Casablanca Got A Surprisingly Decent Sequel In An Unexpected Format – SlashFilm

This submit comprises spoilers for “Casablanca” and its sequel novel.

The popularity of Michael Curtiz’s “Casablanca” precedes itself. The 1942 romantic drama opened to an honest run on the field workplace, with no lofty expectations of vital or industrial success hooked up to it. However “Casablanca” went on to etch an unforgettable popularity by profitable a number of Academy Awards (together with Finest Image) and making its manner into each “biggest films of all time” record over the a long time.

Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine is a necessary a part of this legacy, whose world-weary methods compel us to find his previous as “Casablanca” progresses. A part of the rationale why Rick is so jaded is his thwarted romantic relationship with Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), whose presence on the Casablanca playing den reopens outdated wounds. In truth, her entrance is accompanied by a rendition of Herman Hupfeld’s “As Time Goes By” on the piano, which triggers Rick’s ire.

On the finish of “Casablanca,” Rick does not board the aircraft to Lisbon with Ilsa, staying again to strike a take care of Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains). Michael Walsh’s 1988 novel, aptly titled “As Time Goes By,” picks up the story at this actual second. The novel is not a non-canon growth of “Casablanca,” however an formally commissioned sequel by Warner Books. “As Time Goes By” chronicles Rick’s youthful years in America (earlier than he turns into an expatriate) and the occasions that happen after the aircraft leaves within the 1942 movie.

Because the novel delves into Rick’s previous, it can be thought of a prequel story. Walsh makes good use of “Casablanca” because the narrative anchor, because it serves as a reference level for previous and future timelines. Walsh’s prose is competent sufficient to really feel like an extension of the movie’s script, however is the novel any good?

Walsh opens Rick’s 1931 timeline by introducing him as Yitzik Baline, who works for gangster Solly Horowitz in the course of the Prohibition Period. Yitzik falls for Horowitz’s daughter, Lois, and the boss man makes him the proprietor of a speakeasy quickly after. Whereas Horowitz favors Yitzik for his loyalty, he desires his daughter to accept somebody wealthy and influential, and he or she’s quickly married off to a would-be politician. A gang battle erupts proper after, wherein each Solly and his supposed successor die, together with Lois and her husband, who get caught within the crossfire. This devastates Yitzik to no finish, and he decides to set sail for North Africa with Sam (the piano participant within the movie) and alter his identify to Richard Blaine.

Whereas Ilsa’s chunk of the story is essential to our understanding of Rick in “Casablanca,” Walsh fleshes out his previous some extra, additional explaining his excessive cynicism hooked up to the idea of affection. Quick-ahead, and we see Rick be part of the underground resistance in London throughout World Struggle II, with Renault, Ilsa, and her husband working collectively. By reuniting Ilsa and Rick and shifting the main focus to revolt, Walsh provides appreciable depth to “As Time Goes By.”

The novel advantages from our foreknowledge of “Casablanca,” as Walsh writes these acquainted characters as an extension of what we see onscreen. All in all, “As Time Goes By” is a enjoyable learn. It’s going to fulfill anybody interested by Rick’s future and whether or not he’s efficiently in a position to shed his cynicism to embrace a extra spirited outlook on life.