31-03-2025
How real-life Rick's Café resurrects Casablanca's legacy as a waystation for Americans
I arrived in Casablanca a couple of weeks ago, toward the end of a month-long trip through West and North Africa, fulfilling a dream of visiting a city whose name had evoked images of romance and intrigue ever since I was a boy.
My first question was, 'Where is Rick's Café Américain?'
That's the name of the iconic gin joint immortalized by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in the classic 1942 film 'Casablanca.'
'Casablanca' tells the story of American cafe owner Rick (Humphrey Bogart). His old flame Ilse (Ingrid Bergman) appears in Vichy-controlled Casablanca with her Czech-resistance leader husband seeking letters of transit to escape the Nazis. Rick must decide what to do.
Despite the sweeping allure of its title, most of the main action takes place inside this bar, which quickly carved itself a prominent place in 1940s pop culture. Rick's offered a window to the world, providing viewers (but especially Americans) a glimpse of the effects of Nazi occupation.
I should have known better, I guess, but I was still astonished to learn that Rick's (for the most part) was a figment of Hollywood imagination.
For more than 60 years, tourists and film buffs visiting Casablanca tried to find Rick's Café, only to learn that Warner Bros. had built the entire set on a studio backlot. The smoky, intrigue-filled nightclub was a Hollywood fantasy ‒ until former diplomat Kathy Kriger came along and decided after 9/11 to bring the imaginary bar to life.
Her version of Rick's Café opened in 2004 to rave reviews, and that's the tale I am sharing in this column.
The Pearl Harbor attack had happened less than a year previously. American ground troops had not yet engaged Axis forces in the European Theater when 'Casablanca' began filming in May 1942.
American emotions were still raw, and the politics of Western Europe had become especially confusing since the fall of France.
In 1942, Casablanca was a waypoint for European refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. From Casablanca, they could seek passage to Portugal and then on to the Americas. To travel, they needed papers, and it was at places like Rick's where many such documents, both real and forged, changed hands.
The screenplay is based on 'Everybody Comes to Rick's," an unproduced stage play by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison.
The writers visited a small town in southern France. At a nightclub, a Black pianist played jazz for a crowd of French and Nazis patrons and many refugees. That real bar became the inspiration for Rick's.
Editor Irene Diamond convinced Warner Bros. to purchase the film rights in January 1942. She sensed the message would resonate with a post-Pearl Harbor movie audience. Principal photography began on May 25, 1942, and ended Aug. 3. Producers had to contend with wartime rationing; Ingrid Bergman's clothes had no metal fastenings and were fashioned from extraneous scraps of silk.
As they say, timing is everything.
The Allied invasion of North Africa began the second week of November in 1942, and Gen. George Patton captured Casablanca on Nov. 11.
Warner Bros. had planned to release "Casablanca" in 1943 but moved up the premiere date to ride the wave of current events. The film premiered at New York's Hollywood Theater on Nov. 26, 1942.
The nationwide release of "Casablanca" in January 1943 coincided spectacularly with the announcement that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was meeting with Winston Churchill in Casablanca from Jan. 14 to 24, demanding 'unconditional surrender' from the Axis powers. Locally, the movie opened at the Majestic Theater in Providence on Jan. 26.
On the same day, my father landed at Oran, in neighboring Algeria, with the second wave of Allied troops participating in the North African invasion. Dad never made it to Casablanca, and I'm not sure when he and my mom first saw the movie. As a boy growing up, however, I knew it was one of their favorite films.
On Jan. 27, Bradford Swan, The Journal-Bulletin's famed art and movie critic of a generation ago, penned the following: 'Casablanca is a distinguished photo play. It has a highly capable cast, excellent direction and a story that is refreshingly original. … Casablanca is something choice, highly recommended.'
The movie was held over at the Majestic, and the U.S. Navy band played as part of the daily show.
For months afterward, "Casablanca" could still be seen at second-run houses all over the state.
