Paul Henreid, Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart in Michael Curtiz's Casablanca
CASABLANCA Review Part II – Paul Henreid
As an aside, compare that moment with a similar bit toward the end of the aforementioned Paths of Glory, where a captured German girl is put on stage in front of drunken French soldiers seemingly willing to ravage her, until she starts singing a plaintive German tune of a soldier and his lost love. The drunk soldiers quiet down, and eventually start humming along with the "enemy," and slowly show that they have not been totally inured by carnage. A comparison of these two scenes (their structure and placement) neatly and clearly shows why Casablanca is mere entertainment while Paths of Glory is great art.
As for Paul Henreid's performance, it is always more difficult to play a character that is the "good guy" and does not undergo some sort of however slight transformation. A good critic, however, does not let himself be swayed by a role's theatrical pyrotechnics. Instead, he focuses on what the actor does with the written material handed him. Thus, Henreid's character is not only the best portrayed, but it's also the most nuanced.
Really, does anyone for a moment not believe that Victor knows full well what went on between Ilsa and Rick both in Paris and Casablanca? Of course not, but the character has to pretend not to be affected even if he is — because he has his eyes on the greater prize, the overthrow of the Nazi regime, not the famed "hill of beans" problems of three little people. In short, Henreid's character, despite having less screen time than Ingrid Bergman's and Humphrey Bogart's, is the film's center and lynchpin. Simply stated, without the character of Victor Laszlo, in his physical being and internal composition, Casablanca would not have even reached the level of good melodrama.
Now, contrast Henreid's Victor with Bogart's Rick. Rick is rather one-dimensional despite the character's early evocations of depth. His attraction to Ilsa seems quite superficial; after all, in the flashback scenes in Paris and even those in Casablanca, does he ever speak of higher purpose? No, Rick is wholly selfish, through and through.
Bogart's Rick is also a far showier role than Henreid's Laszlo. But does Bogart do anything more with it? Despite some wittier lines and the nice scene where Rick lets a Romanian refugee couple win at roulette to pay for their visas out of Casablanca, is Rick Blaine sufficiently different from the Sam Spade Bogart essayed in John Huston's The Maltese Falcon, or any of the rather stolid thugs he played throughout the 1930s? No.
That's because there is the same reliance on trite body mannerisms that, while they define the Bogart "star persona" (as did John Wayne's personal foibles define his), they add nothing to the film's character. In short, Rick Blaine is the generic Bogart character from past films, little different from the above mentioned "John Wayne" characters in dozens of Westerns, or, for that matter, Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp.
Now, don't take my word for it. Ask fans of Casablanca, for they will almost always refer to the character Bogart plays in the film as "Bogey" or "Bogart," not "Rick" or "Blaine." They'll rhapsodize on and on when Bogey does this or that, not when Rick does this or that, precisely because the lead character in Casablanca is not "Rick Blaine," but "Bogey."
Why?
Bogart simply was not that good of an actor, and could not differentiate his characters, unlike, say James Cagney (compare his roles in White Heat and Yankee Doodle Dandy), or Gary Cooper (compare his roles in Sergeant York, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and High Noon), James Stewart(compare his roles in It's a Wonderful Life, Rope and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), or, more recently, Robert De Niro (contrast his roles in Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, and The King of Comedy).
I'm not saying that Casablanca does not take advantage of Bogart's limitations as an actor; it certainly does, especially in the last fifteen minutes. Even then, however, Bogart (or Rick) only slightly breaks the pellicle of his star persona to "realize," a bit, a character of some depth. And that's a symptom of the film's problem.
Since all the characters are archetypes, they need to be fully realized in order for claims of greatness to be made. Yet, while some characters are almost fully realized, others are not; and even those who almost get there display a lack of character development that prevents Casablanca from reaching true greatness.
Your analysis & elevation of Paul Henreid's Victor Lazlo is so on-target. Bogie was just playing Bogie, with the mannerism that he was noted for and that fans paid to enjoy.
Henreid was never that type-cast, rolling from Nazi villains to suave continental lover to tense, tight-focussed resistance hero, who's dedicated to his Cause, freedom for Europe. At first Victor seems so cool and restrained it's hard to believe he's a charismatic leader until he yields to impulse over the Marseillaise. When he lets loose, he has the passion & power to stir audiences 60 years later. Not just Henreid's eyes but his shoulders, neck and jaw portray what's going on inside: the wary man entering Rick's for the first time, tense with his eyes sweeping the room, unlike the next evening when he's familiar with the scene: he's more relaxed and ready to try some charm. Or after he gently questions Ilsa about Paris–in vain–and she pops up with her interjection "Victor!" His whole being stiffens in terror at what she's maybe going to tell him. If she's going to lie, he doesn't want to deal with it just now; if she's going to tell him the truth, he doesn't want to face that, either. This may be the last time he ever sees her, because he's on his way to a dangerous meeting. When she changes her mind and just says "Be careful!" you see him relax with relief. A nifty piece of acting.
Victor is what we term a "secular saint"; think Ghandi, or Eleanor Roosevelt, or Dag Hamerskjold. Typically, he isn't much fun to live with and continually involves himself together with anyone he's close to. Typically, he's a manipulator. Typically also, he's accepting and non-judgmental. Typically, Ilsa probably doesn't love him as a person, or in an intimate way; the people around secular saints give them awe and admiration as embodiments of causes they believe in. Typically he's good at setting up support groups; in one evening he forms one at the Cafe after the Marseillaise, and goes off to another with the Resistance group. Unfortunately both groups evaporate on him, so he changes course and offers to sacrifice his own needs to send Ilsa out of danger with his rival, Rick. Because Victor's focus is far off on the Cause, he doesn't focus on his own needs or Ilsa's either, though he needs and adores her. She's portrayed as the one person he can be vulnerable with, but he's not good at intimacy. If he can ever let up and relax his sense of total dedication, you wonder what Ilsa will see in him. She'll have to learn to love him in a new way, and she's not portrayed as bright enough to learn that. Typically, secular saints push on until they die trying.
We need secular saints to keep us moving in the right direction, and sometimes even getting there. Henreid portrays the layers of such a person with nuance and verve. Why people prefer Bogart's acting is beyond me.