Casablanca - Memorable Quotes

• "I stick my neck out for nobody."
• "There are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn't advise you to try to invade." [to Major Heinrich Strasser]
• "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
• "You played it for her, you can play it for me! . . . If she can stand it, I can! Play it!"
• "Here's looking at you, kid."
• "Tell me, who was it you left me for? Was it Laszlo, or were there others in between? Or — aren't you the kind that tells?"
• "If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon — and for the rest of your life."
• "Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that."
• "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." -[Closing line of movie]
• "We'll always have Paris."
• "They grab Ugarte and she walks in. Well that's the way it goes. One in, one out."
• "I never drink in the morning. And every time you send my shipment over, it's always just a little bit short."

Captain Louis Renault

• "Did you abscond with the church funds? Run off with a senator's wife? I like to think you killed a man. It's the romantic in me."
• "Realizing the importance of the case, my men are rounding up twice the usual number of suspects."
• "How extravagant you are, throwing away women like that. Some day they may be scarce."
• "I was informed you were the most beautiful woman ever to visit Casablanca. That was gross understatement."
• "Oh, please, monsieur. It is a little game we play. They put it on the bill, I tear up the bill. It is very convenient."
• "Well, Rick is the kind of man that... well, if I were a woman, and I were not around, I should be in love with Rick. But what a fool I am talking to a beautiful woman about another man."
• "Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects."
• "I'm shocked, shocked to find there is gambling going on here."
• "Make it ten, I'm only a poor corrupt offical."

Guillermo Ugarte

• "You know, Rick, I have many a friend in Casablanca, but somehow, just because you despise me, you are the only one I trust."
• "You despise me, don't you Rick?"

Victor Laszlo

• "You might as well question why we breathe. If we stop breathing, we'll die. If we stop fighting our enemies, the world will die."
• "You know how you sound, Mr. Blaine? Like a man who's trying to convince himself of something he doesn't believe in his heart."
• "I know a good deal more about you than you suspect. I know, for instance, that you're in love with a woman. It is perhaps a strange circumstance that we both should be in love with the same woman. The first evening I came to this café, I knew there was something between you and Ilsa. Since no one is to blame, I— I demand no explanation. I ask only one thing. You won't give me the letters of transit: all right, but I want my wife to be safe. I ask you, as a favor, to use the letters to take her away from Casablanca."
• "Welcome back to the fight. This time I know our side will win."
• "I was in a German concentration camp for a year. That's honour enough for a lifetime."

Ilsa Lund

• "You used to be a much better liar, Sam."
• "Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time."
• "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'"
• "You're saying this only to make me go."
• "There's still nobody in the world who can play "As Time Goes By" like Sam."
• "With the whole world crumbling, we pick this time to fall in love."
• "Was that cannon fire, or is it my heart pounding?"
• "I love you so much, and I hate this war so much. Oh, it's a crazy world. Anything can happen. If you shouldn't get away, I mean, if, if something should keep us apart, wherever they put you and wherever I'll be, I want you to know..."

Signor Ferrari

• "We might as well be frank, monsieur. It would take a miracle to get you out of Casablanca, and the Germans have outlawed miracles."
• "As leader of all illegal activities in Casablanca, I am an influential and respected man."

Karl

• "The leading banker in Amsterdam is now the pastry chef in our kitchen."
• "I have already given him the best, knowing he is German and would take it anyways."

Others

• "Yvonne, I love you, but he pays me" Sacha

Dialogue

Ugarte: You despise me, don't you?

Rick Blaine: If I gave you any thought I probably would.

Capt. Renault: Rick, there are many exit visas sold in this café, but we know that you've never sold one. That is the reason we permit you to remain open.

Rick: Oh? I thought it was because I let you win at roulette.

Capt. Renault: That is another reason.

Yvonne: Where were you last night?

Rick: That's so long ago, I don't remember.

Yvonne: Will I see you tonight?

Rick: I never make plans that far ahead.

Capt. Renault: No matter how clever he is, he still needs an exit visa... or I should say two?

Rick: Why two?

Capt. Renault: He is traveling with a lady.

Rick: He'll take one.

Capt. Renault: I think not. I've seen the lady.

Berger: We read five times that you were killed, in five different places.

Victor Laszlo: As you can see, it was true every single time.

Ilsa: Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake.

Sam: I don't know what you mean, Miss Ilsa.

Ilsa: Play it, Sam. Play "As Time Goes By."

Sam: (singing)

You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss
A sigh is just a sigh
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by.

• Lyrics and Music by Herman Hupfel (1931)

Rick: I congratulate you.

Victor Laszlo: What for?

Rick: Your work.

Victor: I try.

Rick: We all try. You succeed.

Ilsa: I wasn't sure you were the same. Let's see, the last time we met...

Rick: Was La Belle Aurore.

Ilsa: How nice, you remembered. But of course, that was the day the Germans marched into Paris.

Rick: Not an easy day to forget.

Ilsa: No.

Rick: I remember every detail. The Germans wore grey, you wore blue.

Rick: Why I'm so lucky. Why I should find you waiting for me to come along.

Ilsa: Why there is no other man in my life?

Rick: Uh-huh.

Ilsa: That's easy: there was. And he's dead.

Rick: How long was it we had, honey?

Ilsa: I didn't count the days.

Rick: Well, I did. Every one of them. Mostly, I remember the last one, the wild finish. A guy standing on a station platform in the rain, with a comical look on his face, because his insides had been kicked out.

Capt. Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that there is gambling going on here!

Waiter: Your winnings, sir.

Capt. Renault: Oh, thank you very much.

Rick: Don't you sometimes wonder if it's worth all this? I mean what you're fighting for.

Victor Laszlo: You might as well question why we breathe. If we stop breathing, we'll die. If we stop fighting our enemies, the world will die.

Rick: Well, what of it? It'll be out of its misery.

Victor Laszlo: You know how you sound, Mr. Blaine? Like a man who's trying to convince himself of something he doesn't believe in his heart.

Rick: Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you're getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.

Ilsa: But, Richard, no, I... I...

Rick: Now, you've got to listen to me! You have any idea what you'd have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten, we'd both wind up in a concentration camp. Isn't that true, Louie?

Capt. Renault: I'm afraid Major Strasser would insist.

Ilsa: You're saying this only to make me go.

Rick: I'm saying it because it's true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You're part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.

Ilsa: But what about us?

Rick: We'll always have Paris. We didn't have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.

Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you.

Rick: And you never will. But I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now... Here's looking at you kid.

Capt. Renault:What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?

Rick: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.

Capt. Renault: The waters? What waters? We're in the desert.

Rick: I was misinformed.

Rick: Who did you bribe for your visa? Renault or yourself?

Ugarte: Myself. I found myself much more reasonable.

Ilsa: A franc for your thoughts.

Rick: In America they'd bring only a penny. I guess that's about all they're worth.