美国国家公共电台 NPR After 75 Years, Here's Looking At You, 'Casablanca'

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Here in Southern California, Oscars night is almost here. And a beloved, Oscar-winning classic nears 75 years since its premiere. "Casablanca," the World War II romance about the fight for love and glory, brought glory to Warner Bros. and stardom to its leading actors. NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg toured the Burbank, Calif., studio where the magic was made.

JOHN KOUROUNIS: And we are off. Is this anybody's first time to Warner Bros. Studio?

SUSAN STAMBERG, BYLINE²: Tour guide John Kourounis drives us along streets lined with facades³, banks, apartment buildings, the coffee shop where Emma Stone works in "La La Land." On one corner, a tan, nothing-special building.

KOUROUNIS: As far as we know, that is the last remaining exterior⁴ set from "Casablanca."

STAMBERG: On this corner, Rick Blaine - that's Humphrey Bogart - and Ilsa Lund - Ingrid Bergman - learned the Germans were approaching Paris. That was after we'd seen them spooning over champagne⁵ in Rick's apartment.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CASABLANCA")

HUMPHREY BOGART: (As Rick Blaine) Here's looking at you, kid.

KOUROUNIS: And now we approach Stage 7. Our nickname for it is Lucky 7 - the reason being our first three Academy Award winners for the best picture were shot in here.

STAMBERG: "The Life Of Emile Zola," "My Fair Lady" and "Casablanca," plus 10 best picture nominees⁶ were made on Warner's Soundstage 7. Better go in.

Well, this is the hallowed ground.

ALJEAN HARMETZ: This is where Rick's Cafe was, right here on Stage 7.

STAMBERG: Bogey's big bar restaurant casino, with Sam at the piano, taking requests.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CASABLANCA")

INGRID BERGMAN: (As Ilsa Lund) Play it, Sam. Play "As Time Goes By."

DOOLEY WILSON: (As Sam, singing) You must remember this. A kiss is just a kiss. A sigh is just a sigh.

STAMBERG: The trace of romance remembered, the unexpected re-encounter, the desperate search for letters of transit⁷ to get to the West, out of Nazi⁸-controlled French Morocco and safe from Hitler. The idealism, nobility, sacrifice, patriotism⁹ - it all happened on Stage 7.

HARMETZ: Looks like a warehouse¹⁰.

STAMBERG: Aljean Harmetz wrote "Round Up The Usual Suspects: The Making Of Casablanca." Published in 1992, it's still the definitive¹¹ book on the movie made on 7.

HARMETZ: With a rickety staircase going up to the top, where they could put the cameras.

STAMBERG: It's big, about a quarter of a football field. Not a hint of romance - just a crew getting ready to shoot a TV commercial. Most but not all of "Casablanca" was made on 7. Since most of the story takes place in Rick's Cafe, that $76,000 set remained in 7 throughout the filming. Other scenes had to be done on different soundstages. And because of World War II and the sighting of a Japanese submarine off the coast of California, in 1942, "Casablanca" was mostly shot indoors.

HARMETZ: Because people were terrified that the Japanese might attack the mainland.

STAMBERG: So no location shooting, no nighttime shooting, no car chases. Shortages meant no movie-making basics, rubber, aluminum¹².

HARMETZ: Costumes had to be made differently. You couldn't have nylons any longer. Bergman couldn't wear silk. She had to wear cotton. A lot of what Hollywood took for granted, particularly the luxurious¹³ things that dressed its female stars, didn't exist during the war years.

STAMBERG: And the war affected¹⁴ casting. Paul Henreid, who plays resistance fighter Victor Laszlo, was Austrian. Half the small and medium roles were played by war refugees. Ironic¹⁵, says Aljean Harmetz.

HARMETZ: All of these refugees from Nazi Europe found a lot of roles for the next four years playing Nazis¹⁶ in the movies.

STAMBERG: Ingrid Bergman was also from somewhere else, Sweden. She'd made a few films there, some here.

HARMETZ: This is the movie that made her an American star.

STAMBERG: Native New Yorker Humphrey Bogart had been a gangster¹⁷ in several Warner films. Now he was playing a cynic unwilling¹⁸ to get involved in a wretched war, still missing his lost love. Bogart was not crazy about the part.

HARMETZ: He thought his character was too full of self-pity.

STAMBERG: The actor was tough, also short. He had to stand on a box for his scenes with tall Ms. Bergman - also a loner, an avid¹ drinker and unhappily married to his wife before Lauren Bacall.

HARMETZ: She drank an immense amount, and she threw things a lot.

STAMBERG: And despite all that, "Casablanca" made Bogart a romantic lead and a huge star.

HARMETZ: After the movie was made, suddenly, everyone thought that Bogart had sex appeal. And he told Lauren Bacall, I did nothing in "Casablanca" that I hadn't done in 30 other movies. And, suddenly, they say I have sex appeal. Well, when Ingrid Bergman looks at you, you have sex appeal.

STAMBERG: The script of "Casablanca" was by Julius and Philip Epstein and Howard Koch. And Aljean Harmetz writes it went through many changes and revisions. For ages, the ending wasn't known. Bergman said while shooting was underway, she asked director Michael Curtiz and the writers which man she goes away with, her one-time Paris lover, Rick Blaine, or the noble freedom fighter, Victor Laszlo. Bergman was told they'd let her know as soon as they knew. The decision was revealed in an airport scene as the couple leaves "Casablanca." Because they couldn't shoot outdoors, Hollywood magic saved the day. Craftsmen¹⁹ built a plane with plywood, a very small plane.

HARMETZ: And in order to make it look real, they hired very small men to act as mechanics so that, from the distance, it looked like a real airplane. And in order to disguise the cutout even more, they poured fog into the scene.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CASABLANCA")

STAMBERG: And into that foggy darkness, after the plane takes off, the final words of the film are spoken - this time, the work of another author, producer Hal Wallis, who came up with the line two weeks after production was over.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "CASABLANCA")

BOGART: (As Rick Blaine) Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

STAMBERG: The end of a beautiful Oscar-winning best film made mostly on Warner Bros. Lucky Soundstage 7 in 1942 and just as powerful and moving and romantic 75 years later. Near Hollywood, I'm Susan Stamberg, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MAX STEINER'S "AIRPORT FINALE")

1 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 facades   

n.（房屋的）正面( facade的名词复数 )；假象，外观

参考例句：

• Terraces of asphalt are placed by the building's south and west facades. 沥青露台位于建筑的南面和西面。 来自互联网
• Preserving historic buildings or keeping only their facades (or fronts) grew common. 保存历史建筑或是保持它们普通的正面增长。 来自互联网

4 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

5 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

6 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

7 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

8 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

9 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

10 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

11 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

12 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

13 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

15 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

16 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 gangster   

n.匪徒，歹徒，暴徒

参考例句：

• The gangster's friends bought off the police witness.那匪徒的朋友买通了警察方面的证人。
• He is obviously a gangster,but he pretends to be a saint.分明是强盗，却要装圣贤。

18 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

19 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。