Search This Blog

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Wacky Wednesday - The Wonders of Dr. Seuss


Okay, so I feel like I owe you an explanation for why yesterday’s entry was formatted in such a way that it looked like a kindergarten aged child with a Tablet organized it.  It was really not my intention to have the blog looking so haphazard.  What happened was that I was using a different search engine that I don’t normally use for a trial run, and whenever I tried to insert video clips inside, it caused the videos to not only post on the top of the page, but it screwed up my spacing in between paragraphs.  After ten unsuccessful attempts to work with the new search engine, I gave up, and switched back to my old browser.  Unfortunately, I never really did figure out how to get the blog back to the way it should have been...hence the screwed up format.

I guess that the lesson that I ended up learning in that case was to stick to what I know.  Sometimes it’s good to test the waters and try something brand new, but in other cases, you’d be much better off sticking to what you’re experienced in.  And, when it comes to this blog project, I found out fairly quickly not to mess with near perfection...because I ended up with something that I wasn’t exactly satisfied with.  I made it work, but I hope never to have another experience like that again.

Now that I have that out of the way, let’s tackle the topic for Wednesday, January 23.  It’s been quite a while since I featured a book or an author in this spot, as the vast majority of Wednesday topics have been about toys and games since late November.  What’s interesting is that like me with my blog, our featured author was also a grand perfectionist as well.  He was such a perfectionist that he often would spend an entire year writing one book.  Now, this doesn’t seem like it would be so out of the ordinary...until you realize that his specialty was writing children’s books written in rhyme, lasting only a few dozen pages.

He would also reportedly draft whole manuscripts of material and illustrations for potential books...and the proceed to insert up to 95% of the material he had just written into the so-called “circular file” until he could come up with the right theme.  But, this was a good thing for Theodore Geisel, as he liked to be paid once the job was done instead of getting an advance.  It was smart thinking as he would have the proper incentive to make sure he delivered a quality product before he saw any form of payment.


But that was Theodor Geisel’s style.  Of course, most of you will likely remember him best under his most famous pen name, Dr. Seuss (taken from Geisel’s middle name). 

Yes, Dr. Seuss is the theme for today’s blog.  And, for today’s blog, I thought that I would discuss a few of his stories, and talk about some of my all-time favourite Dr. Seuss books.

First of all, I have to state that Dr. Seuss and I go way back.  If I remember correctly, my entire childhood was filled with Dr. Seuss books.  I think the first time that I ever read a Dr. Seuss book was when I was visiting the doctor’s office, and I happened to spot a copy of “The Cat in the Hat”.  I picked it up and could not put it down.  I may have even pitched a bit of a temper tantrum after I visited the doctor because I wasn’t allowed to bring the book home.  How was I supposed to know that the doctor’s office didn’t double as a library?

Fortunately, as I was growing up, my mother had the good sense to enroll me in a book club for an entire year where every two months, I would receive two different books written by Dr. Seuss.  I think that I was around six or seven years old at the time, and it was likely some of the first mail that I had ever gotten in my life (the good kind, not the bills and letters that boast that I could win a million dollars if I subscribed to “Vanity Fair”).  I was so excited to run home and check the mailbox to see if any new books had come for me. 

Therefore, I suppose it was good fortune that one of the books that I received when I started getting the Dr. Seuss books mailed to me was the very book that I was obsessed with in the doctor’s office, “The Cat in the Hat”.  And, I’ll be telling you a little story about this book and several others that arrived in my mailbox back in the late 1980s.


First, I should tell you some of the basic facts about Theodor Seuss Geisel.  He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 2, 1904.  He graduated from Springfield Central High School in 1921, and enrolled at Dartmouth College from 1921-1925.  And, it was at Dartmouth that he came up with his signature pen name.

You see, when Geisel was a young man, he joined a fraternity (Sigma Phi Epsilon), and joined the humour magazine known as the “Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern”, where he eventually served as editor-in-chief towards the end of his post-secondary career.

But one little mistake could have had dire consequences for Geisel had he not exercised quick thinking. 

