History Film / Casablanca

* ThePowerOfRock: Victor Laszlo overhears ThoseWackyNazis singing the patriotic (and anti-French) German song "Die Wacht am Rhein" around the piano, goes over to the band, and gets them to play "La Marseillaise", with Rick's approval (which Rick is more than happy to grant, as the Germans have chased Rick's good friend Sam off of his piano). The entire bar joins in, drowning out the Germans and emphasizing the passionate political undertones of the refugees.

* FunnyForeigner: The Leuchtags' exchange: "What watch?" "Ten watch." "Such much?" It's a literal translation from German to English.[[note]] The reverse transliteration, "Wie viel Uhr?" "Zehn Uhr." "Wie viel?", would be more smoothly translated as "What time [is it]?" "Ten o'clock." "''[surprised]'' Really?"[[/note]] Doesn't rise to the level of a BlindIdiotTranslation.

* OopsIForgotIWasMarried: Ilsa in the {{Backstory}} doesn't so much forget she is married as think her husband is dead.

* FlippantForgiveness:
-->'''Ugarte:''' You are a very cynical person, Rick, if you'll forgive me for saying so.\\
'''Rick:''' I forgive you.

* EvilPlan: Major Heinrich Strasser seeks to capture an anti-Nazi resistance leader.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: Pretty much everyone.

* DeadlyEuphemism: Played for dark humour by Captain Renault:
-->'''Laszlo:''' May I speak to him now?\\
'''Strasser:''' You would find the conversation a trifle one-sided. Signor Ugarte is dead.\\
'''Renault:''' I'm making out the report now. We haven't quite decided whether he committed suicide or died trying to escape.

* CallForward:
** "[[DramaticIrony If it's December 1941 in Casablanca, what time is it in New York?]]". From the date on the marker Rick signs at the very beginning, the movie begins on December 2, 1941, and ends on December 5, 1941.

* ButNowIMustGo: Ilsa leaves Rick twice. The second time, it's for good.

* BadGuyBar: "Rick's Cafe Americain". But then, everybody comes to Rick's.

* GoodGuyBar: ''Rick's Cafe Americain'' is simultaneously this and a Bad Guy Bar; everyone comes to Rick's.

* AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder: Turns out, Victor wasn't dead, causing much angst for Rick.

* BerserkButton: Apparently, the song "As Time Goes By" has become this for Rick.
-->'''Rick:''' ''(storming halfway across the cafe)'' Sam, I thought I told you ''never'' to play that... ''(sees [[WhamShot Ilsa sitting there]])''

* ScarpiaUltimatum: The scene with the young Bulgarian newlyweds, the Brandels, trying to buy passage to Lisbon from Captain Renault. He wants either a very large sum of money or sex with the wife. In the end, Rick helps them to raise the money by cheating to let them win at roulette. In contrast to most examples of this trope, Renault is willing to take the money if they do happen to have it, and apparently always keeps his word if they don't. It's what lets him keep the 'Affable' in AffablyEvil.
-->'''Renault:''' ''(to Rick, after the Brandels leave)'' I'll forgive you this time. But I'll be in tomorrow night with a breathtaking blonde, and it will make me very happy if she loses.

** A more subtle example is Rick's repeated claim that he "sticks his neck out for nobody," and then spends pretty much the entire movie sticking his neck out for one person or another.

* LoveTriangle: Victor loves Ilsa who still loves Rick but whose duty lies with Victor...

* GenreBusting: It's equal parts romance, FilmNoir, spy thriller, musical and war drama, though the romance portion tends to be remembered the most.
* GenreRoulette: It's a film noir/war movie/comedy/drama/caper/romance with a side order of adventure (and propaganda).

* BlindIdiotTranslation: The Leuchtags, the elderly German (or, at least ''German speaking''--possibly Austrian or Swiss) couple headed for America, are trying to make the transition to using English to become better acclimated to American life. Their English is good for the most part, until they trip over the fact that the German word "Uhr" can, depending on context, mean "watch", "time", or "o'clock":

** Likewise in Ferrari's first conversation with Rick: "My dear Rick, when will you realize that in this world today, isolationism is no longer a practical policy?"

** The young Bulgarian couple. They appear throughout the movie going through the "stages" of trying to escape the city just like Laszlo and Ilsa, the young woman is in a similar emotional situation to Ilsa in Paris and Rick at the moment, and if ''that'' weren't enough, their plight is what pushes Rick over the edge and into sticking his neck out for somebody.

** During the first night of Ilsa's return into his life, Rick asks Sam about the time and day as though to commemorate the moment. The conversation underscores that the film is happening in the week before the Pearl Harbor attack, making Rick's drunken comments about "America being asleep" potent.

