SMC Pod #214: Casablanca: A case study of how a Studio Team Built a Masterpiece

1942's Best Picture winner CASABLANCA, made at Warner Brothers, is ultimately the best evidence one could produce for how the old studio system of the 1920's through the 1940's was set up to occasionally produce a masterpiece that could not have been made any other way.  Defying the auteur-centered way we often appraise movies, CASABLANCA really was a team effort with critical contributions from writers, the producer, the composer, the cast, the director, the production designer, the cinematographer.  Secret Movie Club founder.programmer Craig Hammill using amazing books like Round Up the Usual Suspects: The Making of Casablanca by Aljean Harmetz for research does a deep dive into the pre production, production, and release of one of Hollywood's most beloved movies. While we've moved on from the studio system, often for the good, there is still a lot we should reconsider that might help bring that magic to our current work.