I am now devouring a book called The Making of Casablanca. I will be sharing some anecdotes with you ... because I know many of you are fans.
Michael Curtiz, the director, was apparently a demanding terrifying (and also highly talented, obviously) son-of-a-bitch who hated actors and who, according to his stepson, "spoke five languages, and all of them badly."
Ha!!!
Anyway, Curtiz was shooting one scene where Claude Rains enters the cafe. Curtiz was only kind and deferential to Bergman during the shoot, everyone else cowered in fear, or hid in their dressing rooms. Bogie drank and played chess by mail with a correspondent in Brooklyn in his dressing room - Bogie also was hiding from his terrifying 3rd wife, a drunkard, who used to beat the crap out of him. Smack him across the face in a drunken rage, etc. Bogie was standing around on the set, and one of the crew members said to another crew member: "Hey, wanna see me make Bogie jump?" Not believing anything could ruffle Bogie, the other crew member said "Sure." So original crew member walked over and said, "Hey, Bogie, your wife's here." And Bogie would jump, startled, looking around anxiously.
Thank God he dumped THAT broad!
More of that obsessive nonsense will be forthcoming as I go through the book.
So the scene was a simple scene: All Claude Rains had to do was walk into the cafe.
He did it.
Curtiz asked him to do it with more energy.
Claude Rains entered the cafe again, with "more energy".
Curtiz still wasn't pleased, and said, "Please. Do it again. More energy."
Claude Rains tried it again, tried it with more energy.
Curtiz, now visibly annoyed, said, "Do it again. More energy this time."
Claude Rains gave it another go.
Curtiz shook his head. "Again. More energy, dammit, more energy!!"
Claude Rains, now nearing the end of his rope, tried his entrance one more time, putting ALL of his energy into the entrance.
Curtiz growled, "Nope. Do it again. More energy."
Completely fed up with being unable to please Curtiz, Rains "did it again" - only this time, he rode into the cafe on a bicycle.
Posted by sheilaThat's incredibly inventive. I don't think people (including myself) give actors the kind of credit they deserve. Mind you, I'm not talking about *attention*, but rather recognition for the sorts of creative presence, like Rains, that they add.
Posted by: Emily at May 24, 2004 10:29 AMI just think the story is so funny. Rains, not knowing what the hell Curtiz means by "more energy" ... "Shall I enter doing a somersault? Shall I run in screaming at the top of my lungs?"
I kind of wish I could see the out-take of that scene. Rains riding in, in his little prefect's uniform.
Posted by: red at May 24, 2004 10:34 AM