* BloodlessCarnage: In the film's opening minutes, a man fleeing police is shot dead through the back, but with not a drop of blood on his person nor on the wall he was up against.

* BystanderSyndrome: Rick appears this way for a while ("I stick my neck out for nobody"), especially when he seems willing to turn over a resistance leader to the Nazis because he is married to Rick's former lover. Eventually, however, we see that Rick isn't nearly as selfish as he lets on.

* GreaterNeedThanMine: As pointed out above, Ilsa and Victor are both willing to give up something they want for the sake of someone they love, and it falls to Rick to make the decision of who has to sacrifice what they want for a loved one. [[spoiler: [[ItWasHisSled Famously]], it's Rick.]]

* HeadTurningBeauty: Ilsa, according to Rick, Victor, and Louis.

** And, once again, the "vultures everywhere" guy, who is, himself, one of the vultures he is warning you about.

* WarRefugees: Most of the characters.

* ArtisticLicenseMusic: Dooley Wilson (Sam) was a drummer, not a pianist. It's fairly obvious.

* AlternateDVDCommentary: Podcast/{{RiffTrax}} challenged themselves, and did a pretty good job of it.
* AnchoredShip: Rick and Ilsa.

* BatmanGambit: The outcome of Rick's eventual scheme depends heavily on the characters of the people involved.

* TheEmpire: [[ThoseWackyNazis The Nazis]], of course.

* FreudianTrio: Rick (Id), Sam (ego), Ilsa (superego).

* HollywoodKiss: Rick and Ilsa

* TruceZone: Casabalance, also TruthInTelevision.

* AffectionatePickpocket: The guy who puts his arms around visitors and warns them about thieves while robbing them.

* AllLovingHero: Victor Laszlo. It says something about him that the only person in the entire movie who isn't in complete awe and admiration of the utterly heroic and saintly resistance leader is the [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] officer who has been sent to capture him, which is a ringing endorsement if ever there was one. He's so noble that he doesn't hold a grudge that his beloved wife, believing that he was dead, has fallen in love with another man, and his example is so powerful that that other man is eventually quite willing to sacrifice his one chance at happiness [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy by convincing her to stay with him]].
* AmbiguouslyGay:
** Ugarte seems a little too desperate for Rick's approval.
** Renault, whose "broad-mindedness" is joked about and who mentions that "if he were a woman" he would be in love with Rick -- although he is a womanizer.

* AntiHero:
** Rick was once an anti-fascist ArmsDealer who supported the Abyssinian regime in its war against Italy, and later the leftist coalition in the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar, with the side he backed losing miserably on each occasion. This and various personal failures led to him being exiled, whether by choice or circumstance, in "neutral" French North Africa. He does the dirty work of killing Strasser and smuggling the couple out of Casablanca.
** Renault does a HeelFaceTurn at the end and is sympathetic and even protective of Rick throughout the film, yet at the same time it's implied he may have been involved in the killing of Ugarte. And of course, he is shown throughout to be corrupt, as well as a rake.
** There’s subtle hints all throughout the movie that Renault is quietly sabotaging Strasser’s agenda. During the scene in his office, he tells Strasser there’s no way Rick would hide the letters of transit in his cafe after Strasser suggests a raid to get them (even though the audience knows that’s exactly where they are) and subtly reminds Victor that obliging Strasser’s offer (a visa in exchange for the names and locations of anti-fascist leaders across Europe) would be helping the Nazis destroy Europe.

* BadLiar: Sam is terrible at it.
* BadSamaritan: The "vultures everywhere" guy.

* BigBad: Major Heinrich Strasser, head of ThoseWackyNazis stationed in Casablanca.

* BigGood: Victor Laszlo. ThoseWackyNazis are willing to do just about anything, even violating Vichy "neutrality" (thus risking drawing the U.S. into the war) and letting known anti-fascist fighter Rick and Laszlo's "companion" Ilsa escape to America, if it means they can stop Laszlo.

* BitCharacter: The BadSamaritan who appears during the opening of the film, describes the city as a WretchedHive to some tourists ("vultures, vultures everywhere"), and vanishes with the tourists' wallet. He appears in a later scene in the bar, up to his old tricks again.

* TheChessmaster: Rick is first seen playing chess. We never see him play against an opponent, but there is an opened letter next to the board, indicating he's playing some unknown foe [[PlayByPostGames by correspondence]].[[note]]In reality, Bogie really was playing chess by mail with an American soldier, as was his hobby at the time.[[/note]] When finally called into action, Rick is seen manipulating other characters--even Ilsa--into setting up the final move.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder:
** Louis, who admits as much, saying that he "blows with the wind."
** Rick betrays most of the cast at some point or another, although he usually does it for a good reason.

