Moved from Humphrey Bogart entry:
Here was a role that allowed himself to play a more romantic version of himself. Richard Blaine, like Bogart, was a gentleman from New York, who could not return to New York. Bogart in Hollywood was surrounded by cut-throat studio heads, chiseling agents, fawning studio yes men, admiring fans. Richard Blaine, in Casablanca, was surrounded by a cut-throat businessman, (Senor Ferrari, owner of the rival cafe, The Blue Parrot) petty crooks (Ugarte, who stole the letters of transit) fawning yes men and admiring women in his cafe
With a superb cast around him that included [Ingrid Bergman]?, [Claude Rains]? and [Peter Lorre]?, Bogart's work was not wasted. Casablanca is ranked by many the greatest Hollywood movie ever, and Bogart is at its center.
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