Michael Caine’s impressive career consists of parts in more than 130 films, but there was only one film that would influence him to become an actor. The 1942 romantic drama Casablanca, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid was the film that ultimately inspired him to pursue acting.
Caine told Entertainment IE: “Casablanca would be my one; I love some of the lines in it.”
As Caine said when he had the pleasure of opening a re-run of his favourite film at the Electric in London: “I’m probably one of the few people here who saw this film when it came out.”
Many consider Casablanca, which sees Curtiz transport audiences to the backdrop of the Second World War and the titular Moroccan city, to be one of cinema’s greatest works.
The actor has also been known to embody essences of Bogart within his own performances.
He continued: “I was a young man who wanted to be a young actor, and Humphrey Bogart was and still is my favourite actor of all time.”
Similarly to the acting style of Bogart, Caine never sacrificed the true character of his role in favour of being liked.
He said: “I’d seen many Bogart movies, and even at the time, I thought this was one of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen. And to this day, it still is.
“It’s one of the great romances of our time. And, the leading lady and the leading man didn’t really like each other and didn’t hit it off at all.”
He added: I know a great deal about the movie from later because Howard Koch, who was one of the writers, was the boss of Paramount when I got there. He was the man who green-lighted Alfie and The Italian Job.”
Caine told the Times: “I never get tired of rewatching it.”