Characters in Casablanca.
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Central Characters
Rick Blaine
Played by: Humphrey Bogart
An American expat who formerly lived in Paris, fleeing just ahead of the Nazi occupation. In the 18 months since, he established Rick's Cafe Americain, which has become the premier nightspot in Casablanca.
- Anti-Hero: He was once an anti-fascist Arms Dealer who supported the Abyssinian government in its war against Italy, and later the leftist coalition in the Spanish Civil War, 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.
- Benevolent Boss: He treats his staff well and ensures they all stay on salary even when the police shut down his cafe.
- The Chessmaster: 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 by correspondence.note When finally called into action, Rick is seen manipulating other characters—even Ilsa—into setting up the final move.
- Character Catchphrase: "Here's looking at you, kid."
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Betrays most of the cast at some point or another, although he usually does it for a good reason.
- Deadpan Snarker: Dear God, yes. Rick seems almost pathologically incapable of speaking without snarking.
- Even the Guys Want Him: According to Louis, anyway, who describes him as the second most desirable man in Casablanca (after himself, of course)."If I were a woman, and I were not around... I should be in love with Rick."
- Guile Hero: 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.
- Heroic Neutral: 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.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: He 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."
- Informed Flaw: 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.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: "I stick my neck out for nobody." Sure you don't, Rick. Sure you don't.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Rick is a jaded and weary man who projects a selfish façade, but he's also a romantic with noble goals.
- Not So Above It All: He tells Ilsa that he'd rather see the world burn, but the glibness subsides when he meets Lazlo in person.
- Pet the Dog: He repeatedly says that he "doesn't stick his neck out" for anyone, but he still willing loses a large sum of money at his own roulette table to ensure Annina and her husband have enough money to leave Casablanca.
- Punch-Clock Hero: 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.
- Woman Scorned: Is a male example, refusing to give Ilsa and Victor the letter out of a grudge he holds for Ilsa for leaving him. She calls him out on it.
Ilsa Lund
Played by: Ingrid Bergman
A Norwegian woman who is married to Victor Laszlo, but believed him dead for a time while she lived in Paris. It was there that she met an American man and began a romance with him.
- Gaussian Girl: Ilsa is never seen in focus in any close-up shot. This is most notable whenever the camera rapidly cuts between her (fuzzy) and Rick (clear), particularly in the airport scene. 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.
- Head-Turning Beauty: Everyone in Rick's bar turns their head when she enters.
- Informed Attractiveness:Louis: Ms. Lund, I was told you were the most beautiful woman who had ever come to Casablanca. That was a gross understatement.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's the only female character in the main cast.
- World's Most Beautiful Woman: As Renault says: "I was informed you were the most beautiful woman ever to visit Casablanca. That was a gross understatement." Being played by Ingrid Bergman sells this to the audience.
Victor Laszlo
Played by: Paul Henreid
Dubbed by: Dominique Paturel (French, 1980 dub)
The Czechoslovak leader of an extremely successful underground anti-Nazi resistance movement, who has always managed to escape from Nazi captivity whenever he's captured. But he decides his activities must take him overseas to America, and the way to get there is through Casablanca.
- All-Loving Hero: 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 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 the other man is eventually quite willing to sacrifice his one chance at happiness by convincing her to stay with him.
- Animal Motifs: Compared to a fox running from the hounds.
- Big Good: Those Wacky Nazis 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.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: The famous La Marseillaise scene implies he has this, when the Nazi's are singing "Die Wacht am Rhein" he immediately drops what he's doing to rally the cafe in drowning them out with "La Marseillaise" despite almost certainly knowing it will cause him trouble from Strasser (which it does).
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Victor Laszlo has a classic Good Scar: a thin, dark line crossing his right eyebrow. In the context of being a Resistance leader, it demonstrates that he isn't afraid to put his own life and safety on the line to fight the Nazis personally.
- Happily Married: He couldn't be happier about his relationship with Ilsa and despite claiming otherwise, he's unwilling to abandon her to the Nazis.
- Hero of Another Story: He got married Ilsa Lund, ended up in a concentration camp for running an underground newspaper, managed to escape that camp, led the Gestapo on a wild chase in Europe, and eventually ended up in Casablanca, Morocco for some visas he heard about so the two of them could fly to America. Laszlo's sub-story would have made a great separate film.
- Meaningful Name: "Victor" means "Winner". See Messianic Archetype just below.
