Tag Archives: Casablanca

Miscellaneous

Casablanca: La Marseillaise

The 1942 movie Casablanca has many memorable moments in it. Here is perhaps one of the top memorable moments. The Germans are at Cafe Americain singing Die Wacht am Rhein. It is interesting that the do not sing either Horst Wessel Lied or Deutschland über Alles, as those were the co-national anthems of Nazi Germany. Instead it is Die Wacht am Rhein, a patriotic anthem from the Franco-German War of 1870 which the Germans won. So it is sticking the finger in the eye when used here considering that most of the patrons are French. This angers Victor Laszlo, the Czech resistance leader, to asks the band to play La Marseillaise, the national anthem of France.  A classic moment from a great film. Enjoy.

You can read the French and English words of La Marseillaise here.

Miscellaneous

Casablanca-As Time Goes By

Friday is here and time for a musical interlude to welcome the weekend. Casablanca (1942) is one of the top 10 American movies of all time. It had great acting, a compelling story line, and some great music such as As Time Goes By sung by Dooley Wilson. Most of those involved in the movie thought it would be rather ordinary run of the mill movie that would likely be forgotten in a year of so. But world events, namely the invasion of North Africa in 1942 by the Allies propelled this movie into the realm of great movies. If you have not seen it, you should.