Casablanca As A Melodrama

Michael Curtiz's Casablanca is a perfect example of a melodrama in classical Hollywood cinema. A melodrama is a film characterized by its emotional storyline usually involving the struggles of a particular romance. It uses music to punctuate feelings and provoke emotions. In Casablanca the impossible relationship between Ilsa Lund and Rick Blaine is what drives the story. Ilsa was Rick's former love. When they meet again in the movie, they fall for each other while knowingly in the midst of complications, the largest of which being Ilsa's marriage to Laszlo.

The recurring melody of "As Time Goes By" represents the love between Ilsa and Rick because it is reminiscent of the previous times they had together without the current complications. The tune reappears in places through the movie as the pianist Sam plays it.

Another aspect of Casablanca that is characteristic of the melodrama is the recurring theme of fate. Because of World War II and Laszlo's participation as a resistance leader, Ilsa and Laszlo were in Casablanca trying to escape to America. Had the political situation of the war not been a factor, the characters would have never met. In one scene Rick reflects on the role of fate in the situation saying, "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine."

Hill, John and Pamela Church Gibson. The Oxford Guide to Film Studies. New York: Oxford University Press,1998. Print.