I know that when I was in college, there were instances in which people in my residence hall would sneak alcoholic beverages into their rooms and we’d have drinking parties in there.  As long as we kept the music down to a minimum and kept the volume down, residence security usually left us alone.  And, Geisel thought that inviting nine of his closest friends down to his room for a gin drinking party would be a nice way to relieve stress.  It’s just too bad that he got busted for it.  And, for Geisel, the Dean issued a serious punishment...immediate resignation from all extracurricular activities.  This included the “Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern”.

But Geisel was no dummy.  He knew he had the perfect way to continue working at the magazine without the college administration team knowing.  He just began submitting his contributions under his middle name, “Seuss”.  And, the rest, as we shall say is history.

TRIVIA:  Although everyone in the world probably pronounces the word “Seuss” as they would the word “juice”, according to Dr. Seuss, it’s actually incorrect.  Dr. Seuss explained that the proper German pronunciation actually rhymes with “voice” (Seuss’ grandparents were all German immigrants).  Seuss would later go by the “juice” pronunciation as it rhymed with “Mother Goose”, and also it was the way that most people said it, so why change a good thing?

Throughout his career, Dr. Seuss would write almost 50 books between 1937 and 1990.  He also wrote fourteen additional books under a different pen name, “Theo LeSieg” (Geisel spelled backwards), and these were always on books that were illustrated by other artists.

Dr. Seuss passed away from throat cancer on September 24, 1991, and I remember when I first heard the news of his death, I really took it hard.  He was one of my all-time favourite children’s authors, and to know that he would not release any new books made me sad, although there were four additional books that were released after Dr. Seuss’ death, the last one being a collection of stories published in “Redbook”.


His work will always live on through the millions of children who read his books.  His books are still published all over the world, translated into twenty different languages.  His birthdate, March 2, has been adopted as the official date for “National Read Across America Day”.  In 1995, the University of California, San Diego, renamed the campus library to the “Geisel Library” as a token of their appreciation for the donations and contributions that he made to the library.  At Seuss’ alma mater of Dartmouth College, incoming first-year students who participate in pre-registration Dartmouth Outing Club trips receive a breakfast of green eggs and ham!  In 2002, the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden opened in Springfield, Massachusetts, and in 2008, Geisel was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.


Dr. Seuss even has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!

It’s so difficult to narrow the field down to my all-time favourite Dr. Seuss books.  He wrote so many, and I think at some point, I read every single one that he wrote.  But then I thought back to some of the books that I ended up reading as part of that book club my mother subscribed me to, and I thought that those books would be the ones that I would talk about in this blog.  I know that this is merely a small fraction (and doesn’t contain the well known tales of “Horton Hears a Who” or “How The Grinch Stole Christmas”, but I was always taught to write what I know best.  Don’t worry though...there will be a bonus question at the end of this blog entry that will open up discussion.


AND TO THINK THAT I SAW IT ON MULBERRY STREET (1937)

And to think that this was Dr. Seuss’ very first book!  The inspiration for the title was a real life Mulberry Street that was very close to the street where a young Theodor Geisel grew up.  It’s a story about observation, really.  A young boy named Marco watches the people and cars driving by, and on his way home, he dreams up an elaborate story to tell his father.  It’s quite a lot of text to read for a children’s book, but well worth it.


THE CAT IN THE HAT (1957)

This is the Dr. Seuss book that hooked me in.  It’s the story of how two children are at home alone with absolutely nothing to do...until a big cat with a huge red and white striped hat comes around to play.  Things quickly escalate out of control when The Cat in the Hat brings his friends Thing One and Thing Two over to play, and the children are worried about getting in trouble when their mother comes home to see the big mess.

The way that this book was created is an interesting story in itself.  It was actually written as a challenge issued to Dr. Seuss by his friend, William Ellsworth Spaulding, then the director of Houghton Mifflin’s education division.  Spaulding gave Seuss a list of 348 words that every student in the first grade should know and create a tale that they couldn’t put down.  To make the challenge a little bit tougher, Spaulding said that Seuss could only use a maximum of 225 words from the list of 348.  Within nine months, Dr. Seuss had written the manuscript for “The Cat in the Hat”...using 223 words from Spaulding’s list, as well as thirteen of his own! 

