The Making of Casablanca
Bogart, Bergman, and World War II
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Narrated by:
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Scott Brick
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By:
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Aljean Harmetz
About this listen
Critically acclaimed when published in 1992 as Round Up the Usual Suspects, The Making of Casablanca offers the ultimate insider's look at the politics and personalities behind the most celebrated movie of all time - Casablanca.
Updated and timed for the 60th anniversary (Thanksgiving Day, 1942) of this movie, this critically acclaimed book draws upon years of research, including access to Ingrid Bergman's personal acting diaries and the vast Warner Brothers archives, as well as interviews with many of those close to the film, including the late Paul Henreid, Lauren Bacall, and scriptwriters Howard Koch and Julius Epstein.
Richly detailed and full of surprises, The Making of Casablanca debunks many cherished myths about the casting, script, story, and stars, to reveal the realities of the highly pressured Hollywood studio system during World War II.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2017 Aljean Harmetz (P)2020 Oasis AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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In the summer of 1970, legendary but self-destructive director Orson Welles returned to Hollywood from years of self-imposed exile in Europe and decided it was time to make a comeback movie. It was about a legendary self-destructive director who returns to Hollywood from years of self-imposed exile in Europe. Welles swore it wasn't autobiographical.
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Engaging and human portrait of Welles
- By TrevorTrujillo on 06-20-20
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High Society
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- By: Donald Spoto
- Narrated by: George K Wilson
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
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Performance
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In just seven years---from 1950 through 1956---Grace Kelly embarked on a whirlwind career that included roles in 11 movies. From the principled Amy Fowler Kane in High Noon to the thrill-seeking Frances Stevens of To Catch a Thief, Grace established herself as one of Hollywood's most talented actresses and iconic beauties.
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Find a better Grace Kelly biography, I'd skip this
- By Daniel on 08-20-12
By: Donald Spoto
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Without Lying Down
- By: Cari Beauchamp
- Narrated by: Holly Palance
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Cari Beauchamp masterfully combines biography with social and cultural history to examine the lives of Frances Marion and her many female colleagues who shaped filmmaking from the early teens through the 1940s. Frances Marion was Hollywood's highest paid screenwriter - male or female - for almost three decades, wrote almost 200 produced films and remains the only woman to win two Academy Awards for original screenwriting (The Big House and The Champ).
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A Must Read
- By Robert Wallace on 03-19-19
By: Cari Beauchamp
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Sidney Poitier
- Man, Actor, Icon
- By: Aram Goudsouzian
- Narrated by: J. D. Jackson
- Length: 20 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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In the first full biography of actor Sidney Poitier, Aram Goudsouzian analyzes the life and career of a Hollywood legend, from his childhood in the Bahamas to his 2002 Oscar for lifetime achievement. Poitier is a gifted actor, a great American success story, an intriguing personality, and a political symbol; his life and career illuminate America's racial history.
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The Man, the Star, the Lightning Rod
- By Susie on 01-28-13
By: Aram Goudsouzian
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Steve McQueen
- A Biography
- By: Marc Eliot
- Narrated by: Marc Eliot
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One of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and '70s with now-classics such as The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Bullit, Steve McQueen is renowned as one of the most exciting actors ever to come out of Hollywood. Now, in Steve McQueen: A Biography, best-selling author Marc Eliot gives unique insight into McQueen's life, from his films to his three marriages, many affairs, and struggles with addictions.
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Snooze
- By Cill on 10-27-11
By: Marc Eliot
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Can I Go Now?
- The Life of Sue Mengers, Hollywood's First Superagent
- By: Brian Kellow
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
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A lively and colorful biography of Hollywood's first superagent - one of the most outrageous showbiz characters of the 1960s and 1970s, whose clients included Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Faye Dunaway, Michael Caine, and Candice Bergen. Before Sue Mengers hit the scene in the mid-1960s, talent agents remained quietly in the background. But staying in the background was not possible for Mengers.
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A little long.
- By Doris on 11-29-15
By: Brian Kellow
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Seinfeldia
- How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything
- By: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
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Comedians Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld never thought anyone would watch their silly little sitcom about a New York comedian sitting around talking to his friends. NBC executives didn't think anyone would watch either, but they bought it anyway, hiding it away in the TV dead zone of summer. But against all odds, viewers began to watch, first a few and then many, until nine years later nearly 40 million Americans were tuning in weekly.
