Casablanca Page #8

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CUT TO:

EXT. RICK'S CAFE - NIGHT

Ilsa and Laszlo leave the cafe.

LASZLO:

A very puzzling fellow, this Rick.

What sort is he?

Ilsa doesn't look at him.

ILSA:

Oh, I really can't say, though I saw

him quite often in Paris.

They join Renault at the curb.

RENAULT:

Tomorrow at ten at the Prefect ' s

office .

LASZLO:

We ' 11 be there .

RENAULT:

49.

Goodnight .

ILSA:

Goodnight .

LASZLO:

Goodnight .

They get into a waiting cab, leaving Renault on the curb,

smoking and looking bemused.

The neon sign goes off and the doorway is now illuminated

by the revolving beacon from the airport.

CUT TO:

INT. RICK'S CAFE - MAIN ROOM - NIGHT

The customers have all gone. The house lights are out.

Rick sits alone at a table. There is a glass of bourbon

on the table directly in front of him, and another empty

glass on the table before an empty chair. Near at hand is

a bottle.

He fills his glass and drinks it quickly.

Rick just sits. His face is entirely expressionless. The

beacon light from the airport sweeps around the room

creating a mood of unreality.

Sam comes in and stands hesitantly beside Rick.

SAM:

Boss .

No answer, as Rick drinks.

SAM:

Boss !

RICK:

Yeah?

SAM:

Boss, ain't you going to bed?

RICK:

Not right now.

Sam now realizes Rick is in a very grim mood.

SAM:

(lightly)

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Ain't you planning on going to bed

in the near future?

RICK:

No.

SAM:

You ever going to bed?

RICK:

No.

SAM:

Well, I ain't sleepy either.

RICK:

Good. Then have a drink.

SAM:

No. Not me, boss.

RICK:

Then don't have a drink.

SAM:

Boss, let's get out of here.

RICK:

(emphatically)

No, sir. I'm waiting for a lady.

SAM:

(earnestly)

Please, boss, let's go. Ain't

nothing but trouble for you here.

RICK:

She's coming back. I know she's

coming back.

SAM:

We'll take the car and drive all

night. We'll get drunk. We'll go

fishing and stay away until she's

gone .

RICK:

Shut up and go home, will you?

SAM:

(stubbornly)

No, sir. I'm staying right here.

Sam sits down at the piano and starts to play softly,

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improvising .

RICK:

They grab Ugarte and she walks in.

Well, that's the way it goes. One

in, one out. Sam?

SAM:

Yeah, boss?

RICK:

Sam, if it's December 1941 in

Casablanca, what time is it in New

York?

SAM:

Uh, my watch stopped.

RICK:

I bet they're asleep in New York.

I'll bet they're asleep all over

America .

Suddenly he pounds the table and buries his head in his

arms. Then he raises his head, trying to regain control.

RICK:

Of all the gin joints in all the

towns in all the world, she walks

into mine.

He holds his head in his hands.

RICK:

What's that you're playing?

SAM:

Just a little something of my own.

RICK:

Well, stop it. You know what I want

to hear.

SAM:

No, I don't.

RICK:

You played it for her and you can

play it for me.

SAM:

Well, I don't think I can remember it.

RICK:

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If she can stand it, I can. Play it!

SAM:

Yes, boss.

Sam starts to play "As Time Goes By."

Rick just stares ahead as orchestra MUSIC slowly joins Sam's

playing.

DISSOLVE TO:

MONTAGE - PARIS IN THE SPRING

A) The Arc de Triomphe from a distance.

B) Rick drives a small, open car slowly along the boulevard.

He puts his arm around Ilsa. The background scenery

changes to a country road as she snuggles close to him

and puts her head on his shoulder.

C) An excursion boat on the Seine. Rick and Ilsa stand at

the rail of the boat. They seem to be transported by

each other as Ilsa laughs.

CUT TO:

INT. RICK'S PARIS APARTMENT - DAY

Ilsa fixes flowers at the window while Rick opens champagne.

She walks over and joins him.

RICK:

Who are you really? And what were

you before? What did you do and

what did you think? Huh?

ILSA:

We said "no questions."

RICK:

Here's looking at you, kid.

They drink.

INT. PARIS CAFE - NIGHT

CUT TO:

Inside a swank Paris cafe, Rick and Ilsa dance. They

appear to be very much in love as the MUSIC plays.

CUT TO:

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INT. ILSA'S PARIS APARTMENT - DAY

Ilsa flips a coin, then tosses it over to Rick.

ILSA:

A franc for your thoughts.

RICK:

In America they'd bring only a

penny. I guess that's about all

they're worth.

ILSA:

I'm willing to be overcharged.

Tell me.

RICK:

And I was wondering.

ILSA:

Yes?

RICK:

Why I'm so lucky. Why I should find

you waiting for me to come along.

ILSA:

Why there is no other man in my

life?

RICK:

Uh huh.

ILSA:

That's easy. There was. He's dead.

RICK:

I'm sorry for asking. I forgot we

said "no questions."

ILSA:

Well, only one answer can take care

of all our questions.

They kiss passionately.

CUT TO:

MONTAGE - NEWSREEL FOOTAGE OF THE GERMAN OCCUPATION OF FRANCE.

A) The rubble of a burned-out, demolished building. A sign

with an arrow points to Paris.

B) German troops crossing a river.

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C) Tanks rolling down the road toward Paris.

D) German war planes overhead.

CUT TO:

EXT. PARIS CAFE - DAY

A man sells newspapers to people crowded around him. There

is much excitement. Rick and Ilsa sit at a table. They buy

a newspaper and begin to read it.

Nearby, a group of frightened French people cluster around a

loudspeaker on a wagon. A harsh voice barks out the tragic

news of the Nazi push toward Paris.

RICK:

Nothing can stop them now.

Wednesday, Thursday at the latest,

they'll be in Paris.

ILSA:

(frightened)

Richard, they'll find out your

record. It won't be safe for you

here .

RICK:

I'm on their blacklist already,

their roll of honor.

CUT TO:

INT. LA BELLE AURORE - AFTERNOON

A small cafe in the Montmartre. A shadow on the floor

reflects the cafe sign "La Belle Aurore."

Rick, at the bar, gets glasses and a bottle of champagne.

He walks over to Ilsa and Sam at the piano.

Sam plays "As Time Goes By."

Ilsa seems unnerved. There is evidently something on her

mind.

Rick pours the champagne. His manner is wry, but not the

bitter wryness we have seen in Casablanca.

RICK:

Henri wants us to finish this bottle

and then three more. He says he'll

water his garden with champagne

before he'll let the Germans drink

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any of it.

Sam looks at his glass.

SAM:

This sort of takes the sting out of

being occupied, doesn't it, Mr.

Richard?

RICK:

You said it !

(to Ilsa)

Here's looking at you, kid.

Suddenly a loudspeaker BLARES out something in German. Rick

and Ilsa look at each other, then hurry to the window.

RICK:

My German's a little rusty.

ILSA:

It's the Gestapo. They say they

expect to be in Paris tomorrow.

They are telling us how to act when

they come marching in.

She smiles faintly.

ILSA:

With the whole world crumbling, we

pick this time to fall in love.

RICK:

Yeah. It's pretty bad timing.

Where were you, say, ten years ago?

ILSA:

Ten years ago? Let's see...

(pause as she thinks a bit)

...Yes. I was having a brace put on my

teeth. Where were you?

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