This is also one of the few Dr. Seuss books to have a sequel...1958’s “The Cat in the Hat Comes Back”.


GREEN EGGS AND HAM (1960)

All right.  How many of you remember being absolutely adamant that you would not like a certain food item before you even put a morsel of it in your mouth?  Let’s face it.  Kids can be very picky eaters.  When I was a kid, I refused to eat broccoli, spinach, onions, or Hamburger Helper because I thought they looked and smelled disgusting.  But, when I eventually tried them, I found that I ended up liking three of them (the only one I still can’t eat is raw onions).

Well, in this book, the role is reversed, as the character Sam-I-Am tries to get his...well, I actually don’t know if it’s a friend, older brother, or father, as it never actually makes it clear, but whatever the case, he’s bigger than Sam.  Sam’s favourite food seems to be green eggs and ham, and he’s determined to get the other guy to eat them.  But he will not budge.  He will not eat them in a box, he will not eat them with a fox, he will not eat them here or there, he will not eat them ANYWHERE!  The ending is a hoot though!


DR. SEUSS’S ABC (1963)

From Aunt Annie’s Alligator to the Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz, Dr. Seuss made learning your ABC’s so much fun.  It’s just a shame he didn’t come up with a counting book as well to teach kids about counting Whos, Sneetches, red fish, and blue fish!



MARVIN K. MOONEY, WILL YOU PLEASE GO NOW? (1972)

Maybe it was just me, but I always felt bad for Marvin K. Mooney.  Nobody wanted him around at all.  The whole book had everybody asking Mr. Mooney to leave, scram, vamoose, skedaddle, take off...but stubborn Marvin refused to budge.  I was quite proud of the little guy for standing his ground and refusing to bow down to peer pressure...well, until the ending, and then I lost all respect for him.  It’s still a wonderful book though.



WACKY WEDNESDAY (1974)

Okay, so this book is one that is credited under Seuss’ LeSieg pen name, as the illustrations were done by George Booth.  But, it really was the illustrations that made the book shine.  It was part story, part game.  Each page had something strange drawn into it, and the number of things that were wrong in the picture matched the number that was mentioned in the text of the story.  For example, if the boy in the story said that there were three things wrong with the scene, there would be three mistakes in the drawing (like an upside down picture, or someone having three arms).  I remember when I brought in my copy of “Wacky Wednesday” for story time in the second grade, the class had a lot of fun trying to pick out the mistakes. 


I AM NOT GOING TO GET UP TODAY! (1987)

This could have been my autobiography when I was a little boy, as I always had a hard time waking up early in the morning.  In this story, a boy decides that he is going to spend the entire day in bed, and nobody will get him to move.  Not his bratty siblings, not the nosy neighbours, not even the paparazzi!  Not even the egg that his mother cooked for him!  Actually, I think that’s the funniest part of the whole story...the fact that this woman spends the entire story holding an egg!



OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO! (1990)

This book is the very last one that Dr. Seuss released before his death in 1991, and it also happens to be his most poignant.  We all know that life isn’t always going to be a cakewalk.  There are always going to be challenges that we have to face, and problems that we all have to solve, but in the end, if you maintain a good outlook on life, things will work out for themselves.  Or, as Dr. Seuss quoted in this book...

“Will you succeed?  Yes, you will indeed.  98¾% guaranteed.”

I must have that last line imprinted into my brain.  That’s very deep for a children’s book.

It also happens to be a popular gift for people upon graduating high school or college student when they graduate, as many bookstores report a spike in sales of the book between April and June each year!

And, those are my favourite memories of Theodor Geisel...a.k.a. Dr. Seuss.

BONUS QUESTION:  What are some of your favourite Dr. Seuss tales?

