From the mail - SOUNDS FAMILIAR by Baby A. Gil

Pat M. Bael of Butuan City wants to find out more about the film Casablanca. Several issues ago you wrote about the highly-acclaimed 1941 movie Casablanca and I’ve clipped your article. I’ve longed for the chance to watch the movie and was so curious. Fortunately a friend abroad sent me a tape last Christmas. Now I know why the movie spawned so many glowing commentaries, why Bogart and Bergman still enthrall movie buffs, why Bogart is associated with Casablanca just as Clark Gable is associated with Gone with the Wind. The marvelous performances of the stars made the immortal movie too short.

In the Jan. 1990 issue of Reader’s Digest, Maurice Zolotov wrote: ‘When I first saw Casablanca, I held my young wife’s hand and we both sobbed, full of tenderness for each other and for Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. Since then I have seen the film dozens of times...’ STAR columnist Teddy Benigno tells us he watched Casablanca five times.

Bergman was born on Aug. 29, 1915. Is it true that she died on her 67th birthday? If the movie was produced in 1941, when was it first shown in the Philippines and in which theater? Were there sequels? Or will there be another quality film like Casablanca?

Casablanca is considered one of the most memorable films of Hollywood’s golden age. It is actually a formula movie with a handsome daredevil hero, Humphrey Bogart, a beautiful, mysterious heroine, Ingrid Bergman, evil villains, a heartbreaking love story in a war setting and most of all an immortal theme song with As Times Goes By.

Directed by Michael Curtiz, it was shown in 1942. The movie failed to win at the Academy Awards but is usually ranked in the top slots in lists of the greatest American films ever made. I do not know when it was shown in the Philippines or in what theater. You must understand that this was during the war when the country was occupied by the Japanese. In all probability, Casablanca opened in local theaters sometime in 1945 or 1946.

Were there sequels? As in the case of Gone with the Wind, there have been several attempts to do a sequel. I read somewhere that there was a script titled Brazabille. I do not know if it was ever filmed. I think it best that Casablanca remains as it is, untouched with a sequel or a remake. Where can they find stars who can stand comparison against Bogart and Bergman or even Peter Lorre, let alone another As Time Goes By? That’s a tough order.

Yes, Ingrid Bergman died of cancer on Aug. 29, 1982. It was her 67th birthday. As for other quality films, there are so many as well-made and as unforgettable as Casablanca. Why don’t you check out Citizen Kane or Gone with the Wind, which come from the same period? I guarantee, you’ll be astounded.

This one comes from Mr. Jaime Daroy of Makati City: As a huge admirer, okay, die-hard fan of the fantastic Dionne Warwick, I truly appreciate what you write about her. It’s true most young people today haven’t really heard of her. Perhaps if they did it’s thanks to That’s What Friends are For. Or perhaps we go a decade earlier, for I’ll Never Love This Way Again, then comes the real ‘shocker’ (to them at least) Dionne has been around since the ’60s.

Anyway, the purpose of this letter is two-fold. First, please accept my sincerest gratitude for write-ups about her. Second, as a token of my appreciation, if you know songs of Dionne that you don’t have yet, I can make copies for you. At no cost! As a huge Dionne fan, it goes without saying my collection is as vast as my admiration. I’m sure you already have the ‘usual’ hits, Walk on By, I Say a Little Prayer, Alfie, etc. But if you’re interested I could make you copies (wait, am I doing something illegal here?) of songs you never knew she recorded like La Vie en Rose (in French!), Mamas & the Papas’ Monday, Monday, My Favorite Things, Let It Be Me. Beatles’ songs, etc. Or you probably want the ‘usual’ or perhaps, nothing at all? Again please accept my gratitude."

Thanks Mr. Daroy for writing in and for the offer. Will send you my list.