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This bad narration is making me thirsty...
- By Audio Gra Gra on 10-06-16
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Best. Movie. Year. Ever.
- How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen
- By: Brian Raftery
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
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From a veteran culture writer and modern movie expert, a celebration and analysis of the movies of 1999 - arguably the most groundbreaking year in American cinematic history.
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Like talking about movies with a friend
- By Shawn Inmon on 05-30-19
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Seven Dirty Words
- The Life and Crimes of George Carlin
- By: James Sullivan
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
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In Seven Dirty Words, journalist and cultural critic James Sullivan tells the story of Alternative America from the 1950s to the present, from the singular vantage point of George Carlin, the Catholic boy for whom nothing was sacred.
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Carlin's CV with no Depth or Insight
- By Dubi on 01-23-14
By: James Sullivan
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Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted
- And All the Brilliant Minds Who Made the Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic
- By: Jennifer Armstrong
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Mary Tyler Moore made her name as Dick Van Dyke's wife on the eponymous show; she was a cute, unassuming housewife that audiences loved. But when screenwriters James Brooks and Allan Burnes dreamed up an edgy show about a divorced woman with a career, network executives replied: "Americans won't watch television about New York City, divorcées, men with mustaches, or Jews." But Moore and her team were committed, and when the show finally aired, in spite of tepid reviews, fans loved it.
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An Interesting Story That Never Quite Gets Told
- By S. Blythe on 07-26-13
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Dangerously Funny
- The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'
- By: David Bianculli
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
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Performance
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Decades before The Daily Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour proved there was a place on television for no-holds-barred political comedy with a decidedly antiauthoritarian point of view. In this explosive, revealing history of the show, veteran entertainment journalist David Bianculli tells the fascinating story of its three-year network run---and the cultural impact that's still being felt today.
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Poor narration
- By Jane on 01-20-11
By: David Bianculli
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The Speed of Sound
- Hollywood and the Talkie Revolution 1926 - 1930
- By: Scott Eyman
- Narrated by: Adams Morgan
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
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Overall
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In this mixture of cultural and social history that is both scholarly and vastly entertaining, Eyman dispels the myths and gives us the missing chapter in the history of Hollywood, the ribbon of dreams by which America conquered the world.
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Better than nothing!
- By Colin Barton on 08-31-11
By: Scott Eyman
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What listeners say about The Making of Casablanca
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kevin L.
- 03-16-24
Good History of Hollywood
Very entertaining listen if you enjoy the history of old Hollywood. Especially films made during WWll.
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- Rodney
- 02-25-24
Mostly interesting
I'm not a huge fan of the movie, while I like it, I've only seen it twice. But I am a huge fan of the setting and time, and when the book is sticking to the time period, it's quite interesting. Those complaining about it not being 100% about Casablanca - get over yourselves, the thing that makes the book worth reading is that while it does focus on the movie, it lightly covers the studio system and other things going on during that period.
With that said, the book misses when it goes into boring liberal political talking points and presents a cartoon version of events in that regard. Keep in mind the book was written in the early 90s, so it's merely annoying, unlike the unlistenable woke garbage that Audible pushes 98% of the time. But the cartoon low IQ take on politics add nothing to the book - thankfully, it's not overwhelming.
Overall I enjoyed the book and learning more about the movie and the movie studios at the time, although keep in mind it's all probably something you could learn by reading Wikipedia for 20 minutes - but this mostly a lot more entertaining.
The reader did a great job - and I appreciate when they had letters in the book, they switched readers - even if the 2nd reader wasn't all that good, he's only there for a short period of time and it helps make it easier to keep track of things as a listener.
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- M M
- 04-08-22
Will listen again
Great background, great performance. Everything you ever wanted to know about the subject matter without becoming boring or repetitive.
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- P. Roth
- 07-19-21
Loved Every Minute of It
I wish this book went on for hours more. It’s fascinating to get a glimpse of all that went into making Casablanca.
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- Eugene Smith
- 04-17-24
Everything you didn’t know about Casablanca
I’ve always loved this movie. One of the greatest films of all time. I’ve seen this movie 100 times.
