Dream The End » J. & P. Epstein and H. Koch

Casablanca (1)

DTE Studio — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 21:08:54 +0000

SAM
Hello, Miss Ilsa. I never expected to see you again.

ILSA
It’s been a long time.

SAM
Yes, Miss Ilsa. A lot of water under the bridge.

He sits down and is ready to play.

Ilsa
Some of the old songs, Sam.

SAM
Yes, ma’am

Sam begins to play a number. He is nervous, waiting for anything. But even so, when it comes he gives a little start…

ILSA
Where’s Rick?

SAM
(evading)
I don’t know. Ain’t seen him all night.

Ilsa gives him a tolerant smile. Sam looks very uncomfortable.

ILSA
When will he be back?

SAM
Not tonight no more. He ain’t coming. He went home.

ILSA
Does he always leave so early?

SAM
He never — I mean –
(desperately)
He’s got a girl up at the Blue Parrott — he goes there all the time…

ILSA
Sam, you used to be a much better liar.

Casablanca (2)

DTE Studio — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 21:08:54 +0000

ILSA
Get them for me.

RICK
I don’t have to. I got ‘em right here.
(reaching into his inner pocket)
He has the Letters in his hand.

ILSA
Put them on the table.

RICK
(Shaking his head)
No.

ILSA
For the last time, put them on the table.

RICK
If Laszlo and the Cause mean so much to you, you won’t stop at anything. All right, I’ll make it easier for you, go ahead, shoot. You’ll be doing me a favor.

Close Shot- ILSA
She rises, still pointing the gun at Rick. Her finger rests on the trigger. It seems as if she is summoning nerve to press it. Then, suddenly, her hand trembles and the pistol falls to the table. She breaks up, covering her face with her hands. Rick walks into the SHOT stands close to her. Suddenly, she flings herself into his arms.

ILSA
(almost hysterical)
Richard, I tried to stay away. I thought I would never see you again…that you were out of my life. The day you left Paris, if you knew what I went through! If you knew how much I loved you…how much I still love you–

Her words are smothered as he presses her tight to him, kisses her passionately. She is lost in his embrace.

FADE OUT

J. & P. Epstein and H. Koch – Bio

DTE Studio — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 21:07:47 +0000

Julius and Philip Epstein were twin brothers, born on August 22, 1909, in New York City. They are most famous for adapting the unproduced play Everybody Comes to Rick’s into the screenplay for Casablanca. In this collaboration, they also worked with Howard Koch, and all three writers received an Academy Award for Best Screenplay in 1943. The Epstein brothers continued to collaborate on screenplays including, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Last Time I Saw Paris, and The Man Who Came to Dinner. In 1952, Philip passed away from cancer; however, Julius continued to work in the film industry, writing and producing films. Julius died in 2000.

Howard Koch was born in December 1901, in New York City. He worked with Julius and Philip Epstein on the screenplay for Casablanca and won an Academy Award for it in 1943. Koch continued to work as a writer in Hollywood on films such as The Letter, The Sea Hawk, and Letter from an Unknown Woman. He also wrote radio scripts for Orson Welles’s adaptation of H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds.

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Excerpted from The Film Encyclopedia by Ephraim Katz

Julius & Philiip Epstein and Howard Koch are featured in Edition: A Tribute to Women in Film.