- Messianic Archetype: The one man who will single-handedly save the resistance.
- Supporting Leader: Victor Laszlo. The resolution to the romantic plot revolves entirely around Rick acknowledging that Victor is way, way more important than he is.
Supporting Characters
Captain Louis Renault
Played by: Claude Rains
The French prefet de police in Casablanca, who answers to Vichy and therefore the Nazis, but considers himself to "blow with the wind" and has no clear loyalties.
- Affably Evil: Seemingly at first, but ultimately subverted (the evil part that is, not the affable).
- Ambiguously Bi: He definitely has a sexual interest in women, and is shown to be very willing to trade sexual favors from female refugees for assistance, but he also comments that if he were a woman he would be in love with Rick, and his "broad-mindedness" is often mentioned with a knowing wink.
- Anti-Hero: Does a Heel–Face Turn 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.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Admits as much, saying that he "blows with the wind."
- Deadpan Snarker: If words are weapons, Renault is a master dueler.
- Dirty Cop: 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.
- The Dragon: As the local chief of police he's Strasser's direct subordinate, though he doesn't like it.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the end, Renault knows better and throws his lot in with Rick to join the Allies.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Plays up the Dirty Cop 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.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Renault is French, but he speaks English with his actor's natural English accent.
- Punch-Clock Villain: 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.
- The Quisling: A French police chief nominally loyal to the Nazi German invaders. He professes no love for the fascists, and makes is clear he's only working for Vichy out of self-interest. In the end, he becomes the rare quisling to successfully renounce his collaboration and join La Résistance.
- Smug Snake: Although he 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.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Is not happy with the Nazi's stomping all over his turf and offers only the merest of help.
- The Unfettered: Very little, if anything, checks Capt. Renault's goals or decisions.
- Wild Card: 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.
Major Heinrich Strasser
Played by: Conrad Veidt
Played by: Raymond Loyer (European French, first dub)
The leader of a detachment of Nazi troops sent to monitor the goings-on in Casablanca. Although Vichy is nominally independent, it's clear that Renault must answer to him.
- Affably Evil: The Nazis are relatively affable at times - Strasser in particular is almost always exquisitely polite.
- Big Bad: He's the head of Those Wacky Nazis stationed in Casablanca.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Subverted - he's the only character who intuits from the start that Rick's "I stick my neck out for nobody" routine isn't completely sincere.
- Evil Plan: Major Heinrich Strasser seeks to capture an anti-Nazi resistance leader.
- Too Dumb to Live: He apparently thought it was a good idea to not follow Rick's instructions and draw a gun while Rick already had his gun trained on him. This unsurprisingly ends up getting him killed.
- Villain Ball: There's nothing really stopping Strasser from simply kidnapping Victor other than a desire to keep Vichy France on the Axis side.
Signor Ferrari
Played by: Sydney Greenstreet
An Italian mobster, proprietor of the Blue Parrot nightclub (a rival to Rick's Cafe Americain) and self-described "head of all illegal activities in Casablanca".
- Affably Evil: Rick is in competition with a mobster, the kind of thing that can get most men's legs broken, but Ferrari never once threatens Rick and all of their dealings are on the level. Indeed in general Ferrari seems privately amused by the intrigues going on around him, probably because he's the only one with nothing to lose.
- The Don: A non-evil example. 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).
- Friendly Enemies: Technically speaking, he's Rick's enemy—Ferrari is his biggest rival in the nightclub game and an open criminal in contrast to Rick's self-professed neutrality. Nevertheless, the two have a friendly relationship, and it's clear that they bear no personal ill will against each other. Even when he successfully obtains ownership of the Cafe Americain, Ferrari makes it clear that he's going to both keep Rick's entire staff employed and let Sam stay on as well, with a massive raise to boot.
- Going Native: Downplayed. Greenstreet wanted his character to wear full Moroccan garb to indicate that he had assimilated into the local culture (possibly to better contrast him with Rick) but was refused, as the point of the story was that all characters were outsiders. As a compromise, he was allowed to wear a fez and is the only character shown making the traditional salaam or temend hand gesture.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: To a much lesser extent than Rick: "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...?"
- Karmic Jackpot: He gives Victor and Ilsa vital information in their hunt for the visas despite his own admission that he can see no way for it to benefit himself. This sets into motion a chain of event such that cause Rick to finally sell Ferrari the cafe.
