Best Casablanca Quotes
Thursday, July 26, 2018 at 5:38PM Tomorrow is your last day to vote on the Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1943. Casablanca wasn't nominated in that category but it took the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. In addition to being economically constructed -- those 102 minutes fly by every time (in fact, it's the 8th shortest Best Picture winner ever) -- it's got generous helpings of contenders for 'best line ever'. So I asked this month's panel to share their favorite line or exchange from that immortal classic.
Here's what we all chose...
Kieran Scarlett: "I'm a drunkard." -Rick Blaine's (Bogart) response to the question "What's your nationality?"
Kristen Lopez: "We haven't quite decided yet whether he committed suicide or died trying to escape"
Rebecca Pahle: "I came to Casablanca for the waters." "The waters? What waters? We're in the desert." "I was misinformed."
Nathaniel R: It's a toss up between "we'll be there at 6" / "I'll be there at 10" or "As I suspected you're a rank sentimentalist." Claude Rains is magnificent in this movie. Somehow he didn't win the Oscar... and never won!
Yaseen Ali: “Are you sure this place is honest?” a disgruntled gambler asks Carl about a game of roulette. (Partly because I aspire to wear a monocle while lodging complaints, but mostly because he reminds me of The Yes Man from The Simpsons.)
What are your favorite lines from Casablanca?
Reader Comments (15)
Nathaniel, you chose my favourite line!: "We'll be there at 6." "I'll be there at 10."
Closely followed by:
Rick: "And remember, this gun is pointed right at your heart."
Louis: "That is my least vulnerable spot."
The panellists' choices are all fantastic too.
One of the most quotable movies, and one of my favourite - and not just for the dialogue but for every aspect of it!
Ugarte: You despise me don't you?
Rick Blaine: Well if I gave you any thought I probably would.
It's not my favorite, but I love it because Don Draper recycled it against Ginsberg in an elevator scene. Jesus, I miss Mad Men.
I'm torn between:
“I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on here!” “…Your winnings, sir.” “Oh, thank you very much!”
and
"I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray, you wore blue.”
It's gotta be Rains's reading of "I am shocked, SHOCKED to find that GAMBLING is going on in here!"
Although "here's lookin' at you, kid" runs a close second.
"Your winnings, sir."
@Joel6- "Yes. I put that dress away. When the Germans march out, I'll wear it again"
Casablanca just might be the most quotable film of all time, ahead of even Wizard of Oz and All About Eve.
So let me throw in a particular favorite of mine: "This place is full of vultures, vultures everywhere."
Said in a heavy German accent by a wonderful bit character (played by Curt Bois, one of the most respected German actors of all time) while pickpocketing the person he is talking to.
I was planning a reworking of Casablanca in space, but then I had to give a momentaneous break in my career. I did not abandon the idea. Casablanca has more characters than Robert Altman ever dreamed to put in a movie or even in a single scene.
My quote is from Cap. Renault. (Yes, Claude Rains should have won. But not this year. The winner, Charles Coburn/The More The Merrier is one of my favorites of all times, actors and winners.)
"Ricky, I'm gonna miss you. Apparently, you're the only one in Casablanca who has ever less scruples than I."
Fixing...
"Ricky, I'm gonna miss you. Apparently, you're the only one in Casablanca who has even less scruples than I."
Fixed. Sorry. You can't missquote a Masterpiece.
"Misquote", not "Missquote". Sorry. My last days, as everyone should know, have been terrible.
Yes the Claude Rains quote is wonderful, but I will go with Ingrid Bergman:
"Play it Sam, play "As Time Goes By"
Second Choice: "All right, I will. Here's looking at you, kid."
So many great lines. One of my faves, if not my absolute fave:
Ilsa: Who is Rick?
Captain Renault: Mamoiselle, you are in Rick's! And Rick is...
Ilsa: Who is he?
Captain Renault: Well, Rick is the kind of man that... well, if I were a woman, and I were not around, I should be in love with Rick.
(It's that "and I were not around" that's the killer. Just hilarious and perfect.)
James -- hugs!
Mr W -- ooh vultures everywhere is a great one.
Rains is so good here. I can't decide between this or Mr. Skeffington as to which is his greatest.
NATHANIEL - Thanks. Get a cup of coffee. Cheers.