By Bob Cuddy
Aljean Harmetz titled her book “The Making of Casablanca,” but it is a good deal more than a description of how the classic 1942 movie was put together. It plunges into World War II, the soon-to-be-defunct Hollywood studio system, exiles from Hitler’s Europe, the totalitarian red scare in the United States, and much more.
And, of course, it contains dish about Bogie and Bergman and Peter Lorre and others. But gossip is not the point of this enthralling narrative.
Harmetz, a journalist and former New York Times writer, whose mother worked for the studios, published “Making of Casablanca” in 1992. The version I glommed on to was published 10 years later, a 60th anniversary tribute to the iconic movie.
It is one of the most meticulously researched books I’ve ever read that wasn’t written by a historian like Doris Kearns Goodwin. It is staggeringly well investigated and documented, and should be used as a teaching tool for aspiring journalists. As Harmetz writes:
“Most of the men and women who had worked on Casablanca were dead. And the studio system which had shaped the movie was dead, too. But records of both remained.
“The history of Warner Bros. is stored in boxes of memos, letters, contracts, production reports and scripts…More subtle memories are stored in the memories of those who were there.”
Harmetz burrowed through the archives and talked to those who were still able and willing to open up.
She gleaned so much that is interesting that I scarcely know where to begin. Perhaps I’ll just “bullet” – as the news guys call it – some of the parts that grabbed my attention. First, a confession: I have been a film freak since I was 8-years-old, so I may be more enthusiastic than the average reader. But I feel this book is so well researched and written that anyone would enjoy it.
***When they were making “Casablanca,” those involved had no idea they were making a classic. Indeed, Bergman was biding time until she found out whether she got the role she really wanted, Maria in “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” In the end, however, “Casablanca” made stars out of both Bergman and Bogart.
***The film was chock-a-block with European talents in exile, beginning with director Michael Curtiz, who had fled anti-Semitic Hungary in 1919. Some had speaking parts, like Marcel Dalio, who starred in the two great Jean Renoir films, “Rules of the Game” and “Grand Illusion,” and Peter Lorre, who gave one of the finest performances ever put on film as the murderer in Fritz Lang’s 1931 German classic, “M”. Other great European stars had non-speaking roles.
***There are gossipy items in the book. Producer Hal Wallis and studio head Jack Warner clashed over who would receive the Academy Award the film won. Bogart’s marriage to his alcoholic wife, Mayo Methot, was crumbling. One can only imagine what filming would be like today, with vultures like TMZ on the prowl.
There’s more, lots more. But you’ll have to buy the book to find out what it is.
Bob Cuddy writes “Mining for Musty Gold” monthly as a tribute to second-hand book stores, from Nan’s in Grover Beach to the Brattle bookstore in Boston. He names one at the end of each column – they are everywhere – and advises his readers to grab a metaphorical pickaxe and start digging there. This week’s gold mine: “The Bookworm,” 230 E. Betteravia Road in Santa Maria.
