Here’s Looking At You, Casablanca
Round up the usual suspects-or movie buffs-and celebrate the 70th anniversary of the release of Casablanca with a special showing of the classic film at the Ridgewood public library this Saturday afternoon, Sept. 15.
The festivities, organized by the Friends of the Ridgewood Library, will take place from noon to 5 p.m. at the branch located at 2012 Madison St. Admission is FREE.
Guests will be treated to refreshments as well as the animated Bugs Bunny cartoon satire Carrotblanca prior to the feature presentation of the afternoon. After Casablanca concludes, the audience will also have the opportunity to view a documentary about the cinematic classic, You Must Remember This, and then participate in a panel discussion and quizzes.
Tom Dowd, president of the Friends of the Ridgewood Library, noted that certain characters from Casablanca “may actually appear” at the library during the film’s viewing.
Released by Warner Bros. Studios in 1942, Casablanca is consistently ranked by film critics as one of the greatest movies ever made. The romantic drama set in World War II tells the story of Rick Blaine (played by Humphrey Bogart), a café owner in the title city located in Morocco.
Blaine is faced with the choice of continuing his relationship with Ilsa (played by Ingrid Bergman) or helping her and her husband Victor Laszlo (played by Paul Henreid) find a way out of Casablanca and back to Europe to fight the Nazis.
The film also stars Claude Rains as Capt. Louis Renault, a corrupt officer of the Nazi-controlled Vichy France government; Conrad Veidt as Major Strasser; and Dooley Wilson as Sam, the pianist at Rick’s café known for playing the film’s signature song, “As Time Goes By.”
Directed by Michael Curtiz, Casablanca won three Academy Awards, including best picture. Its screenplay produced some of the most memorable-and often parodied- quotes in film history, including “Here’s looking at you, kid,” “We’ll always have Paris,” “Play it again, Sam,” and its closing line, “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
Dowd told the Times Newsweekly that the viewing of Casablanca is the first of a series of upcoming public events at the Ridgewood library, which the Friends group hopes will become the neighborhood’s cultural center.
Two weeks after the Casablanca celebration, the library will air a live Lincoln Center Local musical performance of “Latin Beat.” That same day, the Friends of the Ridgewood Library will also hold their bi-annual “Fun Day,” which will include a variety of activities for guests young and old including book sales and face painting.
Tickets for the Casablanca screening are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit the Ridgewood library to pick up tickets or www.queenslibrary.org for more information.
