Classic Hollywood romance is back: Casablanca to get a sequel soon

London: An American producer is planning to bring a sequel to Casablanca, the beloved 1942 Hollywood classic starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in their most famous roles. The film, whose lines like ‘Here’s looking at you kid’ and ‘Play it again, Sam’ are still quoted by film lovers, revolved around two star-crossed lovers – Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund – who reunite in ‘Casablanca’ during the World-War II only to separate later. [caption id=“attachment_516594” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Facebook[/caption] Cass Warner, an American producer, is trying to find backers for a proposal written by the late Howard Koch, one of the three who got an screenwriting Oscar for the film, reported Daily Mail. Titled ‘Return to Casablanca’, the sequel would follow the story of Richard Blaine, the son of Bogart’s Rick Blaine and Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa Lund as he tries to find his father. The boy was conceived the night Ilsa came to Rick’s place to plead for the Letters of Transit, and she kept it a secret from her husband Victor Laszlo, played by Paul Henreid. Warner said she met Koch before he died and when she visited his home discovered a treatment for a ‘Casablanca 2’. Koch could not get anyone to represent him in his quest to get it made so Warner took it to Warner Bros. “Warner Bros passed on it but they indicated they were willing to revisit this if I could find a filmmaker they were interested in working with,” she said. The sequel can tie-up some of the loose ends in the story but it also risks the wrath of fans who love the original classic. Among the skeptics about the remake is Stephen Bogart, the 64-year-old son of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. “If they want to make a movie about intrigue in North Africa, that’s fine, but bringing the specter of one of the greatest movies of all time into it makes it just another feeble attempt at ‘Casablanca 2,’” Stephen said. PTI