The Making of Casablanca: Bogart, Bergman, and World War II - Aljean Harmetz Audiobook

Written by Aljean Harmetz
Read by Scott Brick
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 48 Kbps
Unabridged

· Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
· Release date: 11-26-20
· Publisher: Oasis Audio

Critically acclaimed when published in 1992 as Round Up the Usual Suspects, The Making of Casablanca offers the ultimate insider’s look at the politics and personalities behind the most celebrated movie of all time - Casablanca.

Updated and timed for the 60th anniversary (Thanksgiving Day, 1942) of this movie, this critically acclaimed book draws upon years of research, including access to Ingrid Bergman’s personal acting diaries and the vast Warner Brothers archives, as well as interviews with many of those close to the film, including the late Paul Henreid, Lauren Bacall, and scriptwriters Howard Koch and Julius Epstein.

Richly detailed and full of surprises, The Making of Casablanca debunks many cherished myths about the casting, script, story, and stars, to reveal the realities of the highly pressured Hollywood studio system during World War II.

A review…” this book is simply first-rate of its kind. The way the Casablanca script was honed by its team of writers (all working separately and each adding his own unique thematic and stylistic strengths)–all guided by the hand of the film’s strong-willed producer, Hal Wallis–is related in finely researched and flavorful detail by author Aljean Harmetz. The portraits of the witty scriptwriting Epstein Brothers (who gave the film its delectable cynical humor) and their writer peer Howard Koch (who gave the film its political content), along with those of directors Michael Curtiz, producer Wallis, and the moguls Jack and Harry Warner, are vivid, and their interactions with one another in the making of the film fascinatingly related. Sharply rendered also is the profile of the living, breathing, cavernous entity known as the Warner Brothers studio. Harmetz understands what made the studio tick and why it became known as the populist movie brand of the working classes; how and why its movies were faster, rougher, and tougher than the more elegantly bred products of MGM and Fox and Paramount.”

The included pdf has an extensive bibliography for film buffs. The footnores were for the print edition but will give the source of statements and quotes to those interested. I used the original book title and cover as my poster.