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

January 22, 2008


This week, the Tuesday Timeline date is January 22, and on January 22, a lot of things happened throughout history. Among them are the following...

565– Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus

1555– Ava Kingdom falls to Toungoo Dynasty of Burma

1863– The January Uprising breaks out in Poland, Belarus, and Lithuania

1877– American clergyman Arthur Tooth is taken into custody after being prosecuted for ritualistic practices

1889– Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington D.C.

1890– The United Mine Workers of America is founded in Columbus, Ohio


1899– Leaders of six Australian colonies have a meeting to discuss confederation; the country would become an officially recognized nation two years later in 1901

1901– After the death of Queen Victoria, her son, Edward VII is proclaimed King

1905– Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg kicks off the start of the 1905 revolution

1906– SS Valencia runs aground on Vancouver Island, Canada, killing at least 130 people

1915– 600 people lose their lives after a train careens off a cliff in the vicinity of Guadlajara, Mexico

1917– President Woodrow Wilson calls for “peace without victory” in Europe during World War I

1927– The first live radio commentary of a football (soccer) match was given by Teddy Wakelem

1931– American singer Sam Cooke is born in Clarksdale, Mississippi

1934– American actor Bill Bixby is born in San Francisco, California

1941– British and Commonwealth troops capture Tobruk from Italian forces during World War II in an attack known as “Operation Compass”

1944– During World War II, the Allied forces commence “Operation Shingle” in Anzio, Italy

1946–The Central Intelligence Group (the precursor to the American CIA) is established

1947– The first television station west of the Mississippi River (Hollywood, California's KTLA) begins operation

1957– George P. Metesky, otherwise known as the New York City Mad Bomber, is arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut

1959– A dozen miners lose their lives in the Knox Mining Disaster in Pittston City, Pennsylvania

1962– Cuba's membership to the Organization of American States is suspended

1963– Charles de Gaulle of France and Konrad Adenauer of Germany sign the Elyssee Treaty of Cooperation

1968– Apollo 5 lifts off, carrying the first Lunar module into space

1970– The Boeing 747 enters commercial service for Pan Am airlines; its maiden voyage between New York's JFK International Airport and London's Heathrow Airport

1971– The Singapore Declaration is issued

1973 – Roe v. Wade; The Supreme Court reaches the decision to legalize legal abortion in all fifty states

1984 – This commercial aired

1987– Politician R. Budd Dwyre commits suicide during a televised press conference in Pennsylvania

1990– Robert Tappan Morris Jr. is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet Computer worm

1991– Three SCUD missiles and one Patriot missile hit Ramat Gan in Israel, killing 96

1999– Australian born missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons are burned alive by a Hindu gang in Eastern India

2002– American retail chain Kmart files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

2012– Disgraced football coach Joe Paterno dies of lung cancer at the age of 85

So, as you can see, January 22 was quite the busy day historically. As far as celebrity birthdays go, quite a few were born today as well. So join me in wishing Elmer Lach, Piper Laurie, Graham Kerr, Seymour Cassel, Joseph Wambaugh, John Hurt, Serge Savard, Gilbert Levine, Mike Caldwell, Steve Perry, Leon Roberts, Ramon Aviles, Teddy Gentry (Alabama), Jim Jarmusch, Tully Blanchard, Chris Lemmon, Thomas David Jones, Steve Riley (Steppenwolf), John Wesley Shipp, Mike Bossy, Brian Dayett, Linda Blair, Daniel Johnston, Eric Schaeffer, Javier Ortiz, Jeff Treadway, Joe Dudek, Wayne Kirby, Steven Adler (Guns 'n' Roses), DJ Jazzy Jeff, Diane Lane, Olivia d'Abo, Keith Gordon, Gabriel Macht, Larry Birkhead, Balthazar Getty, James Murray, Jimmy Anderson, James Dearth, Matthew Newton, Christopher Kennedy Masterson, Willa Ford, Beverley Mitchell, Ben Moody (Evanescence), Jason Peters, Shaun Cody, Ben Eager, Orianthi Panagaris, Ray Rice, Asher Allen, and Greg Oden.

