here's lookin' at you, kid

Student Name
Mrs. Feller
English 9H
29 May 2007

Ever wonder where phrases like "here's lookin' at you, kid" and "play it again, Sam" originated? Winning Oscar for best picture in 1943, Casablanca tells the story of two lovers, torn apart by fate during World War II in Morocco. At the time, Germans controlled Morocco and exit visas to America were difficult to obtain except through bribery or extortion. Humphrey Bogart plays Rick, the owner of Rick's Cafe Americain, a bitter, self-absorbed man who never patronizes with his customers and never "sticks his neck out" for anybody. However, when someone gives Rick "letters of transit," he keeps them hidden until the need arises. That need becomes apparent when a past lover (played by Ingrid Bergman) arrives with her husband, fleeing from the Nazis. Rick and his lover reuinite, recalling better times, knowing that they'll "always have Paris," where they met. With a surprising ending, the movie definitely inspires everyone to re-examine their own definition of true love. 158 words. Rated PG, 1 hour, 43 minutes.

Casablanca. Dir. Michael Curtiz. Perf. Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henried.
1943. DVD. MGM, 1998.