- Nice to the Waiter: He's amenable to keeping Sam, Sacha, Carl and Abdul at the cafe and giving them raises, saying the cafe wouldn't be the same without them.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Supposed to be Italian. But sounds far too British.
- Villain of Another Story: While he's a major player in the Moroccan criminal underworld and really wants the Cafe Americain, he never antagonizes any of the other characters; indeed, he's nothing but cordial with Rick and doesn't try any underhanded or forceful means to get his rival's nightclub.
Signor Ugarte
Played by: Peter Lorre
Dubbed by: Francis Lax (European French, second dub)
A small-time Italian criminal (he seems unaffiliated with Ferrari's outfit) who nonetheless manages to kill two French officers and abscond with their letters of transit, kickstarting the plot.
- Affably Evil: While a ruthless criminal, he comes off more like a timid puppy than a truly evil man.
- Anti-Villain: Depending on one’s interpretation, he can be read as just another refugee desperate to get out of Casablanca.
- Ambiguously Gay: He seems a little too desperate for Rick's approval.
- Dead Star Walking: Played with. With the film re-teaming Humphrey Bogart with Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre from The Maltese Falcon 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 kickstart 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.
- Do Not Go Gentle: He puts up an impressive fight while being arrested.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: He’s a ruthless criminal, sure, but he’s also a hapless loser who seems desperate for approval.
- Killed Offscreen: Rick is informed of his death while in police custody by Renault, who is still undecided on if he should officially call it suicide or resisting arrest.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He's only in two scenes before his arrest and death but the letters of transit he brings to Casablanca are a major part of the film.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He gets a total of two scenes before getting Killed Offscreen.
Minor Characters
The Pickpocket
Played by: Curt Bois
A pickpocket.- Affectionate Pickpocket: Puts his arms around visitors and warns them about thieves while robbing them.
- Bad Samaritan: He's seen at the beginning warning a rich man that Casablanca is filled with liars and thieves, and secretly steals the man's wallet. Later, we see him up to his old tricks at Rick's bar.
- Bit Character: Appears during the opening of the film, describes the city as a Wretched Hive 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.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": His name is never mentioned; he's even identified in the credits simply as "The Pickpocket."
- Funny Foreigner: Uses this as a cover for his pickpocketing.
Sascha
Played by: Leonid Kinskey
Dubbed by: Jacques Balutin (European French, second dub)
Bartender at Rick's Cafe Americain.
- Hopeless Suitor: Towards Yvonne.
- Plucky Comic Relief: His entire purpose is to provide levity to the film through his bumbling personality.
- Token Minority: The only Russian in the cast.
Yvonne
Played by: Madeleine Lebeau
Rick's latest discarded girlfriend.- Les Collaborateurs: After being rejected by Rick, Yvonne is seen dating a German soldier. It doesn't last.
Annina Brandel
Played by: Joy Page
A Bulgarian refugee seriously considering performing sexual favors for Capt. Renault to get herself and her husband out of Casablanca.- Happily Married: Annina is devoted to her new husband and is upset at the idea of cheating on him by giving into Renault's Sexual Extortion, despite being willing to do so if it will save his life.
Berger
Played by: John Qualen
A Norwegian member of Casablanca's resistance cell against the Nazis.- Rebel Leader: Is a significant or commanding figure in Casablanca's resistance cell.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: The underground meeting he was at gets raided offscreen and it's unknown if he was among those who escaped.
Carl
Played by: S. Z. Sakall
Head waiter at Rick's Cafe Americain.- Almighty Janitor: Carl is a waiter who was a former professor and is a resistance member.
- Big Fun: Carl is portrayed as a plump, encouraging and often jovial man.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: He and Victor escape from a Nazi raid of an Underground meeting.
Sam
Played by: Dooley Wilson
Rick's best friend who came to Casablanca with him from Paris and is now the piano player at Rick's Cafe Americain.- Bad Liar: Sam is terrible at it. Lampshaded In-Universe by Ilsa.
- Black Best Friend: Subverted. Sam is black, and he is Rick's best friend, but he isn't racialized in any way, beyond when Ilsa calls him "the boy playing the piano". He does call Rick "boss" a lot, but Rick is his employer for the bulk of the film.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Rick as they moved together from Paris to Casablanca.
- The Lancer: He's Rick's best friend and the only person able to talk to him honestly.
- Minor Character, Major Song: Sam has little screen time in the film, but he's still remembered for "As Time Goes By".
- Token Black Friend: 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 Magical Negro 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."