Okay, clearly January 22 is a date where star power seemed to gleam brightly. Who knew?

Sadly, for one up and coming rising star, January 22 was a day in which his star power...and his life...faded to black.





Five years ago, on January 22, 2008, we said farewell to an Australian bloke who wanted to be an actor more than anything. And just as he was reaching new heights with his career, it ended with the discovery of his body in a fourth-floor loft in Manhattan's SoHo District.





This is the tale of Heath Ledger, who died five years ago today at just twenty-eight years of age.


Heath Ledger was born in the city of Perth, Australia on April 4, 1979, the son of Kim and Sally Ledger. Heath attended school at Mary's Mount Primary School in Gooseberry Hill, and later ended up at Guildford Grammar School. It was at Guildford that Heath got bitten by the acting bug, taking on a role in the school production of Peter Pan when he was just ten years old.


TRIVIA:  Heath Ledger was also an accomplished chess player, winning Western Australia’s junior chess championship at the age of 10!


With the support of his parents (who divorced when Heath was eleven), and his older sister Kate (who later became Heath's publicist), Heath left school at the age of sixteen to pursue his acting career.  His first gig came in 1992, when Heath was just thirteen, when he played a small part in the Australian two-part miniseries “Clowning Around”.  Four years later, in 1996, he won the role of a gay cyclist in the television series “Sweat”.  In 1997, he scored a guest starring role on the Australian soap opera “Home and Away”, and later that year, he earned a role in “Blackrock”, which ended up being his feature film debut.





It wouldn’t be until 1999 that Ledger would be introduced to American audiences when he took on the role of Patrick Verona in the teen comedy film “10 Things I Hate About You”, which also starred Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Gabrielle Union, and David Krumholtz.  

Ledger’s performance in the film was praised by critics, with Geoff Andrew describing him as “effortlessly charming”.  Believe it or not, Ledger was even nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Musical Performance with this song!





You know, I have to admit, that scene was corny as heck...but I liked it.  It was a nice moment in a fairly decent film.


Little did Heath (or anyone else realize) that “10 Things I Hate About You” would be the stepping stone for better things to come.  From 2000-2005, Heath was cast in a slew of supporting roles in high-profile movies.  Do you remember any of these films?


-          Played Mel Gibson's son in the 2000 film "The Patriot", and played Billy Bob Thornton's son in 2001's "Monster's Ball".

-     Had the lead role in 2001's "A Knight's Tale.


-          Starred as Harry Faversham in the 2002 film “The Four Feathers”.



-          In 2003, Heath played two roles; Alex Bernier in “The Order”, and the title character in the film “Ned Kelly”.

As the years passed, Heath Ledger’s star began to rise, and by 2005, the supporting actor roles soon turned into lead actor roles.  2005 was an extremely busy year for Ledger, as he made four appearances in four different movies that year.  The first three were “Casanova”, “The Brothers Grimm”, and “Lords of Dogtown”.  The fourth film, however, would bring Heath much deserved praise, a little bit of controversy, and a huge change in his personal life.



The film was 2005’s “Brokeback Mountain”, and it was a controversial film at the time as it was a love story between two men.  Ledger played the role of Ennis Del Mar, a ranch hand from Wyoming who embarks on a love affair with rodeo rider Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhall).  The film was released on December 9, 2005, and ended up making almost $178 million worldwide.  The acting skills of both Gyllenhall and Ledger were praised by critics, and at the 2006 Academy Awards, the picture was nominated for eight Academy Awards.  Heath Ledger also received an Academy Award nomination, making him, at age 26, the ninth youngest Oscar nominee of all time.



TRIVIA:  You see the shirt that Heath is crying into in the above clip from “Brokeback Mountain”?  They reportedly sold on eBay for $101,100.51!  They are displayed at the Autry National Center.