* DeadStarWalking: Played with. [[spoiler: With the film re-teaming Creator/HumphreyBogart with Creator/SydneyGreenstreet and Creator/PeterLorre from ''Film/{{The Maltese Falcon|1941}}'' audiences who are familiar with Lorre's lengthy career, or who have seen that film before this one, may be expecting Lorre to have a much more prominent role in the film (Since Joel Cairo in the other film was a sizable part), and he's billed right after Greenstreet on the poster for this film. While his role and actions to get the letters of transit and then pass them off to Rick kick start the whole plot, he only has a couple of scenes with Bogart before he's arrested and killed off. His character exits the picture in the film's first act.]]

* DefaultToGood: Rick, and then Captain Renault.

* DirtyCop: Captain Renault. He works with Nazis, collects gambling winnings (from a fixed game) despite it being illegal and it's implied that he extorts sex from women in exchange for exit visas. Unlike most examples, his conscience comes through in the end.
* TheDon: Signor Ferrari, though a less sinister version than most. He is "the head of all illegal activities in Casablanca," but is never seen harming anyone (he'd like to hire Sam away from Rick and he'd like to take over Rick's cafe, but he doesn't try to threaten or coerce them, only making offers that would be expected from any interested businessman). He's even the one who gives Ilsa and Victor the suggestion that leads to their leaving with the letters of transit (though he ''may'' have had an ulterior motive, see XanatosSpeedChess below).

* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Rick. According to Louis, anyway, who describes him as the second most desirable man in Casablanca ([[{{Pride}} after himself, of course]]).
-->"If I were a woman, and ''I'' were not around... I should be in love with Rick."

* FunnyForeigner:
** The Leuchtags' exchange: "What watch?" "Ten watch." "Such much?" It's a literal translation from German to English.[[note]] The reverse transliteration, "Wie viel Uhr?" "Zehn Uhr." "Wie viel?", would be more smoothly translated as "What time [is it]?" "Ten o'clock." "''[surprised]'' Really?"[[/note]] Doesn't rise to the level of a BlindIdiotTranslation.
** The "vultures everywhere" guy (Curt Bois) uses this as [[ObfuscatingStupidity a cover]] for his pickpocketing.
* GaussianGirl: Creator/IngridBergman is seldom in focus, and never in close up. There are even some wider shots where this is accomplished through messing with the DepthOfField, by placing the focus on Victor, ''behind'' her, even when he has no speaking lines.

* GoingNative: Sydney Greenstreet wanted to wear full Moroccan attire to show that Ferrari had fully assimilated into the local culture. Michael Curtiz wouldn't allow it, emphasizing that like all the other principals, Ferrari came from outside. Greenstreet settled for a fez and the traditional ''salaam'' or ''temena'' gesture (touching heart, lips, brow) when he first enters.

* GoodScarsEvilScars: Victor Laszlo has a classic Good Scar: a thin, dark line crossing ris right eyebrow.

* GuileHero: Rick. His professed neutrality allows him to skirt trouble with every competing faction in Casablanca. On the rare occasion he does take an honest stand, he does so in a low-key way that offers him plausible deniability.

* HeelFaceTurn: Louis and Rick. A tad different and late in the latter's case.

* HeroicNeutral: Rick, since he represents America at the beginning of World War II. His idealistic younger self fought alongside those resisting fascism, but the expansion of Axis authority and being suddenly abandoned by the love of his life made him cynical and apathetic. He doesn't take sides with the Vichy authorities, the Nazis or the resistance, until the plot of the film awakens the hero within. Major Strasser, equipped with "a full dossier" on Rick, is smart enough that he doesn't attempt to convert Rick, just keep him neutral. It doesn't work.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Rick and Sam. At the end, it may be that Rick and Louis will be heterosexual life partners, as Sam is (probably) staying in Casablanca, and the other two are going to Brazzaville to fight Nazis.
-->"Louis, I think this might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Ugarte, a villain -- he has a couple of couriers murdered, he's looking to sell the letters of transit -- but also a hapless loser. He is played by Creator/PeterLorre after all.

* JadeColoredGlasses: Happened in Rick's past.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold
** Rick Blaine: "I stick my neck out for nobody." Sure you don't, Rick. Sure you don't.
** Signore Ferrari, to a much lesser extent: "I am moved to make one more suggestion; why, I do not know, because it cannot possibly profit me, but, have you heard about Signor Ugarte and the letters of transit...?"
** Renault plays up the DirtyCop bit and is outwardly cordial to Major Strasser but it’s pretty clear he has no love for the Nazis and never goes all that far out of his way to help them out. By the end, he’s actively running off to join the war effort against them. He’s also notably sympathetic to Rick and the others.

