Mrs. Niemi

 A classic film is any movie made during the Hollywood studio system era which has also received significant recognition.  It is also defined as a film that can be viewed by an audience today and still be considered great, as well as have been considered great in its time.  It’s timeless

 It must be one of the best of its era  Up to date (for when it was made)  Viewers were looking for the latest phenomenon

 Going to the movies was a new & exciting thing to do.  People wanted to see what new things were to come to film.  A lot of the same actors were used and viewers would often go to the movies on that basis alone.

 Made in 1942 (a year after Citizen Kane )  An American romantic drama directed by Michael Curtiz  Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid  Set in the Vichy controlled Moroccan city of Casablanca during WWII  About a man’s conflict between love & virtue: he must choose between doing the right thing, helping her escape with her Resistance leader husband from Casablanca to continue to fight against the Nazis or fight not to lose Ilsa again.

 During WWII, the Moroccan city of Casablanca in unoccupied French North Africa served as an exit point for Europeans seeking to flee war- torn Europe. An expatriate American, Rick Blaine, runs a night club where refugees try to purchase illegal letters of transit allowing them to escape to America.  German Major Strasser tries to stop this type of thing from happening.  Do we trust French police Captain Louis Renault?

 DOB December 25, 1899  DOD January 14, 1957  Began acting in 1921 and became a regular on Broadway in the 20’s and 30’s  In this movie he plays a cynical bar owner who’s still in love with the girl from his past  Appeared in 75 motion pictures  The Maltese Falcon helped him rise to fame but it was Casablanca that sent him over the top.

 It shows the art of the studio system during the golden age of Hollywood.  The story is pretty straight forward, however the film is anything but simplistic.  There are numerous subtleties in the movie (humor, intrigue, etc.). It’s a movie that demands your attention.  Today it is ranked as AFI’s #2 film (second only to Citizen Kane ).

 It is both a realistic movie made for entertainment purposes and a political allegory.  Allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy. Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.metaphor personificationssymbolic  The film’s lasting enchantment is due to its dramatic conclusion.

 “Here’s looking at you kid.”  “We’ll always have Paris.”  “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”  “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Is Casablanca an example of war time propaganda? Provide a well developed response citing examples from the movie. One paragraph, thesis statement, 3 examples that support your belief, and a conclusion.