12 Famous Casablanca Quotes That We’ll Never Forget

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The 1942 movie, Casablanca, is a timeless story of heartbreaking sacrifice. Set against the backdrop WW2, the film tells the tale of Rick Blaine ((Amazon link)(Amazon link) Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa Lund’s ((Amazon link)(Amazon link) Ingrid Bergman) romance.

There are plenty of reasons to love this legendary film it, but the core that holds it all together is its memorable screenplay. Here are the most famous Casablanca quotes sorted in order of their Google search popularity.

Play It Again, Sam

Oddly enough, one of the most famous Casablanca quotes on this list happens to be a misquotation. That’s right, Rick never says, “Play it again, Sam” in the film. On two different occasions, though, he utters, “Play it once, Sam” and “Play it, Sam.” But people still perform a Google search for the phrase “Play it again Sam” over 5,400 times per month.

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“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine”

• Rick: Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.

In this scene, Rick is drinking alone and devastated over Ilsa’s marriage to another man. She is literally the girl who got away.

There are several variations of this popular quote from Casablanca. There are only 170 monthly Google searches for the full phrase ” Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” But shorter versions of this quote, like “of all the gin joints” (3,600) and “Of all the gin joints in all the towns” (1,000) are more popular. For the purposes of this article, we are including all of these variations giving this Casablanca quote a total of 4,770 average monthly searches.

“Here’s looking at you, kid.”

What is the most romantic quote from Casablanca? Most people will say it’s the line, ” Here’s looking at you, kid.” Humphrey Bogart actually says this line twice in the film. Once in the flashback scenes of Rick and Ilsa first falling in love, and then again at the end of the movie when Rick says his final goodbye to Ilsa.

• Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you.
• Rick Blaine: 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.
• Ilsa: (Ilsa begins to cry.)
• Rick Blaine: Now, now . . .
• Rick Blaine: (Rick gently places his hand under her chin and raises it so their eyes meet.)
• Rick Blaine: Here’s looking at you kid.

Not only is this quote romantic, but it’s also still very popular even many decades later. In fact, there are 3,600 Google searches a month for the phrase ” Here’s looking at you kid.”

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“We’ll always have Paris.”

• Rick Blaine: 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 Blaine: 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. Louis Renault: I’m afraid Major Strasser would insist.
• Ilsa: You’re saying this only to make me go.
• Rick Blaine: 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 Blaine: 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.

Things did’t ultimately work out for Rick and Ilsa’s relationship, but they will always have the memories of their time together in Paris.

There are 2,900 monthly Google searches for the phrase ” We’ll always have Paris.”

“I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

• Rick: Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

In the film Casablanca, Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and Captain Renault (Claude Rains) are friendly adversaries. Neither one of them likes the Nazis, and as the film goes on, their friendship begins to solidify as they find ways to help other.

There are 720 monthly Google searches for the phrase ” I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

“Round Up The Usual Suspects”

• Captain Renault: Major Strasser has been shot… round up the usual suspects.

After the German’s discover that Victor and Ilsa are escaping Casablanca on an airplane, Major Strasser attempts to call the radio tower and stop it from taking off. Major Strasser then pulls a gun on Rick, but Rick is faster and shoots first. The police arrive seconds later and see the body. Captain Renault witnessed the gun fight, but instead of telling his men who really shot Major Strasser, he covers for Rick and asks them to “Round up the usual suspects.”

The phrase ” round up the usual suspects” has 480 monthly Google searches per month.

The Casablanca Kiss: ” Kiss me as if it were the last time.”

• Ilsa: Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time.

In this famous scene from Casablanca, often referred to as the Casablanca Kiss, Ilsa asks Rick to kiss her as if it were the last time.

Although the phrase ” Kiss me as if it were the last time” doesn’t have any search volume, the term “Casablanca kiss” gets about 90 searches a month. People remember the kiss more than the actual dialogue.

“I came to Casablanca for the waters.”

• Captain Renault: What in heaven’s name brought you to Casablanca?
• Rick: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.
• Captain Renault: The waters? What waters? We’re in the desert.
• Rick: I was misinformed.

In this famous scene from Casablanca, Captain Renault asks Rick why he came to Casablanca. He of course gets a sarcastic response.

There are 30 monthly Google searches for the phrase ” I came to Casablanca for the waters.”

” I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray, you wore blue.”

• Ilsa: 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 gray, you wore blue.

The Casablanca quote ” The Germans wore gray, you wore blue,” has an average of 20 monthly Google searches per month.

“…The problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.”

• Rick: 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.

Their romance is special, but it’s insignificant against the backdrop of World War II. In this scene, Rick tries to help Ilsa see the big picture and why even though they want to be together, they ultimately can’t.

Even though this is one of the more famous Casablanca quotes, there are sadly 0 monthly searches for both the phrase “the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world” and ” don’t amount to a hill of beans “.

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“I’m shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.”

• Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?
• Captain Renault: I’m shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.
• (A croupier hands Renault a pile of money)
• Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
• Captain Renault: (Quietly) Oh, thank you very much.
• Captain Renault: Everybody out at once!

Who is the comic relief in Casablanca? Without question the answer is Captain Renault ((Amazon link)(Amazon link) Claude Rains). Not only is he an ally to Rick against German forces, but he provides some much needed comic relief.

This is another great line from the Casablanca movie, but it doesn’t have any search volume.

“I’m a drunkard.”

While walking through a nightclub, Rick walks by some Nazis and is asked to join to their table. Rick reluctantly sits down and they start asking him a series of questions.

• Major Strasser: What is your nationality?
• Rick: I’m a drunkard.
• Captain Renault: That makes Rick a citizen of the world.

Although this is a very humorous and memorable line from the film, but it’s not one of the more popular or most searched Casablanca movie quotes.

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Casablanca: The Legendary Film That No One Knew They Were Making

Even though it’s a fictional story, the movie Casablanca is a time capsule that captures how some of the battlefields for World War II involved average people in average places, and not just soldiers on the front lines.

Released in the middle of World War II (1939-1945), Casablanca was just one of the hundreds of films that Hollywood produced in 1942. Although Casablanca did well at the box office, it didn’t start earning its legendary reputation until after the 1943 Academy Awards.

Much to the surprise of almost everyone, including the production crew, Casablanca was nominated for a total of eight Academy Awards that year, and won three, including Outstanding Motion Picture, Best Director, and of course, Best Screenplay. It’s not a huge surprise that Casablanca won Best Screenplay. The film’s script is full of so many memorable quotes that helped bring both the romance and sacrifices of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa Lund’s (Ingrid Bergman) to life.

After its attention at the Academy Awards, Casablanca’s popularity began to soar. In the years that followed, everything from the film’s characters to its memorable script have become iconic. Casablanca is frequently included on lists of the greatest films in history and in 1989, was selected as one of the first films for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress.

The Best Casablanca Quotes

As far as quotable timeless ’40s movies go, it doesn’t get much better than Casablanca. Chances are, we missed some of your favorite Casablanca quotes. If we did, let us know by sharing your favorite quotes from Casablanca in the comments below.

In the middle of a romantic movie binge? If so, we have a suggestion for you. Check out our article of the best Titanic quotes.