Our next film is 1942's "Casablanca", a timeless story about a man and a woman who were previously involved and become thrown together in the midst of World War II in Morocco.
The film's cast includes Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Dooley Wilson, S.Z. Sakall, Peter Lorre, Norma Varden, Helmut Dantine, Leonid Kinskey, and Frank Puglia.
Casablanca is a hub of activity. In order to get out of Europe, war refugees must make their way through occupied France and get to Casablanca where they can catch a plane bound for America. It's fraught with dangers and once one is in the city, one's safety is always in jeopardy.
The refugees congregate in the evening at Rick's, a café where they can make arrangements to get travel visas and also have a good time. The proprietor, Rick Blaine, is an American who left France when it fell to the Nazis.
On this particular evening, a man comes to Rick and tells him that he's got letters of transit signed by de Gaulle which cannot be rescinded. The man has a buyer lined up, but he asks Rick to hold onto them while he makes the final arrangements. Rick agrees. However, the man is arrested before the night is out, leaving Rick with the valuable travel documents.
Also at Rick's is Signor Ferrari, who runs a black market business and is a friend of Rick's. "As the leader of all
illegal activities in Casablanca, I am an influential and respected
man," he says about himself.
Another friend of Rick's is the corrupt police chief, Captain Renault. He tells Rick of the imminent arrival of Victor Laszlo, the leader of an underground Nazi resistance group. Laszlo is also the man whom the valuable travel papers were intended. Renault issues Rick a warning, "Rick, there are many
exit visas sold in this café, but we know that you've never sold one.That is the reason we permit you to remain open." To which Rick responds, "Oh? I thought it was because I let you win at roulette." Renault smiles and says, "That is another reason."
Laszlo does indeed arrive at the club alongside his beautiful wife Ilsa.
While her husband unsuccessfully sees about the travel papers, we get to know more about Ilsa. It seems she knows the pianist, Sam, from days she spent with Rick in Paris. She asks Sam to play "As Time Goes By". He doesn't want to, as Rick as expressly forbidden him from playing it.
And Rick is very surprised to see Ilsa. He is gracious throughout their time together, but as he watches them leave later, his eyes are full of regret.
When everybody goes home, Rick starts drinking. "Of all the gin
joints in all the towns in all the world, she had to walk into mine," he moans. He instructs Sam to play "As Time Goes By". Once again, Sam hesitates. "If she can stand it, so can I," Rick says.
Through a series of flashbacks, we find out about Rick and Ilsa's past romance. "Here's looking at you, kid," he toasts her.
When they plan to escape German occupied France, Ilsa sends a note and disappears without an explanation. This causes Rick to become quite cynical about love.
Back in the present, Victor and Ilsa go to see Signor Ferrari to find out about the travel documents they were supposed to have. Ferrari tells them that he suspects the documents are with Rick.
Victor goes to Rick and asks him for his help with the documents. Rick refuses. When Victor asks the reason, Rick coldly tells him to ask his wife.
Ilsa later goes to see Rick. When begging and pleading won't work, she pulls a gun on him.
Ilsa weakens and eventually tells Rick why she left him in Paris. Victor was her husband then, but he was presumed dead while attempting to flee a concentration camp. She received word that he was alive and in hiding when she and Rick were to leave France. So, instead of going with Rick she went to her husband. Rick understands the situation she was in and agrees to help her. Ilsa, however, says she was in love with Rick then and still is now and doesn't think she will leave him again.
When the time comes for Victor to leave, Rick tells Ilsa she must go with him. When she protests, Rick tells her that she will come to regret the decision, "maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon...and for the rest of your life." Ilsa reluctantly boards the waiting airplane with her husband. In order for them to get away safely, Rick (with the assistance of the corrupt police officer) must kill a high ranking Nazi officer.
Renault and Rick watch the airplane take off for Lisbon safely. Now that they must leave Casablanca, the two make plans to join the "Free French" movement in Brazzaville, Congo. "Louis," says Rick, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Helmut Dantine...............................Jan Brandel
Leonid Kinskey................................Sascha
Frank Puglia....................................Arab Vendor
And that's it for Casablanca. Considered one of the greatest films of all time, the movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture. In 1989, it was selected by the US Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Film Registry.
