LoC Blog: Rick’s Place

The film Casablanca opened in New York City on November 26, 1942, as Allied Expeditionary Forces (AEF) secured their hold on North Africa during World War II. Casablanca, Morocco‘s chief port city, was the setting of the film.
In the film, the hero Rick Blaine settles in Casablanca after fighting fascism in Spain. When his former lover, Ilsa, arrives at his café with her French Resistance-leader husband, Rick helps them escape. By film’s end, Rick and Ilsa take leave of each other to serve a greater good—freedom from fascism.

Casablanca Conference at Casablanca, French Morocco, Africa. The “unconditional surrender” announcement…. U.S. Army Signal Corps, Jan. 1943. Prints & Photographs Division

During “Operation Torch”—the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942—Casablanca was bombarded under the command of General Dwight Eisenhower. The city served as the site of the Casablanca Conference from January 14-24, 1943. Attended by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and French Resistance leaders Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud, the Allied leadership developed a unified military strategy and decided that Germany, Italy, and Japan must surrender unconditionally. Russian leader Joseph Stalin declined to attend the conference.
Just as the Allied invasion of Casablanca advanced box office sales of the film Casablanca, so did the movie reinforce the war effort by underscoring the value of freedom and the importance of personal sacrifice. As Variety noted on December 2, 1942, “Casablanca will take the b.o.’s [box offices] of America just as swiftly and certainly as the AEF took North Africa.” Casablanca‘s national release was scheduled to coincide with the Casablanca Conference.

Miscellaneous building interiors. Theater Lobby V. ca 1920-50. Horydczak Collection.. Prints & Photographs Division.

Casablanca was nominated for eight Academy Awards. It won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Direction, and Best Screenplay of 1943. In 1989, Casablanca was placed on the National Film Registry of the National Film Preservation Board.
The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress has first-hand accounts of American war veterans. Listen to American servicemen and servicewomen recount their experiences in Casablanca during World War II. 

via https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/november-26#ricks-place