The iconic image of Humphrey Bogart seems to come from one role in particular: Rick Blaine in “Casablanca.”
In one movie, with one character, he created a lifetime of memorable lines, according to Filmsite.
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“Here’s looking at you, kid.” “We’ll always have Paris.” “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in the world, she walks into mine.” “If that plane leaves the ground, and you’re not with him, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life.” “It doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.” “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
Bogart as Blaine even has a popular misquote, “Play it again, Sam,” that’s attributed to him.
He actually said, “Play it, Sam,” according to The Phrase Finder.
But it’s not just the script from the 1942 film that made it memorable. It was Bogart’s style, his voice, the look with the trench coat and the fedora, tilting just so. He was 1942 cool and still is today.
The movie is more than 70 years old, but it has resonated with people through the decades. The following are five quotes about Bogart’s role as Rick Blaine:
“This is the first time you’ve ever played the romantic lead against the star. You stand still, and always make her come to you. Mike (Curitz, the director) probably won’t notice it, and if she complains, you can tell her it’s tacit in the script. You’ve got something she wants, so she has to come to you.” – Mel Baker, a friend of Humphrey Bogart, giving advice to the actor on how to approach the role, according to “Bogart: In Search of My Father”, by Stephen Humphrey Bogart, the actor’s son.
“There is actually no reason why Laszlo cannot get in the plane alone, leaving Isla in Casablanca with Rick, and indeed that is one of the endings that was briefly considered. But that would be all wrong; the ‘happy’ ending would be tarnished by self-interest, while the ending we have allows Rick to be larger, to approach nobility (‘it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world’). And it allows us, vicariously experiencing all these things in the theater, to warm in the glow of his heroism.” –
Roger Ebert, describing the ending of ‘Casablanca’ in which Blaine encourages his former lover to leave with her current man, resistance hero Victor Laszlo.
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“Mr. Bogart is, as usual, the cool, cynical, efficient and super-wise guy who operates his business strictly for profit but has a core of sentiment and idealism inside. Conflict becomes his inner character, and he handles it credibly.” –
Bosley Crowther in his Nov. 27, 1942, review in The New York Times.
“I think I see Rick Blaine. There are some actors who can only play themselves, but good actors must really be separated from the people they play. My father was a great actor.” –
Stephen Bogart, the actor’s son, in a February 2012 interview with the Telegraph when asked if he saw his father or Rick Blaine when he watched “Casablanca.”
“But we have to face facts: If he had not played Rick Blaine it is doubtful we would be gathered here to mark the 50th anniversary of his passing.” – Richard Schickel in his 2006 book “Bogie: A Celebration of the Life and Films of Humphrey Bogart.”
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