Comments on: “Casablanca,” Admiral Darlan, and Rick’s Letters of Transit

By: david mcgrath

david mcgrath — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 19:17:23 +0000

Just been watching Casablanca in U.K. on BBCiplayer in a superb print. To my amazement, in this version Ugarte clearly says the Letters of Transit are signed by de Gaulle! So—it must be an American version! - Are you sure? In Lorre's slur, "Weygand" sound much like "de Gaulle." I suspect we all hear what we think we hear. or want to hear! —RML

By: James W. Muller

James W. Muller — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 06:00:52 +0000

Rick’s Café Americain, which was fictional, has been created by a former American diplomat at a house in Casablanca’s old medina, with decor appropriate to the period. My wife and I had the pleasure of dining there in June and September 2019. Anyone who loves the film will enjoy visiting the cafe, whose piano player includes “As Time Goes By” in his repertoire. Our meals were tasty and the cafe has interesting souvenirs. Advance reservations are advised. The cafe’s website is http://www.rickscafe.ma/.
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Thank-you. Searching DuckDuckGo for we find other apparent replicas in Cape Town, Memphis, and Waukee, Iowa. Perhaps a reader can tell us if these approximate the recreation in Casablanca. —RML

By: James Overmeyer

James Overmeyer — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 02:13:18 +0000

Actually a more prevalent theory is the letters of transit were signed by Maxime Weygand, who joined the Vichy government and in December 1940 was named delegate-general in French North Africa. As I understand it his last name is more or less pronounced “day-gan.” In the movie it is spoken by Peter Lorre who is usually identified as Hungarian although nowadays he would be classified as Slovakian. He spoke English well but with an accent. Since de Gaulle is still well-remembered while Weygand has faded from people’s memories, many assume Lorre is saying "de Gaulle." Subtitles can vary depending on the language. I am not quite sure how well de Gaulle was known in America in 1942 when the film was made. - Thanks very much and I think you are right. I ran this past a French colleague and we both reviewed Peter Lorre's appearance on YouTube. There is no doubt he says the Letters of Transit are signed by "General Weygand," not General de Gaulle, who was then persona non-grata in French North Africa. My French friend says: "No Frenchman would pronounce Weygand (vé-gã) in any way that sounded like 'de Gaulle' or 'Darlan' (except for the final nasal 'an')." It's true that de Gaulle was better known in America than Weygand or Darlan, so for Americans to think Lorre's character said "de Gaulle" would be a natural mistake. I have amended my text accordingly. —RML

By: John Kerber

John Kerber — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 03:01:05 +0000

It didn’t make sense to me that a Letter of Transit signed by General de Gaulle, the leader of the Free French, would have any authority in Vichy controlled Morocco. According to the comments above from Norm Rosenberg, the writers used the name de Gaulle because he was better known by American audiences.

There are a lot of implausible scenes in Casablanca that presumably were written into the movie for cinematic reasons. However, the de Gaulle signature on a Letter of Transit, even a fictional Letter of Transit, to me was one that wasn’t necessary to make the movie work. I think that the name Darlan or any French sounding name would have worked with American audiences at that time.
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Thank-you for your thoughtful observation, which I think is on the money. RML

By: Peter S. Badenoch

Peter S. Badenoch — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 18:18:37 +0000

I am currently reading "The Blast of War -- 1939-1945" one of several volumes of memoirs by Harold Macmillan. Macmillan later was Britain's Prime Minister; for much of his political career he was close to Churchill. At the time of Casablanca, Macmillan was in North Africa as Britain's civilian liaison representative at General Eisenhower's HQ. He worked very closely there with Robert Murphy an American who held a somewhat comparable position representing Washington. A good number of chapters in the book provide a very detailed account of USA and British involvement with Darlan, Giraud and De Gaulle et al, in the long and difficult, but eventually successful, mission to achieve unity among the various French factions. A member or the Macmillan publishing family, at one time engaged in their editing business, Macmillan's writing style is beautifully straightforward. Although he writes from the British point of view, it is apparent that his relationships with Murphy and Eisenhower were amicable and sound, and this book will be found to be an excellent means of understanding the tortuous politics of what went on at the time. = Agree. I have all of his volumes inscribed. RML

By: A.Capet

A.Capet — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 18:13:02 +0000

Ipso facto, de Gaulle could not have signed any official document in Vichy Morocco! Interesting Q & A on IMDb: "What exactly are "letters of transit"? "For the plot of the movie, they're specialized documents that allow the bearer to travel anywhere in the world, including from Nazi-occupied countries. The letters are actually a 'MacGuffin'—a term director Alfred Hitchcock and writer Angus MacPhail coined to describe a plot point that is deliberately left vague so as not to draw too much emphasis away from the real story but still is a driving factor in propelling the story itself. The letters themselves are entirely fictional." = Fun, thanks. True, but what would "Casablanca" be without them? Nor would a Vichy policeman have said, "Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects!" RML P.S. Veuillez regarder la version européenne et indiquer si les lettres sont décrites comme signées par Darlan!