Released - November, 1943 

Directed By - Zoltan Korda

Starring- Humphrey Bogart (Sgt. Joe Gunn), Bruce Bennett (Waco Hoyt), J. Carrol Naish (Giuseppe), Lloyd Bridges (Fred Clarkson), Dan Duryea (Jimmy Doyle).

Description- Tank commander Sgt. Joe Gunn, and his tank the “Lulu Belle,” have been separated from their unit after the fall of Tobruk in the North African Desert.

Finding a bombed out hospital during their retreat they pick up an assortment of stragglers that include a British doctor, four Commonwealth troops, a Free French corporal, and a short time later a Sudanese sergeant major and his Italian prisoner.

The group find themselves running out of the most precious possession one could have in the Sahara desert – water. The Italian prisoner offers to take them to the location of a well. However, the intended destination is too far and the group must detour to a well marked on Sgt. Gunn’s map that may, or may not, have any water.

Also on their way to the well is a German batallion desperate for water. Sgt. Gunns’ group arrive first only to find just a tricke of water in the well. No where near enough to save them. When the German’s arrive, Sgt. Gunn must defend the empty well.

He does so by pretending that their is plenty of water in the well and tries using this as a negotiating tool with the German’s in order to buy some time hoping a messenger Gunn has sent for help gets through.

The German’s, knowing that they have the superior force, are having none of it. They attack, are repelled, attack again and are repelled again. With each attack Sgt. Gunn’s defense becomes weaker and weaker while the desperation of the German army grows greater.

Can the German army go much longer without water, will help arrive in time, and even if it does there is still no water.

NOTABLE: This film received three Oscar Nominations; Best Actor in a Supporting Role (J. Carrol Naish), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, and Best Sound, Recording.

Sahara used real soldiers, training at Camp Youn, CA, as extras and background artists.

Make-up artist Henry Pringle used a simple trick to produce the sweat on the faces of the actors. As noted in Look Magazine, he would apply Vaseline to their faces and simply spray them with water and the droplets would hold.

Personal Note: Loving all-things Bogart, this is a film that I own. Solid action and suspense, along with good character development. One of the better, though not familiar to some, World War II motion pictures.

Sahara

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While gangster films grabbed a larger audience during the 1930′s after the invention of the “talkies,” the silent era also provided us with a few incredible motion pictures depicting the world of “organized crime.”

1912 gave us the first real gangster film with D.W. Griffith’s The Musketeers of Pig Alley which told the story of organized crime in the western world. Prior to this full-length feature there were a few one-reel films released as early as 1904-1906. They included, The Moonshiners (1904), Edwin S. Porter’s A Desperate Encounter Between Burglars and Police (1905), and Wallace McCutcheons 1906 documentary of a kidnapping, The Black Hand. 

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January, 1943 – Casablanca, released by Warner Brothers to coincide with the Allied conference taking place in the same city, provides a wonderfully romantic story with a great cast of colorful characters. 

Rick’s Cafe American, run by broken-hearted Richard Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is frequented by black marketeer Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, a man seemingly capable of fixing anything, a hated Nazi commandant played to perfection by Conrad Veidt, and Claude Rains as a more than slightly amoral Chief of Police.

A new visitor arrives one day, Ilse, played by Ingrid Bergman. It is Ilse who has broken the heart of Rick after a short romance in Paris. Her reappearance triggers this World War II romance and intrigue classic.

Casablanca, where a kiss may be more than just a kiss… as time goes by.

Released - January, 1943 

Directed By - Michael Curtiz

Starring – Humphrey Bogrart (Rick Blaine), Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa Lund), Paul Henreid (Victor Laszlo), Claude Rains (Captain Renault), Conrad Veidt (Major Strasser), Sydney Greenstreet (Signor Ferrari), Peter Lorre (Ugarte).

Description – Cynical expatriate Rick Blaine owns and runs “Rick’s Cafe Americain” in Casablanca. Petty criminal Ugarte, as a result of the murder of two German couriers, has acquired wartime “letters of transit.”

He hopes to make his fortune selling these letters to the highest bidder who will be arriving later that evening. The letters allow for free travel through German controlled Europe to neutral Portugal and then on to America.

Before the deal can be made, Ugarte is arrested by corrupt local police commander Captain Renault and will end up dying in custody. Unknown to the police, the papers have been given to Rick for safe keeping prior to his Ugarte’s arrest.

Now arriving in Casablanca is fugitive Czech Resistance leader Victor Laszlo and his wife Ilsa Lund who are there for the letters. There is one additional complication…Ilsa is Rick’s ex-lover; someone who ran out on him in Paris, but he has never been able to forget.

Laszlo meets with, Rick’s friendly business rival and major underworld figure, Signor Ferrari who discloses to Laszlo that Rick may be in possesion of the transit papers. Laszlo meets in private with Rick who refuses to turn over the papers suggesting that Laszlo ask his wife for the reason why.

