In 1977, The American Film Institute celebrated its 10th anniversary by asking its 35,000 members to name the 10 greatest American films. "Casablanca" came in third, just behind "Gone With The Wind" and "Citizen Kane." Pretty good company for a film that its studio, Warner Brothers, expected to bomb at the box office. It might have, had Warner's insisted on its original casting of Ronald Reagan as Rick, Ann Sheridan as Ilsa and Dennis Morgan as Victor Lazio.
Every film buff remembers that on Dec. 6, 1941, Victor Lazio (Paul Henried) and his wife Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) left Casablanca aboard the Lisbon plane while Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and Captain Renault (Claude Rains) walked off arm-in-arm heading for the Free French base at Brazzaville. But what did these fascinating people do with their lives from that point? I have investigated the question at great length and have found the answer.
Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt), the very model of a monoclad Nazi villain, recovered after being shot by Rick. He joined Himmler's SS staff in 1942, where he soon became a by-word in brutality for his hunting down of underground leaders. Alas for him, one of these, a member of the Polish underground succeeded where Rick had failed. He blew Strasser to pieces with a huge bomb in the streets of Warsaw. All that remained of him was a shattered monocle.
Some went on to politics, restaurants
On reaching Brazzaville, Captain Renault (Claude Rains) was immediately arrested as a Vichy collaborationist But he was soon released. It appears that he spread bribes where they would do the most good. In a short time he became a prominent figure on the staff of General De Gaulle who, it is said, enjoyed Renault's wit and his corrosive cynicism. After the war Renault was elected to the French Senate, where he enjoyed a reputation as a great patriot and a connoisseur of beautiful young women.
Carl, the head waiter (S.Z. 'Cuddles' Sakall), was a former professor of astronomy at the University of Leipzig. He
fled Casablanca shortly after Rick and eventually worked his way to New York. For a time he lectured on European politics at the New School of Social Research. But he grew bored and returned to his first love and opened a famous and popular deli in the Bronx called "The Casablanca," for reasons which completely escaped his patrons as they gnoshed his corn beef specials.
Senor Ferrari (Sidney Greenstreet) owner of the "Blue Parrot," the only rival to Rick's "Cafe Americain," had always tried to buy out Rick. He finally succeeded after Rick left Casablanca. Ferrari, who controlled the Casablancan underworld, was indispensable to the Allies when they invaded North Africa in November 1942. He became the wealthiest man in Morocco, fondly remembered for his charities and the fairness with which he ran the black market: he never charged more than 25% above what the market would bear.
Sam (Dooley Wilson), Rick's popular black pianist and old pal, was left to fend for himself when Rick fled Casablanca. Rick had neglected to tell him he was leaving. Sam went to work for Ferrari, who had long tried to lure him away until the American Army arrived in Casablanca eleven months later. Then he joined the USO and toured with them for the duration of the war. He ended up playing in a steady piano bar in Newark after the war, pestered by people who kept asking him to "Play it Again, Sam."
After fleeing Casablanca, Victor and Ilsa finally worked their way to London. Victor took over direction of the Czech government in exile. In 1942, he helped plan the assasination of Reinhard Heydrich, the infamous hangman of Prague, a crime for which hundreds of innocent Czechs died. After the war he returned to Czechoslovakia, only to be arrested after the Communist coup d'etat in 1948. He was tried as a crypto-fascist and executed in 1950.
Rick became life of the party
After his death, Ilsa fled Czechoslovakia, eventually arriving in New York, where she looked up Rick. He filled her in on his life since Casablanca. After reaching Brazzaville he discovered the United States had entered the war. Joining "Wild Bill" Donovan's OSS, Rick parachuted into France where he served as liaison with the French underground, the "Maquis." Always the tough sentimentalist, he joined the United Nations after the war but was quickly disillusioned with the corruption and hypocrisy of that international body. His parting line was that if the UN was man's last great hope, he preferred dispair.
He then opened a bar in Manhattan and soon found that it was becoming the in-place, with people dropping by to be insulted by him. He became a minor celebrity while always saying that he was only a "drunkard and a saloon keeper." Walter Winchell adopted him and Leonard Lyons soon had his own special table. Rick's came to rival Toots Shor's as a hangout for the famous and infamous. Ernest Hemingway used to drop by and swap lies with Rick about who really liberated Paris. Rick and Ilsa eventually got married, but it just didn't work out. She was still in love with the memory of Victor. Rick said the hell with her and went to have a drink with Joe DiMaggio, Sugar Ray and the Kraut (Marlene Dietrich).
If you doubt any of my research just look it up in Winchell. He never lied either.
