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Film Studies: Casablanca > Genre and Context > Flashcards

Genre and Context Flashcards

1
Q

What is the genre of Casablanca?

A

Melodrama

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2
Q

What are the generic conventions of a melodrama and how can they be applied to Casablanca?

A
  • failed romance (Rick and Ilsa)
  • impossible choices (the ending)
  • coincidences (Rick and Ilsa reunite)
  • over the top performances (Ilsa)
  • music underscores emotion
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3
Q

Where was Casablanca filmed?

A

production lot at WB Burbank, California

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4
Q

What was Hays Code?

A

A list of moral rules that films had to follow. e.g no profanity, nudity, realistic violence etc.

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5
Q

How did Bergman get the role of Ilsa since she was not a WB talent?

A

Loaned from David Selznick for a fee

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6
Q

What was the unpublished playscript called and who wrote it?

A

‘Everybody Comes to Rick’s’
Written by Murray Burnett

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7
Q

What was unusual about the film?

A

it was being rewritten as it was being filmed

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8
Q

What was Howard Koch’s role in writing the film?

A

wrote the political parts. tried to take credit for the whole script. black listed

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9
Q

Why couldn’t CB be filmed abroad?

A

the war. also saved time and money

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10
Q

How is CB explained as representing America’s involvement in the war?

A

“an anthem of America’s commitment to the war”

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11
Q

What did Harry and Jack Warner support?

A

Anti-Nazi league

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12
Q

How many Americans favoured neutrality in the early years of the war according to the Gallup poll?

A

90%

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13
Q

What films did WBs make addressing Nazi threat?

A

Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939)
Sergeant York (1941)
All Through the Night (1941)

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14
Q

How did the public react to WB’s Anti Nazi films?

A

violent threats, bullying, WBs theatres burned down in Milwaukee

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15
Q

How does the character of Rick embody America’s initial reluctance to join WW2?

A

his transformation from a selfish neutral character to willing to make sacrifices

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16
Q

What was Bogart’s star identity?

A

hard boiled, world weary toughness

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17
Q

a quote from Kael about Bogart

A

he “established the role of the rebellious hero”

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18
Q

In what way is the conjunction of personal and political seen at the end of the film?

A

you have to sacrifice something for a bigger cause.

19
Q

How are Nazis represented in CB?

A

intimidating and threatening. acts as propaganda

20
Q

How much did CB gross?

A

$3.7million. very successful

21
Q

When was the Studio System?

A

1920s-60s

22
Q

When did the Studio System’s “Golden Age” end?

A

1948

23
Q

What were the major studios during the Studio System?

A

Warner Bros, MGM, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount, RKO

24
Q

How many years were the contracts actors signed during the Studio System?

A

4-7 years

25
Q

What did the studio look for in actors and what did they do to them?

A

looked for young and promising actors.
- glamourised them and gave them false personas
- control of budget and shooting times were strict and tight to ensure costs were driven down and films were completed to an agreed schedule

26
Q

What was the biggest set and where was it filmed?

A

Rick’s Cafe. Soundstage 8 - filled it all

27
Q

What was the only location shot in the film and how was it done?

A

the airport scene. used a set piece to transform LA airport into Casablanca and matte painting

28
Q

What is rear projection?

A

a background scene projected onto a translucent screen behind the actors so it appears they are on location in the final image

29
Q

When is rear projection used in CB?

A

Paris flashback scene

30
Q

Why did CB have a dictated ending?

A

Hays Code. Rick could not have escaped with a married woman

31
Q

What is Dyer’s star identity theory?

A
  1. stars are constructed (clothing, attitudes etc)
  2. stars are commodities (exist to make money, the faces of companies)
  3. stars are ideologies (reflect certain beliefs)
32
Q

Why did Bergman refuse to alter her appearance (at Selznick’s request)?

A

she decided her natural beauty would be her selling point

33
Q

Who did Bergman have an affair with and when?

A

Roberto Rossellini, 1950

34
Q

What did Bergman say in regards to her affair?

A

“people saw me as a saint. i’m not. i’m just a woman.”

35
Q

When did Bergman and Rossellini divorce?

A

1957

36
Q

How did the crew/cast have a personal connection to the story of Casablanca?

A
  • Curtiz’s sister died in Auschwitz
  • Conrad Veidt was an anti-Nazi refugee who gave his life savings to British war effort government before he left for Hollywood
37
Q

How was the film industry vertically intergrated?

A

The studios made and distributed the films to the theatres they owned so they could set ticket prices. They couldn’t refuse any films

38
Q

What were the main characteristics of film production under the studio system?

A
  • producing films primarily on their own film-making lots: long term contracts
  • vertical integration: had ownership/effective control of theatres
39
Q

When was Hays Code introduced and when did it end?

A
  • It was introduced in 1930, however it did not see widespread influence until 1934
  • It ended in 1968, however it had seen a constant decline in adherence for years at that point
40
Q

What was the Paramount Decree (1948)?

A

A decree that stated that the studios that made movies could no longer own the cinemas as well.

41
Q

Who were the ‘little 3’ of the studio system?

A

Universal, Columbia, United Artists

42
Q

What was the Studio System?

A
  • A feature of the ‘Golden Age’ of Hollywood.
  • studios controlled creation, distribution and screening of films, effectively giving them a monopoly on the industry
  • They also built many sets in-house, reusing them for other films, and would have actors sign contracts that bound them to the studio for years at a time.
43
Q

What was the effect of the Paramount Decree?

A
  • Smaller Film makers could more easily get their work out there
  • More creative freedom for film makers
  • Beginning of the end for the Studio system & Golden age of
    Hollywood
  • Actors were no longer bound to studios and could work on whatever films they wanted to
44
Q

Casablanca and the Studio System

A
  • Rapid and formulaic: shot entirely in a studio (except for one airport scene) in under 2 months.
  • Sets were frequently reused: the train station set that was used in ‘Now Voyager’ (1942) features in the Paris flashback
  • Reflects WB gritty style: the noir-style cinematography casts Rick in half-shadowed light that symbolises his moral ambiguity
  • Stable stars: the casting of Bogart as a cynical tough guy was developed earlier in The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Film Studies: Casablanca (10 decks)

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