Watch Casablanca

Casablanca is a film that has certainly stood the test of time. The song "As Time Goes By" played in the movie is still frequently heard today. Over half a decade after it was made, many people may not even realize that the sayings "Play it again Sam", "Here's lookin' at you kid", or "of all the gin joints in all the world, she has to walk into mine!" are from this black and white classic. 

With a star studded cast including Claude Rains, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, Casablanca was filmed during the Nazi invasion of Europe during the second world war. The story follows Rick, a nightclub owner living in a town called Casablanca on the Moroccan coast. In the film, Casablanca was a place where people who were trying to escape the oppression in Europe would gather in hopes of gaining passage to America. Rick claims to simply want to live and let live, claiming he never takes sides during times of conflict but is shown to be something of a patriot at heart--often subtly rooting for the downtrodden. 

Rick's nightclub is shown to play host to patrons from all sides of the conflict; from French and Nazi officials to the refugees who are trying to escape their tyranny. 

Rick's life becomes slightly more complicated when an acquaintance of his leaves valuable documents in his possession. Documents that are highly sought after because they offer something that most in Casablanca are dying to get their hands on: transit papers to leave the country for the United States. Shortly after hiding these papers, Rick's acquaintance is captured and killed for the papers which he no longer has.

Before Rick really has time to digest what is happening, his life is turned upside down yet again when he runs into his former lover Ilsa--alongside her husband Victor. Victor is a leader in the underground movement against the Nazi regime and the couple is desperate to get out of the country to safety. Ilsa hears rumors that Rick of all people may have the means to help she and her husband escape. Rick must face his past and discover his own loyalties to determine if he is really going to help Ilsa and Victor escape.