“Brokeback Mountain” was also the film set where Heath Ledger fell in love with his co-star Michelle Williams.  Mind you, this wasn’t the first Hollywood starlet that he had developed feelings for.  He also had high-profile romances with Heather Graham and Naomi Watts prior to meeting the former “Dawson’s Creek” star.  In October 2005, Michelle Williams gave birth to their daughter, Matilda, and the two remained a couple until their split in 2007.

Heath’s star continued to rise after “Brokeback Mountain”.  He starred with Abbie Cornish in 2006’s “Candy”, and in 2007, he signed on to the film “I’m Not There”, where Ledger was one of six different actors who embodied the various parts of the life and times of Bob Dylan.


Later in 2007, Ledger would be cast in the film that ultimately became the second-last film that he would ever star in.  When the Batman franchise was rebooted in 2005 with Christian Bale playing the iconic role, the first film in the new series, “Batman Begins” was well-received.  It was so successful that a sequel was commissioned, set to be released in 2008, “The Dark Knight”.

And, Ledger was cast in the role of The Joker.  Just have a look at just a couple of his scenes below.



Is it any wonder that Heath Ledger would end up being nominated for a grand total of FORTY different awards, including the coveted Academy Award?  And, that of the forty awards that he was nominated for, he ended up winning thirty-five?  Just take a look at a partial list of awards that Heath Ledger ended up winning for his work in “The Dark Knight”!

 


-          Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actor

-          BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role

-          MTV Movie Award for Best Villain

-          Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor

-          Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture

-          People’s Choice Award for Best On-Screen Match-Up (shared with Christian Bale)

-          Rembrandt Award for Best Foreign Actor

Oh, yeah...I should mention that Heath Ledger also won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the 2009 Academy Awards ceremony, with his family accepting the award on his behalf.

The real tragedy of all those honours was that Heath himself wasn’t around to bask in all of the glory.  He wasn’t even able to see his performance on screen when “The Dark Knight” debuted in July 2008.  Because by now, we all know what happened on January 22, 2008.

Heath Ledger was found unconscious by his housekeeper and masseuse at around 2:45pm at his loft apartment located on Broome Street in New York City.  Emergency medical technicians arrived at the scene almost an hour later, and tried to revive the young actor, but it was too late.  At 3:36pm, Heath Ledger was declared dead.

It would take two weeks before a cause of death was revealed.  In February 2008, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York revealed that Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of prescription medication.  Further tests revealed that there was a lethal mixture of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine.  A DEA investigation had cleared two physicians of any wrongdoing in Ledger’s death, with the discovery that they had prescribed medicines that weren’t found in Ledger’s body at the time of his death.

Why Ledger needed so many medications is not known, although he had been having trouble sleeping a year and a half prior to his death, according to his own admissions in interviews that he gave while doing promotion for his film projects.  A similar account was given by actor Christopher Plummer (who starred with Ledger in his final film appearance, 2009’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”), who claimed that Ledger was growing frustrated over his insomnia, as well as a suspected respiratory illness that he had contracted in the month before his death.

Strangely enough, many theories were speculated in the wake of Ledger’s death, including the bizarre claim that former “Full House” star Mary-Kate Olsen was connected to his death in some manner.  But by August 2008, Ledger’s death was officially declared as accidental, and the case was closed.

It’s hard to predict where Ledger would be today in 2013 had he lived.  Today, he would have been thirty-three years old, and with several accolades to his name, I could see him taking whatever acting roles he wanted.  Before he died, he had also taken an interest in directing, and I probably could have seen him directing a couple of film projects by now.  Unfortunately, the real tragedy in all of this is that we’ll never know how far Heath could have gone.  He truly was a star that shone brighter than most others...and sadly, it also burned out way before it should have.

And, that was our look back on January 22, 2008.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Casablanca...Behind The Scenes


I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m kind of disenchanted with the movie industry as of late.  In fact, the last time that I went to a movie theatre to watch a film was all the way back in the summer of 2010...and it was a movie marketed for children at that!

It’s not that I don’t like going to the movie theatre.  I’ll admit that I do like the experience of going to the movie theatre and watching a film in a giant theatre with a huge screen.  I may have to take out a bank loan just to afford the movie theatre concessions, but I do enjoy the experience.

