Casablanca, directed by Michael Curtiz, was filmed and premiered in 1942, then saw wide release in early 1943. This makes it easily the oldest movie we have covered on this show by more than three decades! The World War II set and filmed movie tells the story of a jaded American expat (Humphrey Bogart) wrestling with whether to help his former lover (Ingrid Bergman) and her Resistance-leader husband flee from the Nazis and get out of the titular North African city. With one of the most quoted screenplays of all time, it is a stone-cold classic and is consistently ranked as one of the best films ever made, including being in the top three of both versions of the American Film Institute’s “100 Years…100 Movies” list of the best American movies.

We couldn’t have been happier when our friend, fellow podcaster, and Associate Director of Marketing, CCOM at Butler University, Ross Hollebon suggested that we discuss Casablanca with him on our next LTR Guest List episode. We share our favorite performances and, of course, iconic quotes, as well as unpack the themes and politics behind this timeless story.

SPOILER WARNING: Unlike our regular reviews, LTR Guest List episodes will be in Spoiler Mode from the beginning so that our guests can feel as unencumbered as possible. So if you have not yet seen Casablanca and do not want it spoiled, return to us after you’ve seen it.

Casablanca is currently available to stream on HBO Max.

The LTR Guest List is a special series in which we ask our friends to pick a movie – any movie – to discuss with us on air. If you’re a friend of the show and you have a movie you’d like to pitch, you can email us at [email protected].

Image Credit: Turner Classic Movies

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