** 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
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