Everybody Comes To Rick's

'' Round up the usual suspects!'' ''We will always have Paris.'' ''Play it , Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By' ''. These lines are, of course, from ''Casablanca''. If you have never seen the movie, then Mr. Scoleri has given you an assignment to watch it. The movie was on the other day, and, even though I have seen it countless times, I watched it again.... Great movies never get old. The same is true of great music. No matter how many times you see or listen to something, it feels just right to the soul. ''Casablanca'' was a movie I first encountered in my early twenties. The legend had already been enshrined around it for about fifty years. Now, I must confess, I liked it when I first saw it , but, I didn't love it. I didn't get why this movie, which was dated by modern times, should have such a ferocious following. It was a simple love story , nothing more. I am smiling writing this because it shows you how wrong I was then in my youth. The fact it was dated was one of its charms. The movie was made in the spring and summer of 1942. War had just come to the United States the previous December. Americans were shocked, angry, and frightened. The feeling is in every scene in the movie. With the advantage of hindsight, we all know we came out of the war supreme, but, that sense of doom helped drive the story along. There is a tendency of modern audiences-- particularly younger moviegoers, who do not seem to care about anything that happened before they were born-- to see some of the scenes as unrealistic. That is their mistake, I believe. A movie should be viewed with no preconceived notions about how much better it would have been made today. Add to the fact that this movie has a historical legacy, then modern viewers tend to dismiss it quicker. I believe that was my problem when I first saw it. The film grew for me with repeated viewings. Great movies also do this every time you watch: you pick up a little nugget of joy that you never saw before.... ''Casablanca'' first started out as a play in the 1930's. It was called ''Everybody Comes To Rick's''. When sold to Warner Brothers, the name changed . Believe it or no, Ronald Reagan was the first choice to play Rick. Imagine that!!! Wiser heads prevailed, and, Humphrey Bogart was given the role. In time, Reagan found work in another profession.... The cast came together. Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa. Paul Henreid as the valiant Victor Lazlo. The great Claude Rains as Louis Renault. Doolie Wilson as the piano player, Sam. And, Conrad Veigt, playing the Nazi villian Major Strasser. All of them shine in their roles. But, a little history of the production shows their was a lot of tension on the set. Bogart and Bergman were cold to each other. Henreid hated most of his fellow actors. The cast was worried that the script was being made up on the fly each day. Sometimes, tension on a movie set can create havoc. Sometimes it can create magic. The latter applied here.... I will not go over the story, preferring not to spoil it for those who haven't seen it. One thing I would like to touch on is why this movie is always included on the lists of ''Most Romantic'' films of all time. I see some romance in it at various points in the film, but, the overwhelming feeling of the story is loss. Lost Love. Lost Hope. Lost Dreams. All of these in a Lost World. Consider Rick and his feelings for his great love, Ilsa. He spents most of the movie licking his wounds on having lost her. Theirs was a whirlwind courtship. Both fell for each other rather quickly. He was hurt from his earlier life, and, she had a recent tragedy also, when they found each during that magical time in Paris. Then, they lost the love they had for each other.... There is also the people who hang out at ''Rick's Cafe Americana'' who desperately cling to the desire of getting their papers, somehow, and fleeing Casablanca. Almost every night they fail. Lost hope and dreams... Meanwhile, the evil of the Nazi march is everywhere. The arrogance of their behavior, and, the contempt of them by the regulars, creates that Lost World feeling. Among this band of sad souls, the world is no longer kind and hopeful. Rather, distrust and fear are the paramount feelings[ one of my favorite parts of the movie is when Bogart tells Strasser to be careful of invading New York because of how dangerous it is]. Looking at the movie from one angle, these people lead desperate and depressing lives... And, yet... There is the other side of loss: the possibility to renew ones life and start again. That is what I, finally, take away from them. They never give up, as we humans should never do. They find little joys in their lives that add up to satisfaction, however, small it may be. It says it all during the climax at the airport... And, that ending, well, many female friends of mine still find it unbelievable that Bergman goes with Henreid and not Bogart. Perhaps, but, a life with Bogart would have involved endless headaches and heartaches. He was a rogue, never to be tied down. This man Rick was an iron man with a soft heart. This may be attractive in the short run, but, most likely, an uncertain lfe would await her. With Henreid's Victor Lazlo, she would be with a hero, who would give her the good life once the war was over. Lazlo would, after the war, probably have gone into politics and been with the movers and shakers in Washington--- well, on second thought, maybe, she might have done better with Rick after all.... One last thing to note. That bar. That wonderful bar that Rick ran. As someone who has appreciated bars in my life, I would love to own a place like that!! Gambling in the back. An orchestra playing up front. The piano player shooting out the lively tunes. A little danger from the bad guys and the good guys mixing it up. Corruption and decency battling it out every night.... And me sitting in a white dinner jacket, with a bottle, a cigar, and, the pretty dames....