUCCESS, MATTHEW …
CASABLANCA was only my father’s third film in Hollywood. His stories and memories were mostly about how badly Michael Curtiz behaved toward the extras and supporting players…people my father admired and many of whom he knew from their already well established careers in Europe.
He very much enjoyed playing chess with Bogie. As a matter of fact, he and Bogie would leave the set and go to his dressing room and play during any number of Curtiz’ tirades … with Claude Rains coming along to kibitz
The beginning of many beautiful friendships, possibly no film has been more dissected, analyzed, studied and admired.
Everyone has their own relationship with CASABLANCA…and relationships have developed because of it. The romance, humor, dialog, and honor have all become a part of Classic cinema history but more importantly have become a part of our lives. The characters have become our friends.
I have introduced this film numerous times at film festivals and am always surprised and delighted by the interaction of the audience. I enjoy that they can be split half and half with fans who have seen it ‘a million times’ and those who are ‘newbies’ becoming the next generations of fans and friends. (Matthew – Please ask your audience by a show of hands, who have seen it a ‘million times’ and who are ‘newbies.’)
The film was populated by actors who were real life immigrants who had just experienced what their characters are going through. I believe this is what gives it such great authenticity… something you couldn’t find at Central Casting.
My father was one of those … although he was well into his career as a matinee idol, he left Austria because he had been blacklisted by Goebbels for refusing to sign the Nazi film union contract and because he was an outspoken anti-Nazi. Then after starting a successful stage and film career in England, he was blacklisted for assumed pro-Nazi leanings. That is, he was an Austrian and after the occupation, a German, and by extension a Nazi.
Wrong! They couldn’t have been more wrong. But it was the War and he was about to be separated from my mother and deported. So he and Victor Laszlo were not so far apart.
And even though he was blacklisted again – in Hollywood this time – during the McCarthy/HUAC era, his story does have a pretty happy ending. He did get the girl – my mother, continued acting and was able to parlay his career into directing and producing.
So please enjoy this classic of all classic films. I only wish I was there with you. If you would like to know more or engage in conversation please join me at:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paul-Henreid-Beyond-Victor-Laszlo-A-Daughters-Memoir/203644473116233