Most of today’s films can’t compare on this level. M
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- Buretto
- 01-25-21
European St. Bernards make the book worthwhile
A lot of this book is well-trodden ground, personalities of the stars, and the conflicts between one another. It's necessary and a book claiming to comprehensively cover the film absolutely needs such information. But it does run a bit thin after a while, The petty prissiness of Paul Henreid, the vanity and aloofness of Ingrid Bergman, the marital battles of Bogart. Where the book really shines however is the coverage of the various European cast and crew on the production, and more widely in Hollywood at the time. The reference in the headline being that of the story of European dachsunds meeting up in Hollywood and claiming that in Europe they were St. Bernards. Some of them were, but some of them were just creating a false image of themselves. But those chapters, along with the background work of the OWI (Office of War Information) both positive and negative, are easily the most entertaining and enlightening of the book.
Personally, I love the film and have for as long as I can remember. I disagree with the author about the perfection of the cast however. Among the indispensable elements are, of course, Bogart, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Conrad Veidt, Dooley Wilson and the likes of Leonid Kinskey and S.Z. Sakall, as Sascha and Carl, respectively. But if I'm being honest, I never felt that the role of Ilsa was undeniably Bergman's. In part, perhaps due to the inferiority of the writing afforded to female characters, it's not a thoroughly engaging role. A more dynamic actress could very well have ruined the delicate balance set up by the Koch, the Epsteins and Curtiz, but I don't doubt that several others could have played the role of Ilsa in the understated manner equally as well. The same with Laszlo. He, along with Bergman, are ingrained in our memory of the film, but a stiff is a stiff. And a stiff that can't adequately bandage his own wound, at that.
The other part that is a bit problematic is that, while the author acknowledges the film as a classic, there is almost an apologetic quality to the praise, as if to mitigate the claims of the film as melodrama or romantic propaganda. I think to dismiss Casablanca as mere melodrama, or romance, or propaganda, does the film an enormous disservice. Underneath the surface, it is has a deeply conflicted core. While I wouldn’t classify it as pure film noir (though many a film noir discussion group has grappled with this issue), in its heart there are classically noir-ish features, embodied primarily in Claude Raines’ portrayal of Renaud, and of course, the initial cynicism of Bogart’s Rick Blaine. In a way, it's even more noir than standard noir. For a start, why isn’t Rick in America? The subject is just touched on, giving vague reasons for comic effect, and proceed to recount Rick’s anti-fascist, though mercenary, leanings in the past. Could it be that Richard Blaine sees through the fog and can recognize the truth, that this cotton candy dream of “America” is a false promise? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that references to going to America are occasionally rebuffed or marginalized, as in Blaine’s advice the young woman, “Go back to Bulgaria”, or Karl’s remark that “You’ll get along beautiful in America”, to the elderly couple and their butchered English. It may seem trivial, but the nature and censorship of the time would not have allowed an honest appraisal of the American dream, so only slight moments can be glimpsed. The book recognizes this and notes the pressures brought to bear on the filmmakers. The recent film "Curtiz" also shows how this battle played out. I don’t see this as anti-American, but merely a recognition that while America offers a life better than what the Nazi party has created, the world is broken in a way that a naive concept like that of the America dream cannot fix. Regardless of political leanings, as detailed in the book, filmmakers, particularly the European emigres, would recognize the hardship, inequities, misogyny and racism to be found in their new country. The film surely conveys the picture postcard dream of America, but it also hints at its shortcomings, most notably through Rick.
Finally, a few notes on the text. The book was written in the 90s apparently, but this is still enough time to recognize that Woody Allen *didn't* misunderstand the line in the film when he wrote the play and film "Play It Again, Sam". It's the nature of his film, that Allen's character is emulating Bogart's Rick Blaine, in essence, doing it "again". And "Conflict" was not a second rate picture, regardless of what the author or, if true, Bogart himself, thought. It's a superior variation of the film "Gaslight". Sorry to pick in Ingrid again. And, sorry no, Clint Eastwood was not carrying on the aura of Bogie, nor Mel Gibson, or anyone else. Or if they were, they were pale imitations.
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- Tim Simpson
- 05-19-22
Almost a good book
The first part about the making is top notch then for some idiotic reason like most books that deal with this time period it delves into segregation, women roles in the forties as if this is unknown and I had to stop it with three hours to go so boring it’s been told so so many times
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- Robert Lynch
- 10-11-24
Needs more about Casablanca
Overall I enjoyed the listen but there was too much information about the studio system and biographical information about extras working on the movie.
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- Roger Park
- 07-13-22
Misleading title
It should be called “A history of Warner Bros., with occasional mention of the film Casablanca.”
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3 people found this helpful