It’s just a shame that movies these days don’t seem to interest me.

In the last couple of years, we’ve seen sequels, prequels, re-makes, movies inspired by vampire books, movies inspired by board games, and movies that appear to be nothing more than two hour commercials.  It’s a really bleak time for the movie industry, and I’m sorry to say that the movie theatres aren’t getting my money simply because I’m not that thrilled by the current selection of films out there.

Now, if my movie theatre showed films that were released in 1989 and earlier, then maybe I would shell out the dough for the overpriced popcorn and Junior Mints, and enjoy the picture.  I’ve always preferred older movies, and would rather watch a movie from 1973 instead of 2013. 

I think a part of the love that I have for vintage films came from the film studies class that I took when I was in school.  Mind you, I took the class from 2000-2001, but the most recent film in that class that we watched was from 1997 or 1998...and it was a foreign film at that.  The majority of the movies we watched in my film studies class were released between 1930 and 1980, and that suited me just fine.

There’s just something magical about vintage Hollywood productions that I have always found wonderful.  From “The Wizard of Oz” to “Citizen Kane”, from “On The Waterfront” to “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, I would rather watch a marathon of those films instead of watching all of the various “Saw” movies.

But, I’ve always have had a love affair with retro pop culture.

So, why am I telling you this?  Simple.  Today’s Monday Matinee will be focusing on a film that has been critically acclaimed as one of the best films of the 1940s.  It’s music score is memorable, the film lines are quotable, and with huge names like Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman starring in the film, it definitely has the star power of Hollywood’s finest.


Of course, I am talking about the 1942 classic movie “Casablanca”, a film directed by Michael Curtiz, and was based on a unpublished play “Everybody Comes To Rick’s”, written by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison.


When “Casablanca” was filmed, it was filmed on a $964,000 budget, and featured A-list actors, and the best writers that were employable at the time.  Despite this, nobody believed that it would become a huge hit when it had its world premiere on November 26, 1942 in New York City.  Two months later, “Casablanca” was released nationwide, and became a runaway hit.  Now, part of that could have been the timing that the film was released.  After all, it came out smack dab in the middle of World War II, and debuted just shortly after the Allied invasion of Africa in 1942.


The film’s main plot was also set during World War II, where the main character of Rick Blaine (Bogart) is put into a rather precarious position.  He is forced to make a difficult choice...does he choose the love of a woman named Ilsa Lund (Bergman), with whom he shared a previous relationship with?  Or does he put those feelings aside to help Ilsa’s husband escape Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis.

And, guess what?   Because I love this movie so much, I want all of you to go and watch the movie yourselves.  And because I want you to watch this movie, that’s all the plot information that I will be doling out!  No spoilers for you this week!

So, to make up for it, I thought that it would be fun if we did an entire feature on the behind the scenes trivia and secrets associated with “Casablanca”.  There may be some minor spoilers that pop up every now and again, but none will spoil the ending.  This much I promise you.

So, let’s begin with the behind the scenes trivia, shall we?

01 – You might not have realized this, but “Casablanca” was the very first film in which Humphrey Bogart had a romantic lead role.

02 – You know the iconic song that was associated with “Casablanca”?  The title of it was “As Time Goes By”.  Here...why not have a listen to it below?


Well, after shooting wrapped up, there were second thoughts about using it as the theme song for Rick and Ilsa.  Composer Max Steiner in particular wanted to use an original song to qualify for royalties.  But by then, it was too late, as Ingrid Bergman had already signed on to film the movie “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, in which her hair was cut super short!

03 – Hedy Lamarr was briefly considered for the role of Ilsa by producer Hal B. Wallis, but MGM refused to let Lamarr out of her contract.  Besides, at the time she was asked, the screenplay for “Casablanca” was still unfinished, and she didn’t want to make a commitment to a project with an unfinished script.


