Moments of Movie Wisdom: Fighting for What’s Right in ‘Casablanca’ (1942)

(L–R) Rick (Humphrey Bogart), and Ilse (Ingrid Bergman) in "Casablanca." Warner Bros.

Commentary

Some film titles are so famous that almost anyone can recognize them. These classic films have gained such immortality that they have taken on a life outside of themselves. The lines, characters, and images from the most beloved movies of all time have become a part of popular culture. However, many people today haven’t taken the time to watch these movies and appreciate their intrinsic value and wisdom.

Today’s moment of movie wisdom is from “Casablanca” (1942). This scene takes place 87 minutes into the 107-minute film. Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a French Underground leader during World War II, talks with embittered barkeep Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) in the latter’s closed café. Rick asks Victor whether his struggles are worth it, but Victor tells him that fighting oppression is as vital to survival as breathing.

Richard Blaine owns Rick’s Café Americaine, a popular nightclub in Casablanca in French Morocco. The year is 1941, and although Casablanca is technically part of unoccupied France, the Nazi presence grows stronger in the city every day. One of Rick’s best customers is the corrupt prefect of police, Captain Renault (Claude Rains), who has a taste for champagne, winning at roulette, and beautiful young women. Casablanca is an important point in the refugee trail out of occupied Europe, as the embarkation for Lisbon and then America. Nazis, refugees, corrupt officials, pickpockets, and black-market operators all gather at the Café Americaine for drinks, music, and gambling.

One evening, Victor Laszlo and Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) walk into Rick’s place. Ilsa and Rick were in love a couple of years earlier in Paris, but she didn’t keep her promise to meet him at the train station and escape the city together after the Germans marched in. Rick’s broken heart has made him cynical, so he now claims to have no interest in politics or world affairs. He is deeply affected by seeing Ilsa again, who he learns is married to Resistance leader Laszlo. Victor and Ilsa need exit visas to escape Europe, since the Nazis are desperate to put an end to Victor’s activities against them. Since Renault and the German Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt) refuse to give them visas by legal means for any price, their only hope of escape is two letters of transit which have fallen into Rick’s hands. Will Rick allow the woman he loved and lost to leave with another man?

Dooley Wilson (left) and Humphrey Bogart in a "Casablanca" (1942) publicity still (cropped). Public Domain

The Scene

This scene takes well into the second half of the movie. It’s one of only two times when Rick and Victor have a scene alone together. The two men know that they are rivals for Ilsa’s affection, but they never discuss this openly with each other. Instead, they communicate with glances and implications.

The scene in question comes at a tense moment in the film. Rick’s Café has been shut down by the police, because Victor was stirring up too much French patriotism among the clientele for Strasser’s liking. Earlier that evening, Victor went to a French Underground meeting, so Ilsa took the opportunity to visit Rick and plead with him for the letters of transit. Despite her best intentions, they ended up revealing that they still love each other and want to be together. Suddenly, Victor and Carl (S. Z. Sakall), one of Rick’s employees, show up at the Café after their meeting is broken up by the authorities. Asking Carl to see Ilsa home without letting Victor know of her presence in his upstairs living quarters, Rick heads downstairs to see Victor.

Its Significance

This scene takes place while Victor bandages a minor wound on his arm. He is very nonchalant about the dangerous situation he and Carl narrowly escaped. Throughout the film, Victor discusses his perilous position with the utmost sangfroid. In this particular scene, Rick asks him, “Don’t you sometimes wonder if it’s worth all this? I mean, what you’re fighting for.” Matter-of-factly, Victor replies, “You might as well question why we breathe. If we stop breathing, we‘ll die. If we stop fighting our enemies, the world will die.” With the pessimism which marks his character, Rick replies, “Well, what of it? It’ll be out of its misery.” Victor observes simply, “You know how you sound, Mr. Blaine? Like a man who’s trying to convince himself of something he doesn’t believe in his heart.”

This conversation reveals a lot about both men. We know that Victor has been through unspeakable trials, even surviving a concentration camp, yet he continues his battle against the Nazis. He is offered several chances to save himself, but he refuses to betray his friends or quit fighting for what he knows to be right. He isn’t overly impassioned in this or any other scene. It wouldn’t be believable if he were, since he’s had to become calloused to survive in tough situations.

Here's looking at you, kid," one of Rick's (Humphrey Bogart) most famous lines to Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) in "Casablanca." Warner Bros.

On the other hand, Rick is trying too hard to be cynical and selfish. While shallow, self-centered people like Captain Renault believe his neutrality to be real, the perceptive Victor realizes that it’s an act. He doesn’t know the details about Rick’s relationship with Ilsa, but he knows that Rick is trying to convince himself more than anyone else that he doesn’t care what will happen to mankind if tyrants take over.

Turning the Corner

This is just one of countless inspiring moments in “Casablanca.” This night is a huge turning point for Rick. Before this, he is bitter, angry, and negative about every aspect of life, because Ilsa hurt him so badly. Although he is impressed by the work Laszlo has done against the Nazis, he is the last person Rick wants to help after he finds out he is married to Ilsa. However, he at last finds out the truth about the Laszlos’ marriage when Ilsa comes to visit him. He also learns why Ilsa left him in Paris.

Victor’s words have a deep impact on Rick, influencing the choices he makes later in the film. He realizes that fighting the forces of evil isn’t just the job of a few Resistance leaders, like Laszlo, but of every decent person. After having been lost for years, Rick finds himself again when he rejoins the fight. So must we all join the fight for what is right to find our fullest, most noble identities.