IN “CASABLANCA”, WHAT DOES ‘WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS’ MEAN?

Something happened in Paris. Someone said something or did something or mispronounced a word or didn’t do something right. Or maybe someone ate something that make him feel ill, like food poisoning or something. The point is that it’s something embarrassing, something that Bogart and Bergman would rather the audience not know. Hence they refer to it with hints of the type “We’ll always have Paris” or “Oh My! When I think of Paris…” or “Is Paris still in France?” They ignore that Michael Curtiz, the director, has already informed the audience about what happened in Paris. Once the filming was over and Bogart and Bergman watched the movie, they felt cheated. Felt that, with their continuous veiled allusions to Paris, they had been making fools of themselves. Outraged, they went to ask for explanations from Curtiz, who somehow convinced them that the movie was actually a ‘zombie comedy’ and, therefore, everything was fine.