'Casablanca' Trivia-- Part 6: That Oscar and First Scene

MAGICAL TALISMAN

In 2006, David Copperfield paid $231,500 for director Michael Curtiz's Best Director Oscar for "Casablanca."

The Las Vegas showman, who kept it by his bed, said the statuette represented the excellence of old films that influenced his career:  "It keeps me hungry."

An unnamed seller later sold that statue at auction for more than $2 million.  Nice profit.

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THE FIRST SCENE

It wasn't the director's original plan to begin shooting the movie with a love scene, but when filming of "Now, Voyager" ran behind scedule and both Paul Heinreid and Claude Rains were unavailable, he had to change his mind.

The very first scene shot for "Casablanca" featured Rick and Ilsa standing over Sam's piano in Paris.

The Usual Suspects.  --Cooter

'Casablanca' 80th Anniversary-- Part 5: Looking Good and Looking At You

Well, actually 81st.

HER BEST SIDE

Ingrid Bergman preferred to be shot from her left side and cinematographer Arthur Edeson, who previously worked on "The Maltese Falcon" and "Frankenstein," did just that for most scenes.

He also used a gauze filter and targeted lights to soften her features and make her eyes sparkle.  The effect was designed to make her face seem sad and nostalgic.

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HERE'S LOOKING

Bogart is credited with improvising the line "Here's looking at you, kid," which was written as "Here's good luck to you," in the Parisian scenes.

But the phrase was used by Eddie Cantor in 1932 (a decade before "Casablanca" was released) to sign his name in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theater n L.A..

He wrote, "Here's looking at you, Sid," in reference to the theater's owner Sid Grauman.

--CootKid

'Casablanca' Trivia-- Part 4: A Nod and a Cameo?

A SILENT NOD

During filming, Bogart was called to the studio to stand in Rick's Cafe and nod silently.

He had no idea why, but that shot would be added to the "La Marseillaise" scene, showing his character, Rick, giving the band the OK to play the French anthem.

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COMIC CAMEO

A Chicago newspaper reported in 1943 that funnyman Jack Benny visited the set when Bogart and Bergman were shooting a cafe scene.

"There were about 50 extras seated at tables, with a number of waiters scurrying around," the paper reported.  "There's where you will see Benny, among the waiters.  He borrowed a white coat and appears in the background."

This story has been much debated but Benny's daughter, Joan, said that she believed it was true.

--CootBlanca

'Casablanca' Trivia-- Part 3: Playing Games and Groucho

PLAYING GAMES

Because of script changes nearly every day, Bogart had free time on the set.  He could usually be found playing chess against Paul Henreid (Victor Laszlo), who later claimed, "I beat the hell out of him time and time again."

Bergman, on the other hand, learned to play poker on the set.

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MARX BROTHERS MAYHEM

The Marx Brothers wrote a parody of the movie shortly after it was released, even naming Groucho's character "Humphrey Bogus," but they changed the storyline after Warner Brothers issued a formal inquiry concerning the title:  "A Night in Casablanca."

Groucho used the inquiry for a publicity stunt, writing a series of letters back to the studio in which he told them:  "Professionally, we were brothers before you were."  The comedy featuring Groucho as the newest manager of  the Hotel Casablanca, was released in 1946.

--CootBrother

'Casablanca' Trivia-- Part 2: Lois Meredith? And, It Hit Home

**  A NEW NAME FOR A HEROINE

When "Casablanca" was being cast, the lead female role was to be an American named Lois Meredith.  But when Bergman got the role, the name of Rick's love interest was changed to Ilsa Lund; her nationality was switched to Norwegian.

Director Michael Curtiz came up with her name, taking it from a 19th-century travelogue called "The Harz Journey" by Heinrich Heine, which featured an enchantress named Princess Ilse.

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**  TEARS ON THE SET

Several extras and actors in the cast were from Europe, and the realities of war hit close to home.  While filming a flashback scene, Ilsa and Rick talked about how the Germans would soon storm Paris -- when a female extra burst into loud sobs, ruining the take.

Another extra walked over to the director to apologize.  "I am very sorry, sir, but that is my wife," he told Michael Curtiz of the crying woman.  "Please pardon her.  You see, our home was in Paris.  And we went through that awful day."

--Cooter

Some Interesting 'Casablanca' Trivia: That Fez and Last Line

From the same book as the quotes.

**  A FEZ OF THE HEART

Sydney Greenstreet wanted to wear traditional Moroccan garb but the producers wouldn't hear of it.  They wanted him to wear the white suit he was becoming known for (in other films).

Greenstreet settled for wearing a fez and doing the traditional salaam gsture (touching his heart, lips and brow).

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**   A DIFFERENT LAST LINE

The film almost ended with Rick Blane saying to Captain Renault, "Louis, I might have known you'd mix your patriotism with a little larceny."

Producer Hal Wallis came up with a better last line -- about a beautiful friendship-- after shooting was completed.  He had to bring Humphrey Bogart back to the studio a month later to dub the new line.

--Cooter

80th Anniversary of Casablanca-- Part 4: More Quotable Quotes 'I'm a Drunkard'

**  "I'm a Drunkard"

Major Strasser:  "What is your nationality?"

Rick:  "I'm a drunkard."

Captain Renault:  "That makes Rick a citizen of the world."

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**  "I remember every detail."

Ilsa:  "That was the day the Germans marched into Paris."

Rick:  "Not an easy day to forget."