My favorite scene in the entire film has to be this one. Only three members of the cast were American born. A large number of the extras in the film were refugees from the Nazis in Germany. In this scene, the German officers in Rick's are loudly singing "Die Wacht Am Rhein". Victor Laszlo goes to the band and tells them to play "La Marseillaise", to which the entire club joins in drowning out the German anthem. The scene is especially touching because it is so poignant. Many of the actors had tears in their eyes as they sang the French anthem. This "dueling anthems" scene has become an iconic part of the movie.
Happy Halloween! Today's film is 1944's "Arsenic And Old Lace", a classic tale about a man who goes home to tell his eccentric family of his recent marriage. When he arrives, he finds that his family is more eccentric than he realized.
The film's cast includes Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Jack Carson, Edward Everett Horton, Peter Lorre, Josephine Hull, Jean Adaire, John Alexander, Grant Mitchell, Edward McNamara, and Charles Lane.
Fittingly, our story takes place on Halloween, a wild and wacky time when strange things can occur.
Our story really takes place in a quiet residential neighborhood of Brooklyn. Friendly cops patrol the streets on their nightly beats. As he looks around the neighborhood, the younger cop asks the older, "Did George Washington ever do any sleeping around here?" The older replies, "Of course, he did. Why, this whole neighborhood just stinks with atmosphere."
Mortimer Brewster has come home to tell his aunts that he's newly married. He's just wedded his childhood next door neighbor, Elaine Harper.
While Elaine is next door informing her father about the nuptials, Mortimer is telling his aunts, and they couldn't be more delighted.
Abby and Martha Brewster are two loveable old spinsters. They take care of many people in the neighborhood. They also have a shocking secret. So far, they've killed twelve people. These people, elderly bachelors, have no family and no friends. The Brewster sisters view their deeds as a "service" to the old men. They slip a little arsenic into their wine, and the deed is done.
Also living with Abby and Martha is Mortimer's brother Teddy, who believes himself to be President Theodore Roosevelt. Whenever Teddy runs up the stairs, he screams "Charge!" as the former president did at San Juan Hill. He also "digs" the Panama Canal, in the basement, though this is a really a graveyard for his aunts' victims. They tell him the dead bodies were sufferers of yellow fever. So, he doesn't mind at when he's called upon to bury the "diseased".
When Mortimer accidentally discovers one of his aunts' victims in the window seat, he can't believe what he's seeing.
And when he confronts the ladies about the dead man, they reveal everything to him very nonchalantly. He is absolutely flabbergasted. "This is developing into a very bad habit!" he exclaims. Eventually, Mortimer realizes that they are all a little insane and he makes arrangements for them and Teddy to move to a mental institution.
However, things get out of hand when Mortimer's criminally psychopathic brother Jonathan arrives with his friend, Dr. Einstein. The aunts are afraid of him, and it's no wonder.
Jonathan has recently escaped from prison after having been locking up for being a serial murderer. He's also brought a dead body of his own to the house for hiding.
Jonathan hides the body in the window box. Before Mortimer is alerted to his brother's presence in the house, he discovers the body. And he's shocked that bodies seem to keep appearing!
Eventually, Mortimer and Jonathan come face to face. Jonathan vows to kill Mortimer, too, because he's never like him.
Mortimer manages to sneak away to see his neglected bride next door at her father's house. He tries to explain things to her. "Look, I probably should’ve told you this before,
but, you see, well, insanity runs in my family.It practically gallops."
Jonathan and his assistant tie Mortimer up. A policeman walks in just before things get painful. Dr. Einstein and Jonathan manage to convince the policeman that they are acting out a play. Will the cop realize something's wrong before it's too late?
Jean Adaire....................................Martha Brewster
John Alexander...............................Teddy Roosevelt Brewster
Grant Mitchell.................................Reverend Dr. Harper
Edward McNamara...........................Sgt. Brophy
Charles Lane...................................Reporter
And that's it for Arsenic And Old Lace. At the time of its release, a newspaper review called the film "good macabre fun", and it is indeed. It has been enduringly popular amongst film fans, and it's easy to see why. It's got an appropriate balance of comedy and suspense.
One of my favorite moments in the film comes when Elaine comes into contact with Jonathan and Dr. Einstein. They try to get her out of sight and silence her. Teddy arrives on the scene, and Elaine begs him to help. They don't believe that she is Mortimer's wife. Teddy calmly explains, "Why, that's my daughter, Alice. Now, Alice, don't be a tomboy. Don't play rough with the gentlemen," he instructs before "charging" up the stairs.
