This Valentine's Day, the Capitol Theatre will be showing the
timeless romance film 'Casablanca' at 9:30pm - we hope you can make
it.
This 1940's classic movie has been named one of the best movies
of all time and today we want to share with you some little known
facts about this wonderful film.
WARNING, possible spoiler alert!
1. Ingrid Bergman, who plays Ilsa Lund, was paid $25,000 for her
role, but she was not the director's first pick, or second. Both
Hedy Lamarr and Michele Morgan were passed up for various reasons,
and Ingrid was then chosen.
2. Ella Fitzgerald, the "first lady of jazz" auditioned for the
role of the pianist, however "Sam" was chosen. The actor who played
Sam, Dooley Wilson, couldn't even play the piano.
3. Of the two most iconic lines quoted for this movie - "Here's
lookin' at you, kid" and "Play it again, Sam", only one was
actually used in the movie. "Play it Sam" has long been
misquoted.
4. The production costs of this movie were $1.039 million
($75,000 over budget), above average for the time.
5. In the background of the final scene, fog is used to obscure
a waiting Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior airplane that was made
out of cardboard. To make the plane look convincing, midgets were
hired to portray mechanics.
6. The difference between Bogart's and Bergman's height caused
issues, as she was nearly 2 inches taller than him. Bogart is said
to have sat on cushions and stood on blocks in scenes with the two
of them together.
7. Filming began before the script had been completed.
8. A 1940's publicity release by Warner Bros originally
announced Ronald Reagan as apart of the cast, despite the fact that
he had recently enlisted.
9. Casablanca was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, and won three,
including Best Picture. When the award was presented, the announced
producer Hal B. Wallis got up to accept, only to find that Jack
Warner had rushed on stage to take the trophy.
10. A sequel was at one timed considered, but never produced,
entitled "Brazzaville".
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casablanca_(film)
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AygxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=igMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6215,2109072&dq=casablanca+reagan&hl=en