“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine”
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Drive-in in Chaffee, MO (272 Drive-In Lane Chaffee, MO 63740) has become another great St. Louis-area place to see old movies (Chaffee is about 120 miles south of St. Louis). This Friday April 8th, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Drive-in is screening CASABLANCA double feature CITIZEN KANE. Gates open at 6:30 pm, and the movies begin at 8:00 pm. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Drive-in’s site can be found HERE. Their other screen is showing The Hunger Games (PG-13) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (PG)
I there was ever a film deserved to be considered a classic then CASABLANCA is it, Even if you haven’t seen it before you’ll recognize much of the dialogue; it is probably the most quoted, and misquoted, film of all time. Humphrey Bogart is excellent in this career defining role as bar owner Rick Blaine who has come into possession of two “letters of transit” which guarantee the holders unhindered passage out of Casablanca. He has these as Ugarte (Peter Lorre), the man who asked him to look after them, was captured by the Vichy French police before he could get them back. Ugarte had been planning to sell the documents to Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a Czech nationalist who is fleeing from Nazi occupied Europe to the United States via neutral Portugal. Things are complicated by the fact that Laszlo’s wife Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) had a relationship with Rick before the fall of Paris and he never really got over her.
Right up until the end we don’t know what Rick will do, perhaps he will let Victor and Ilsa have the letters, perhaps he will let Victor have them on condition that Ilsa stays with him or perhaps he will betray Victor and leave Casablanca himself with Ilsa. Bogart isn’t the only great performance; Ingrid Bergman is fantastic as Ilsa, there is a real chemistry between her and Bogart, Claude Rains is great as the French policeman who’s loyalty is likely to change depending on who he thinks is likely to be the most use to him and Paul Henreid’s restrained performance as Victor Laszlo is faultless too.
It is hard to say what genre this film is, it is one of the great romances, it is also a war film, a thriller and even has some subtle comedy moments. Don’t be put off by the film’s age or the fact that it is in black and white – CASABLANCA is a must see. Whatever your tastes you owe it to yourself to watch this at least once, although I suspect few people will only want to watch it just once.
Is CITIZEN KANE the greatest film ever made? On a technical level, it may as well be. It’s at least the most groundbreaking film ever made. On a storytelling level, it’s an amazing achievement itself in that Orson Welles used such avant-garde techniques yet maintained an engrossing story. It’s a film full of contradictions and works perfectly because of them. Its over-the-top yet subtle, experimental yet accessible, quickly paced yet requiring of patience. Its considered the greatest film because of how it incorporates all these trademarks and the fact it basically reinvented the rules on how to make a movie. This must be credited to both Gregg Toland’s cinematography and Robert Wise’s editing as much as Orson Welles’ direction. This is probably the first film that could be considered so visually dense it required multiple viewings.
Oddly enough, in spite of the vast array of technical advances introduced in this film, it’s the story that one remembers. Welles is so often praised as a director, it’s easy to overlook the fact he was an accomplished actor also. Because of his multi-layered performance, Kane is a sympathetic individual instead of a cold hearted capitalist stock character. The screenplay by Herman J. Mankiewicz is so superb many argue he deserves as much credit as Welles. The hype on this one is really deserved. It really may as well be the greatest film of all time and now you’ll have the opportunity to see it on the big screen at The Rock ‘n’ Roll Drive-in
