Recently someone asked me if I had a favorite movie, and I didn’t hesitate to reply, “Casablanca.” I. Love. This. Movie. So much so, that a student bought me the movie poster, which I framed, and when I look up from my desk where I do most of my writing, it’s the only thing I see.

Plot: Two German couriers have been killed, their letters of transit stolen. Rick, an apolitical nightclub owner, allows the thief/murderer to hide the letters in his club. Victor Laszlo has arrived in Casablanca with his wife, recently escaped from a concentration camp, hoping to use the letters as passage to the U.S.
Best Moment: THE ENTIRE MOVIE.
Worst Moment: I can’t even say “when the credits roll,” because the last line is so iconic.
Fun Facts: I once dated a guy who said “They say you never forget who you saw Casablanca with for the first time.” I don’t know who the “they” are, but he was right–every time I watch this movie, I think about him.
This movie is part of my Popular Culture Studies class curriculum. I show it for two reasons: to make sure my students see a film considered one of the greatest in American cinema, but also to dissect its role in supporting U.S. involvement in World War II. There’s a fair chunk of propaganda in Casablanca, and while the love story is lovey and Humphrey Bogart never fails to make me swoon in that white dinner jacket and bow tie, all that is window dressing.
Also, because this film is in my curriculum, I have seen this movie probably 20 times, minimum. I used to think I’d catch up on grading or lesson planning while the kids watch it, but I eventually gave up on that, because I just end up watching it every single semester. Some semesters, twice a day. And since I watched it today, that means by the end of 2019, I’ll have watched this movie four times. (If my class numbers hold, that is.)
Want more fun facts? Read this. So interesting.
Oh, and one more fun fact: no one ever says “Play it again, Sam.” The line is “Play it, Sam. Play ‘As Time Goes By.'”
https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/5X0M16GjlZYN1WjPNzerb5Recommendation: Um. SEE IT.