Ilso confronts Rick who still refuses to give up the papers. She threatens him with a gun, but is unable to shoot, confessing that she is still in love with him.

With the police slowly closing in on Laszlo and the reconciliation of the two former lovers, character, loyalty, and moral issues begin to get a little sticky.

NOTABLE: Casablanca was nominated for eight Academy Awards winning three. Best Picture, Best Director (Michael Curtiz), and Best Writing, Screenplay. Other nominations included Best Actor in a Leading Role (Humphrey Bogart), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Claude Rains), Best Cinematography, Black and White, Best Film Editing, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.

In 1989, this film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

This was Humphrey Bogart’s first attempt at a romantic lead role and it turned out historic earning him an Academy Award nomination.

The song “As Time Goes By” by Herman Hupfeld has become instantly associated with this motion picture.

Rick’s Cafe was modeled after Hotel El Minzah in Tangiers.

Actor Conrad Veidt was well known in the German theatrical community as someone who hated the Nazi’s. So much so that he had to hurriedly leave the country after learning that the SS had a death squad looking for him as a result of his anti-Nazi activities.

Humphrey Bogart was always quoted as using the line “Play it again Sam,” however, he never said it that way. What he said was: “You played it for her, you can play it for me. Play it!”

The famous film line “Here’s looking at you kid” was voted AFI’s #5 most famous movie quote.

In 2007, the American Film Institute voted Casablanca #3 on the Greatest Movie’s of All Time list.

In reality, the “letters of transit,” central to the storyline, never really existed during the war. They were a plot devise thought up by the screenwriters.

Upon winning the nomination for Best Picture, Jack L. Warner was the first on the stage to accept the award. This infuriated producer Hal B. Wallis who never forgave him.

Production costs for the film were close to $950,000, about $100,000 over budget.

In 2006, the Writers Guild of America deemed Casablanca’s screenplay to be the best ever.

Personal Note: Ask me on any given moment and I will say that Casablanca is the best film I have ever seen. There is not a credible 10 Best Films of All Time list in existence that does not contain Casablanca.

While it is hard for me to imagine any film fan that has not seen Casablanca, if for any reason you have not….see it!

Casablanca (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Casablanca [Blu-ray]

Humphrey Bogart – The Signature Collection, Vol. 1 (Casablanca Two-Disc Special Edition / The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Two-Disc Special Edition / They Drive by Night / High Sierra)

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Having to once again endure war years, Hollywood, and its top film stars of the 1940′s, continued to provide quality entertainment to their audience. Although the early part of the decade provided financial challenges to the entire nation, Americas desire for entertainment was still in great demand. In an effort to meet the demand, and continue with its Golden Era, Hollywood was once again successful in providing a number of talented new stars and producing many popular films.

One of the most iconic movie stars of this period, or any peried, was Bette Davis. Davis has been regarded by numerous feminist historians as one of the most influential actresses in leading the way for more important and meaningful women’s roles on the silver screen. 

Her film accomplishments are legendary, having won two Best Actress Awards for her roles in Jezebel (1938) and Dangerous (1940). She would also receive five more Oscar nominations for her performances in Dark Victory (1940), The Letter (1941), The Little Foxes (1942), Now Voyager (1943) and Mr. Skeffington (1944). Her talent has firmly established Bette Davis as one of the most honored and respected actresses in Hollywood history.

During the 1940′s, Davis would become one of Hollywood’s highest paid actresses, and used her notoriety and wealth to contribute greatly to supporting the World War II effort by assisting the Hollywood Canteen’s programs for GI’s who passed through the Los Angeles area. 

Another 1940′s film icon, and one of Hollywood’s most popular stars, was the great Humphrey Bogart. During this decade, Bogart deservedly earned his reputation in Hollywood as one of their most talented and hardest working stars. 

Bogart’s impact on the silver screen was huge. Some of his more notable staring roles included High Sierra (1941), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and the classic war time propaganda film Casablanca (1942). His role in Casablanca would earn him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, launching him into stardom and making him the highest paid actor in Hollywood.

Some of Humphrey Bogart’s most popular roles were those in which he teamed up with actress Lauren Bacall. The most notable being To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947), and the famous and memorable Key Largo (1948).

 The success of their screen pairing carried over to their personal lives as the two stars would eventually be married and come to be recognized as the  “star power couple” of Hollywood.

Another movie fan favorite to kick off a very successful film career in the 1940′s was femme fatale Rita Hayworth. Although she began making films during the 1930′s, it was her role in Gilda (1946) that put her on the map as major movie star and sex symbol.

With one little strip of a glove, while dancing in Gilda, she managed to cement her image into American film audiences. This audience would continue their love affair with the beautiful actress in the black satin dress with that sultry, wavy auburn hair for many years to come. 

Take some time to explore these films as the 1940′s was a great decade for film stars and the many enjoyable films they made.