Ilsa: But what about us?
Rick: We'll always have Paris. We didn't have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.
Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you.
Rick: And you never will. But I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, 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. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now... Here's looking at you kid.
Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca is simply magnificent. When someone says that the "camera loves her," it must has started with this role. I recently watched the movie again, and how Bergman shines in every shot, especially her close-ups, was breathtaking. Seriously, it was amazing to watch ... perhaps, it was just my mood, one that might have made me particularly open to it. All the same, she has such a wonderful screen presence. I recently re-watched a few scenes of her with Cary Grant in Notorious, and it was a similar experience. This was particularly remarkable though.
The movie itself is obviously a screen classic. There is a lot that goes into such an animal, and often it involves a basic melodramatic quality. A particular favorite is the dramatic kisses between Ilsa and Rick (the line goes "and Bogie and Bacall," and guess who provided narration to the "making of" featurette ... but these two are pretty good together too). How her head must hurt from being so dramatic! The audience though eats it up, as do I, including the dueling patriotic songs scene and many others.
Another quality is overall setting and flavor. It might surprise some to note* that the film was not filmed in wartime Casablanca, but on a set. The ability to make it all seem so realistic and flow so well (the quality that lets two hours go quicker than eighty minutes, depending on the film) is notable in itself. The thing that makes the film though is the supporting cast. Claude Rains (who Bergman along with the rest of us sees again in Notorious), Peter Lorre and Syndey Greenstreet (who often played roles together, though here acted separately), Dooley Wilson, and all the rest. These qualities together often alone make a film, lame script or not. It helped make this one great.
A great film also often has small scenes that further the story, but are special on their own. I think my favorite might be with a young married woman from Bulgaria goes to Rick to see if she could trust the police chief. The young actress made the best of her moment in the sun, suggesting the responsibility and maturity found in those we might just write off as innocents. It is notable as well that the clear implication of adultery was an example of carefully dodging the Code of the era.
A couple more things. Obviously, the song is a highlight of the film, and raises emotions early on, even for those who are watching the film for the first time. [As compared to the couple in When Harry Met Sally, who saw it many more times than that.] Another special part of the film is the Paris montage, Rick's drunken remembrance of their time together. Just watching Humphrey Bogart look happy is probably worth watching, but it is altogether an excellent sequence. These days, montages are a dime a dozen, and often a cheap way to fill up time and get another song on the soundtrack. This one was special and the exercise perhaps not as trite in 1942 as it is now.
It was said that this was at first but one of fifty-two films made by the company that year, another film off the assembly line of mass produced films of the era. The cast of characters might have been much different; for instance, Ronald Reagan was up for a key role. Still, three academy awards aside, there must have been some notice from early on that this film was special. The cast, story, song, and everything else just wrapped together so well.
And it was the true introduction of Ingrid Bergman to American cinema. Three people might not mean a hill of beans, but when they are played by the likes of Bogart, Henreid, and Bergman, I wouldn't be shocked if there are exceptions to the general rule.
* a joke