* KnightInSourArmor: Rick is a jaded and weary man who projects a selfish façade, but he's also a romantic with noble goals.
* LadyOfWar: Ilsa seems to be a DamselInDistress trying to be a LadyOfWar. More important, what she really is, is every soldier's favorite princess. Which might make this a successful attempt at inspiring the World War II version of CourtlyLove from fans.

* LoveableRogue: Captain Renault, although he turns honest at the end.

* MeaningfulName: "Victor" means "Winner". See Messianic Archetype just below.
* MessianicArchetype: Victor Laszlo, the one man who will single-handedly save the resistance.

* NotInThisForYourRevolution: Rick...so he says.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Rick tells Ilsa that he'd rather see the world burn, but the glibness subsides when he meets Lazlo in person.

* OldFlame: Ilsa and Rick.

* PunchClockHero: Rick tries to paint himself this way when discussing his previous anti-fascist activities, but Renault punctures this by pointing out the other side would have paid better.
* PunchClockVillain: Captain Renault, who makes it clear he's happy to cooperate with the Nazis as long as they remain in power, without caring about their ideology one way or another.

* RomanticFalseLead: An unusual twist: Either Victor ''or Rick'' could be considered a False Lead once you know the {{Backstory}}. In the DVD commentary, Creator/RogerEbert points out that no matter with whom Ilsa leaves at the end, she's leaving with the wrong man. Creator/IngridBergman claims that she consciously attempted to avoid this trope by presenting Ilsa as having to decide between two men she genuinely loves, each in his own way. In addition, the outcome wasn't written in the script while they were filming it and UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode wouldn't have allowed the showing of a movie in which she left her husband for another man in that fashion.

* SlasherSmile: Conrad Veidt ([[http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/Conrad%20Veidt,%20from%20The%20Man%20Who%20Laughs.jpg whose face was the original model for]] ComicBook/TheJoker) has still got it.

* SmugSnake: Renault, although [[spoiler:Louis is really just too cool to remain a bad guy through the whole picture, so he reforms at the end so he and Rick can fight Nazis together]].

* SupportingLeader: Victor Laszlo. The resolution to the romantic plot revolves entirely around Rick acknowledging that Victor is way, way more important than he is.

* TokenBlackFriend: Sam is a prototypical example. An interesting distinction, however, especially considering the context and culture of the time, is that Sam is never portrayed in a clownish or stereotypical way, nor is he a MagicalNegro type, or anything other than a concerned and loyal friend to Rick. Sure, he tends to defer to Rick and addresses him as "Boss," but Rick is, in fact, his Boss, and he doesn't seem to be treated unfairly by the other characters or portrayed as inferior in any way, except perhaps in the sense that he's treated as a human juke box at times -- but, again, that is his job. He's also one of the most highly regarded members of Rick's staff, getting a percent of the gross from Rick and a job offer -- and a 15% raise -- from Ferrari. Rick's line is notable in positioning him as True Neutral: "I don't buy or sell human beings". The only moment where true racial stereotyping comes into play is when Ilsa refers to him as "the boy playing the piano."

* WildCard: Renault agrees to do whatever will help maintain his cushy position. He leaks word of Laszlo's escape to Strasser, but once the Major is shot dead, Renault figures that his law enforcement career is up in smoke, too -- and there's no point to turning Rick in.

* WomanScorned: Rick is a male example, refusing to give Ilsa and Victor the letter out of a grudge he holds for Ilsa for leaving him. [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech She calls him out on it]].

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: "I was with them when they blundered into Berlin in 1918." No enemy soldiers entered Berlin in 1918. The Allies had just reached Germany's western border when the war ended[[note]]The allies ''would'' enter Berlin at the end of World War II, but that was over three years in the future during this movie; both in-universe and Real Life[[/note]].

--->'''Renault:''' Major Strasser has been shot. [{{Beat}}] Round up Film/TheUsualSuspects.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: "I was with them when they blundered into Berlin in 1918." No enemy soldiers entered Berlin in 1918. The Allies had just reached Germany's western border when the war ended.

* CatchPhrase: ''Casablanca'' has six quotes on the AFI's 100 top film quotes list, more than any other movie. "Here's looking at you, kid.", "Play it, Sam.", and many others. It's so hard to pick a page quote.

* KarmaHoudini: At the end of the film, Rick literally gets away with murder.

* GaussianGirl: Creator/IngridBergman is seldom in focus, and never in close up. There are even some wider shots where this is accomplished through messing with the depth of field, by placing the focus on Victor, ''behind'' her, even when he has no speaking lines.

-->--'''Rick Blaine'''