Casablanca has endured through the eight decades since it was released in 1942 as one of the greatest films of all-time. It epitomizes Hollywood’s Golden Era, the perfect combination of love, loss, commitment to ideals and betrayal, all set against a world torn apart by war. Ingrid Bergman, whose portrayal of Ilsa made her an overnight star, stated, "I feel about “Casablanca” that it has a life of its own. There is something mystical about it. It seems to have filled a need, a need that was there before the film, a need that the film filled.” Co-star Humphrey Bogart’s incomparable portrayal of Rick influenced generations of Hollywood leading men and evolved into the model for film noir’s emblematic “anti-hero.” What eventually became the movie “Casablanca” was originally a stage play called “Everybody Comes to Rick's” by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison. Burnett came up with the story after spending the summer of 1938 aiding Jewish refugees in Vienna where he witnessed first-hand the plight of the characters that would be immortalized in “Casablanca.” When the finished play failed to garner any interest from Broadway producers, it was sold to Warner Brothers for $20,000. Renamed “Casablanca,” the film became wildly successful for its timeless love story and open ending that left the answers to the character’s fates to each theater goer’s imagination. While critics and fans alike believed no sequel could ever live up to the enduring story told by the original and resolve the lingering questions, Murray Burnett believed otherwise. Rick, Ilsa, Sam and the rest were his creations after all, and this original screenplay draft, simply titled “Casablanca Sequel,” is his answer. Written by Burnett in 1989, the 11 typewritten pages of paper reveals the further adventures and fates of the most beloved characters in American cinema. Taking up in 1944, the locale is shifted from Morocco to Estoril, a seacoast resort in Portugal. One will have to purchase the manuscript to uncover the full story, but suffice it to say that Rick, “dyed-in-the-wool Nazi’s” and Ilsa are all involved. This unique treatment, written by the man who created the indelible original, offers the answer to one of cinema’s biggest questions: “What became of Rick and Ilsa?” The 11 pages show wear and toning from age with small pieces missing from the edges on several pages. The manuscript comes with a Letter of Provenance from Murray Burnette’s wife, Adrienne.
Estimate: $7,500 - $10,000+