Casablanca

One of Hollywood's greatest acts of alchemy saw a classic romantic thriller created from unprepossessing raw materials: a modest play with a questionable grasp of historical facts, a director with a poor command of English, and a confused cast that was due, at one stage, to be headed by Ronald Reagan and Ann Sheridan. But it was the film that cemented Bogart's stardom with a role perfectly suited to his new sympathetic tough-guy persona.

Though avowedly a cynic, Rick is seen consistently to be a soft-hearted romantic. Having had his heart broken some years earlier, he has set himself up as a bar-owner in Casablanca, a stop-off point for fugitives from the Nazis during the Second World War. One day his old love Ilsa (Bergman), married to an important figure in the resistance movement (Henreid), comes to his bar...

With its romantic story, the songs performed by Wilson, the supporting cast, fantastic script, the singing of 'La Marseillaise', the climactic sequence at the airport and its perfect final line, Casablanca has entered the popular consciousness, becoming utterly familiar while remaining fresh and vital.