12 August 2003

I've already mentioned that I sometimes forget that Ingrid Bergman is in Casablanca, because I get so caught up in the incidental pleasures of the setting and the supporting cast and the atmosphere of intrigue in the early scenes. One of the astonishing things about Casablanca is how easy it is to "forget" scenes, lines and moments that, in a lesser film, you'd spend the entire movie awaiting, just because there's so much to love at every turn. Things that I've sometimes "forgotten" about Casablanca include: Peter Lorre. The Bulgarian bride. "That is my least vulnerable spot." "Round up the usual suspects." "Was that cannonfire, or is it my heart pounding?" "The Germans wore gray; you wore blue." Sidney Greenstreet, swatting flies. "We'll always have Paris."

No comments: