Casablanca's Last Survivor Has Passed Away

[Watchdog]

Madeleine LeBeau...the French beauty who played Humphrey Bogart's jilted mistress in Casablanca and who got teary eyed when La Marseillaise was played, has passed away at the age of 92. She was the last living cast member of the film.

Strangely enough, her real life adventures echoed the film's theme of refugees who fled Nazi-occupied France during WWII. There was more to her than met the eye.

 

[old bear]

Jim, thanks for the info. and the photos. Good to see ya back

 

[Rustyt1953]

That's sad to hear. She, indeed, was a lovely woman.

I have Casablanca on DVD and Ruthie and I watch it often.

A tale well told.

 

[Rustyt1953]

 

[DWalt]

Casablanca is one of those rare movies you can watch repeatedly and still enjoy it each time, even though you know exactly what will happen in every scene. The (original) Godfather is another. There are not a great many of them. I didn't know the girl's real name was Madeleine LeBeau, but she must have been only 18 or so when Casablanca was filmed. She looks older.

 

[Will Carry]

May she rest in peace.

 

[Targets Guy]

Indeed, RIP. She had quite a time getting to this country.

 

[Targets Guy]

Casablanca is one of those rare movies you can watch repeatedly and still enjoy it each time, even though you know exactly what will happen in every scene. The (original) Godfather is another. There are not a great many of them. I didn't know the girl's real name was Madeleine LeBeau, but she must have been only 18 or so when Casablanca was filmed. She looks older.

Agree. "Unfinished Life" does it for us.

 

[les.b]

Wow. Thanks for sharing. One of the classic movies. Many folks rate it the best movie ever made. Certainly everyone should own a copy at least on DVD, but better yet on bluray. Due to a discussion on another thread, I'm getting ready to watch "The Maltese Falcon", and had it laid out along with "The Big Sleep". Might as well drag out "Casablanca", and make it a Bogart weekend.

 

[DWalt]

The problem with The Maltese Falcon is that the plot is so convoluted and confusing you cannot really understand what's happening. Best to forget trying to make sense of the plot and focus on the performances of the cast. I never liked The Big Sleep that much, but it's OK for Bogart fans. My personal opinion is that Bogart's finest role was as Fred C. Dobbs in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (on most film critics' lists as one of the top ten movies ever made), followed by The Caine Mutiny.

 

[les.b]

Well, DWalt, the "Treasure" surely is a treasure. A great film, and one that I also own. "The Caine Mutiny" is a great story. I read the book before I saw the movie, and of course that always skews the way one perceives the film, but it was excellent. I am on a kick right now watching old films, particularly those that are loosely termed "Film Noir", I have a pretty extensive collection of both DVDs and blurays, but have started watching a few on the iPad. I can take it with me, and watch as I have time.

 

[DWalt]

Bogart was fortunate in several ways. First, his early work was on the Broadway stage. That gave him a real advantage when talking movies appeared on the scene in the late 1920s. Most silent movie actors could not emote on screen - Bogart could. Second, Bogart got many of his early pivotal leading roles (most notably in "High Sierra," "The Maltese Falcon," and "Casablanca") by default simply because other famous leading men turned them down first, and Bogart won them.

 

[Watchdog]

I am on a kick right now watching old films, particularly those that are loosely termed "Film Noir", I have a pretty extensive collection of both DVDs and blurays, but have started watching a few on the iPad. I can take it with me, and watch as I have time.

You can lose yourself for nights on end watching the noir classics and positively drown in them when you start getting into the more obscure ones. I caught the noir bug when I was just a kid. It's always been interesting to me (I sort of studied different classic film genres back in the eighties and early nineties) that so many films that were filmed as back lot grade B potboilers are now seen as noir classics and cult films with devoted followings. Edgar Ulmer's Detour comes readily to mind, followed closely by his totally insane and non sequitur film version of Poe's The Black Cat starring Karloff and Lugosi. The musical score that plays nonstop throughout The Black Cat has you wanting to kill Karloff and Lugosi long before they die in the film, itself.

If you can find a copy of it, there's a little book published in 1988 titled The Devil Thumbs a Ride & Other Unforgettable Films. It's a collection of essays/critiques of older and more current noir-style films. The essays are short...the book is a quick read.

 

[les.b]

WATCHDOG: When I was about 13 or 14, I watched "The Third Man" on TV, late at night, and have never been the same since. Although it is more Intrigue than Nior, the photo angles, stark B&W photography and other noirish elements hooked me for life. Of course I have it on DVD now, and I still watch it now and then. Just finished Charlton Heston's first movie, "Dark City", it is great, and if you're on Amazon prime, free. They have a lot of noir there.

Apologies for thread drift.

 

[Targets Guy]

Well, DWalt, the "Treasure" surely is a treasure. A great film, and one that I also own. "The Caine Mutiny" is a great story. I read the book before I saw the movie, and of course that always skews the way one perceives the film, but it was excellent. I am on a kick right now watching old films, particularly those that are loosely termed "Film Noir", I have a pretty extensive collection of both DVDs and blurays, but have started watching a few on the iPad. I can take it with me, and watch as I have time.

Agree with you on "The Caine Mutiny". If you are watching old films and haven't seen them yet - "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "Gentlemen's Agreement" are worth your time.

 

[DWalt]

Agree with you on "The Caine Mutiny". If you are watching old films and haven't seen them yet - "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "Gentlemen's Agreement" are worth your time.

"Best Years of our Lives" is one of my favorites - it captures the essence of the early postwar era in America perfectly. And the musical score is fabulous. I always had a thing for Virginia Mayo. Don't miss her with Burt Lancaster and Chuck Connors in "South Sea Woman," one of the best of the Comedy-War genre.

 

[max]

Casablanca is indeed a great movie and she did a fine job. Did you know that in the final scenes when the plane was getting ready to take off, the "plane" was a small model and the crew working on it were midgets?

 

[DWalt]

Casablanca is indeed a great movie and she did a fine job. Did you know that in the final scenes when the plane was getting ready to take off, the "plane" was a small model and the crew working on it were midgets?

Casablanca's final scenes in the hangar were the only ones not shot on a sound stage (which used mainly recycled sets from other movies) - they were done on location at some small airport in the LA area. In "The Maltese Falcon" most scenes were shot in Sam Spade's office. Must have been cheap movies to shoot.

 

[model70hunter]

One evening we were into popcorn and the tube, well 500 channels and nuttin on.

Gable and Colbert in
It happened one night was just starting, I arm wrestled and won as Mrs M 70 usually does not like old movies. She liked it and was impressed. 2 years later I'm trying to get her to watch #2. Yeah, I'm telling ya that some Dames are just hard to train. Bogy or Cagney or someone else, not my quote....

 

[mtgianni]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZWCSEoBpCw[/ame]
I prefer knock on wood to as time goes by from that great movie. RIP Madeliene