Ilsa:  "No."

Rick:  "I remember every detail.  The Germans wore gray, you wore blue."

A World Citizen.  --CootDrunk

80th Anniversary of 'Casablanca'-- Part 3: 'The Usual Suspects'

Some More Quotes.

**  "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."  --Rick Blane

**  "Round up the usual suspects."  --Captain Louis Renault  (I called out usual group of friends the "Usual Suspects.")

**  "Just because you despise me, you are the only one I trust."  --Ugarte

**  "We'll always have Paris."  --Rick Blane

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**  "I came to Casablanca for the waters."  Rick Blane

       "The waters?  What waters?   We're in the desert."  --Captain Renault

       "I was misinformed."  --Rick Blane

--CootPect

80th Anniversary of Cassablanca-- Part 2: 'Play It, Sam'

Some more quotable quotes from the movie.

**  "Play it, Sam.  Play 'As Time Goes By'."  --Ilsa Lund

**  "Kiss me.  Kiss me as if it were the last time."  --Ilsa Lund

**   "Here's looking at you, kid."  --Rick Blane

**  We might as well be frank.  It would take a miracle to get you out of Casablanca, and the Germans have outlawed miracles."  --Signor Ferrari

"Play 'As Time Goes By'."  --Cooter

Fox Lake (Illinois) Historical Society Presentation on 'The Midway'

The Fox Lake Grant Township Historical Society will be having a presentation on a major village party area back around the early 1900s when folks would arrive by train from Chicago at a series of hotels, bars and dance halls in Nippersink Lake called "The Midway."

This area now has the Fox Lake Lakefront Park right by US-Highway 12 and is considered a fine example of what life was like during the area's Resort Era.

The presentationwill be given by Paul Jakstas whose family owned the famed Mineola Hotel for many years.

The presentation follows the General meeting at 9:30 am and will be held at the Grant Hall Museum at 411 Washington Street, Ingleside, Illinois.

Refreshments will be served.

--CootWay

80th Anniversary of 'Casablanca'-- Part 1: 'You Must Remember This....'

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the famed movie "Casablanca."

From the magazine book"Casablanca:  The Greatest Love Story Ever Told."

These were some famous quotes from the movie:

**  "I'm shocked-- shocked! -- to find that gambling is going on here." --  Captain Louis Renault

**  "With the whole world crumbling, we pick this time to fall in love."  --Ilsa Lund

**  "I'm no good at being noble, but 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."  --Rick Blaine

** "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine."  --Rick Blaine

"A Kiss Is Just A Kiss."  --CooterRick

10 Colonial Punishments That Are No More

From the January14, 2023, ListVerse "10 Colonial Punishments We Thankfully Ended" by Brittney D. Herz.

I am just listing them, to find out more and see a video, go to the site.

10.  Stocks

9.  Flogging

8.  Branding

7.  Ear Cropping

6.  Branks

5.  Ducking

4.  Hanging

3.  Beheading

2.  Burning at the Stake

1.  Drawing and Quartering  

--Cooter

Top Ten TV Theme Songs from the 1950s

From the January 10, 2023, ListVerse by  Sally Morem.

I am just listing them.  For lots of information and a place to click on to hear it, go to the site.

10. The Lone Ranger (1949-1957)

9.  Mickey Mouse Club (1955-1958)  Ohhh, Annette.

8.  Bonanza  (1959-1973)

7.  American Bandstand  (1952-1989)

6.  Peter Gunn  (1958-1961)

5.  Dragnet  (1951-1959)

4.  Rawhide  (1959-1966)   Ahh, the Blues Brothers.

3.  The Twilight Zone  (1959-1964)

2.  I Love Lucy  (1951-1957)    You've got som 'splain' to do.

1.  Perry Mason  (1957-1966)

Name That Tune (from the above songs):  "Who's The Leader Of The Club That's Made For You And Me?"  Answer below.  --  RoadAnza

"Mickey Mouse Club"

The Titanic by the Numbers-- Part 6: Macy's Co-Owner, Molly and Benjamin

Other notables on the Titanic:

Macy's co-owner Isidor Straus and his wife Ida.

Benjamin Guggenheim

Jack Thayer, 17, and heir to a Pennsylvania railroad fortune.

Amount Molly  Brown claimed for lost items:  $27,887

This included 14 hats, some 20 gowns, an opera cape, two Japanese kimonoes, jewelry and more.

--Cooter

The Titanic By the Numbers-- Part 5: Who Was the Richest Passenger to Die That Night?

Number of iceberg warnings received:  6

Miles sailed before sinking:  2,070

Temperature of the water at sinking:  28 degrees

Number of lifeboats the ship was equipped to carry:  64

Number of lifeboats the Titanic actually had:  20

Number of people who died:  1,517

Who was the richest passenger:    John J. Astor

How much was he worth:  $787 million  (about $2.21 billion today)

--Cooter

This Month in the American Revolution: Boston Massacre, 'Liberty or Death', Charleston Siege

From the American Battlefield Trust calendar and timeline.

MARCH 5, 1770

**  Boston Massacre

MARCH 7, 1776

**  British evacuate Boston.

MARCH 23, 1775

**  Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech in Richmond, Virginia.

MARCH 29, 1780

**  Siege of Charleston, South Carolina, begins. 

MARCH 31, 1774

Boston Port Act.  Parliament closes the city's December Tea Party.

--Brock-Perry