When Academy Award nominations were announced in February 1944, 'Casablanca' was still showing at the Avon in Providence. Its reputation has only grown over time. In 2005, the American Film Institute polled the industry to come up with a list of the best 100 movie lines of all time. Six of them came from "Casablanca," double the number from any other movie.
The current-day and real-life Rick's Café Casablanca was developed by Kathy Kriger (1946-2018), a diplomat posted to the U.S. Consulate in Casablanca in 1998. She worked there for the next 13 years as a commercial attaché.
When she arrived, she was surprised to learn (as had many thousands before her) that there was no real-life Rick's Café. She sensed a missed marketing opportunity and tucked that seed away for the future.
The 9/11 attacks caused her to reassess her life. She wrote in her autobiography, 'I decided to leave the government, stay in Morocco and do something that demonstrated true American values. Developing a Rick's Café in Casablanca seemed like a perfect way to do this.
"I thought Casablanca was missing a big bet by not having a Rick's," said Kriger.
She cashed in her 401(k) and invested her savings in the purchase of a 1930s mansion that had seen better days.
But the waterfront location was perfect, and the interior architecture was sound and representative of the era. When money ran out, she solicited investors from all over the world.
Kriger set an opening date for Rick's Café: March 1, 2004, "after 62 years of renovation."
Our Moroccan contact wangled us a table for four at Rick's, which is usually sold out for dinner. Two palm trees flank an impressive entrance, featuring heavy wooden doors like those in the film.
This gem of 1942 authenticity boasts columned white arches framing the main dining room under a three-story domed skylight. Hanging brass chandeliers cast a soft light on the palm trees in the corners. Round tables feature white tablecloths, brass lamps with beaded shades, and dinnerware discreetly and elegantly marked 'Rick's Cafe.'
Of course, there is an authentic 1930s piano tucked under an archway, where the reincarnation of Sam plays it 'once more for old time's sake.'
To our pleasure, the food and wine were excellent, capably served by waiters in white dinner jackets and red fezes.
Prepared for a kitschy disappointment, we were impressed instead. This is an authentic time machine, not a tourist trap. Even more important, I was reminded that the tinderbox of 1942 was not necessarily a one-off experience.
Wherever I went, I sensed concern and fear ‒ perhaps similar to the stresses affecting those who visited the Rick's Cafés of the world more than 80 years ago, trying to escape the unchecked power of Adolf Hitler.
At every turn, worried faces asked in halting English, 'What is happening in America?' These were poor people, trying to eke out a living ‒ not the wealthy elite. World events did not normally affect the lives of these fishermen, vegetable sellers and craftsmen. But they were all aware of America's internal conflicts.
Yes, it was self-serving ‒ many depended on American largesse for support with basic necessities. But that's human nature, is it not?
Stepping from that world into Rick's brought me full circle. Perhaps we need another 'Casablanca' to shake things up today, the way the original film did in 1942.
The original play, 'Everybody Comes to Rick's,' was not produced for the stage until after the war.
In August 1946 the Casino Theatre in Newport did just that. Performances ran for a week, and at the time the Casino announced this was a stage adaption of the popular movie. The opposite was actually true.
RI's role in the Civil War to be highlighted at April 5 event.
From 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, the Varnum Armory Museum in North Kingstown will host Civil War historians and buffs marking the 160th year since the end of the conflict, as well as the major role played by our state.
Rhode Island sent some 25,000 men to fight, of whom 1,685 never returned. R.I. units included eight infantry regiments, three cavalry regiments and 14 artillery elements.
The program, organized by the Rhode Island Commandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion, starts with tours of the Varnum's fabulous military collection, to include cannon from Bull Run and Gettysburg. The principal speaker will be Frank J. Williams, retired chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and one of the country's top experts on Abraham Lincoln. The Providence Brigade Band will play Civil War period music. Admission is free and dress is casual. For more information, email Dennis Morgan at dmorganltc1@
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Where is the real-life Rick's Café in Casablanca?
