102. Casablanca

Load Bearing Beams

We head back to good old Hollywood, USA: Golden Era for a look at one of the most beloved American films of all time, 1942's Casablanca.

You hear this all the time about old, black-and-white movies, but this thing feels incredibly modern, and with much to say about the world of 2024. We discuss our personal histories with it, Matt's story of getting into classiv movies after watching it for the first time as a teenager, what audiences would have understood watching the movie in the 1940s that we might not understand now, and, of course, that beautiful friendship between that scoundrel Rick Blaine and that scamp Louis Renault.

Next week: It's a Listener's Choice selection of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)!

Watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Cu55CX78ga8?si=g2frpAKZeH5xf_nj

Time stamps:

00:11:35 — Our personal histories with Casablanca

00:28:01 — History segment: The Second World War, Vichy France, and American neutrality in the early 1940s; the development and production of Casablanca

00:43:33 — In-depth movie discussion

01:33:41 — Final thoughts and star ratings

Source: Inside Warner Bros. (1935-1951) by Rudy Behlmer

Artwork by Laci Roth.

Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).

Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode:

“Winston-Salem” - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM

“Snake Drama” - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg

“The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet” - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