Table Of Content

Immortal Films Klinger-Immortal Films.indd 1 17/08/22 2:55 PM The publisher and the University of California Press Foundation gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Robert and Meryl Selig Endowment Fund in Film Studies, established in memory of Robert W. Selig. Klinger-Immortal Films.indd 2 17/08/22 2:55 PM Immortal Films Casablanca and the Afterlife of a Hollywood Classic Barbara Klinger university of california press Klinger-Immortal Films.indd 3 17/08/22 2:55 PM University of California Press Oakland, California © 2022 by Barbara Klinger Every effort has been made to identify copyright holders and obtain their permission for the use of copyrighted material. The publisher encourages anyone with inquiries or information relating to these materials to contact us at www.ucpress.edu. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Klinger, Barbara, 1951– author. Title: Immortal films : Casablanca and the afterlife of a Hollywood classic / Barbara Klinger. Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: lccn 2022008942 (print) | lccn 2022008943 (ebook) | isbn 9780520296459 (cloth) | isbn 9780520296473 (paperback) | isbn 9780520968950 (ebook) Subjects: lcsh: Casablanca (Motion picture)—Criticism and interpretation. Classification: lcc pn1997.c352 k55 2022 (print) | lcc pn1997.c352 (ebook) | ddc 791.43/72—dc23/eng/20220708 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022008942 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022008943 Manufactured in the United States of America 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Klinger-Immortal Films.indd 4 17/08/22 2:55 PM In loving memory of Alex Doty Klinger-Immortal Films.indd 5 17/08/22 2:55 PM Klinger-Immortal Films.indd 6 17/08/22 2:55 PM Cultures exhaust themselves; civilizations die. . . . This is nothing we do not already know. There is however a more interesting question: what is it that causes life to perdure? michel maffesoli, The Time of the Tribes, 1996 Hey, Bogie . . . Your “Casablanca” opened in 1942 and never really closed. They may respect Citizen Kane, but it’s Casablanca they love. Every day it’s playing somewhere, from the Brattle in Cambridge . . . to a television screen at 2 in the morning in a motel in St. Petersburg. jack thomas, Boston Globe, 1983 Nothing endures like endurance. barbara herrnstein smith, Contingencies of Value, 1988 Klinger-Immortal Films.indd 7 17/08/22 2:55 PM Klinger-Immortal Films.indd 8 17/08/22 2:55 PM contents List of Figures xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction: The Cultural Biography of a Film 1 1 • Listening to Casablanca: Radio Adaptations and Sonic Hollywood 26 2 • Back in Theaters: Postwar Repertory Houses and Cult Cinema 71 3 • Everyday Films: Broadcast Television, Reruns, and Canonizing Old Hollywood 108 4 • Movie Valentines: Holiday Cult and the Romantic Canon in VHS Video Culture 153 5 • Happy Anniversaries: Classic Cinema on DVD/Blu-ray in the Conglomerate Age 195 Epilogue: Streaming Casablanca and Afterthoughts 242 Appendix 1: Casablanca’s First Appearances on US Platforms/Formats 253 Appendix 2: Casablanca’s Physical-Format Video Rereleases 255 Notes 257 Selected Bibliography 317 Index 329 Klinger-Immortal Films.indd 9 17/08/22 2:55 PM