04 – There’s quite a few bits of interesting trivia regarding the iconic character of Sam (Dooley Wilson).  Did you know that the producers considered casting a female in the part of Sam instead of a man?  The people that they considered bringing onto the project?  Ella Fitzgerald, Hazel Scott, and Lena Horne!


05 – Another interesting fact about Dooley Wilson was that he was not able to play the piano!  As a result, Dooley pretended to play the piano along with the recording of the piano music which was actually played by Elliot Carpenter.  Dooley memorized and mimicked Carpenter’s hand positions almost perfectly.


06 – Paul Henreid (who played Victor Lazlo) was loaned to Warner Brothers by Selznick International Pictures.  Unfortunately, the decision was not one that Henreid would have made if it was up to him.  He was worried that appearing as a secondary character in a film would jeopardize his career as a romantic lead.

07 – Henreid also had less than flattering words to say about the two leads of the movie, stating that Bogart was a mediocre actor, while Bergman shot back that Henreid was nothing more than a “prima donna”.  Ouch.

08 – Only three of the sixteen actors that were cast in “Casablanca” were born in the United States.

09 – The film ended up winning three Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

10 – The movie had a record six movie quotes appear on the American Film Institute’s special “100 Years...100 Movie Quotes”.  Among them...

“Here’s looking at you, kid.”

“Play it, Sam.  Play ‘As Time Goes By’.”

“We’ll always have Paris.”

“Louis...I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

11 – There was one memorable moment behind the scenes that involved director Michael Curtiz.  He had asked a prop man to create a puddle of water on the stage.  Unfortunately, the prop man couldn’t quite understand Curtiz’s Hungarian accent, and came back to the set with a poodle!

12 – Although the film contained several scenes at an airport, due to the film being shot during World War II, the airports were blocked from filming after the sun went down.  As a result, a makeshift soundstage was constructed with a cardboard cutout of an airplane with forced perspective.  Little people were hired specifically for the scene to give the illusion that a full-sized crew were working on the airplane.

13 – When the crew were able to film at an airport, the airport that they chose was Metropolitan Airport (later renamed Van Nuys Airport).

14 – The actors who were playing Nazis were in reality German Jews who had escaped from Nazi Germany.

15 – When Julius and Philip Epstein won the Academy Award for their script, they became the first set of twins to win an Oscar!


16 – The chemistry between Bogart and Bergman was undeniably present.  They certainly did share a spark.  Unfortunately, this also caused Bogart’s then wife Mayo Methot to suspect that Bergman and Bogart were having an affair!  This, of course, was false, but Bergman and Bogart rarely spoke after filming wrapped up.

17 – Ingrid Bergman was actually taller than Bogart.  To help camouflage this, Curtiz tried to have Bogart standing on boxes, or had Bergman slouch down.  Therefore, you may notice that there are height inconsistencies between the two actors throughout the movie.

18 – Only one cast member had visited the city of Casablanca at the time the film was being made...Dooley Wilson.

19 – Believe it or not, despite the big screen stars Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet appearing in the film, a minor character played by S.Z. Sakall had more screen time than either of them!

20 – The letters of transit heavily featured in the movie didn’t actually exist in Vichy-controlled France at the time.  It was purely a device planted by the screenwriters to advance the plot.

21 – When Casablanca won Best Picture, it left a bad taste in Hal B. Wallis’ mouth when Jack L. Warner beat him to the stage to accept it instead.  Wallis never forgave Warner, and he left Warner Brothers shortly after.

22 – Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid don’t make their first appearance in the film until the twenty-four minute mark.

23 – Ingrid Bergman watched “The Maltese Falcon” dozens of times to help her prepare for working alongside Bogart.

24 – The Writers Guild of America named Casablanca’s screenplay the best of all time in 2006.

25 – There was a $100,000 life insurance policy taken out on Bogart in case he died during the production of the film.




26 - Casablanca was colourized and aired on TBS back in the 1980s, but the response to it was overwhelmingly negative.

27 – On December 14, 2012, the piano that Sam “played” in Casablanca sold at auction for $600,000!