Save the Cat rankings

Casablanca script analysis

Casablanca script - Save the Cat beat sheet analysis

In Casablanca, cynical nightclub owner Rick navigates intrigue, rekindled love, and moral choices as refugees and Nazis clash over escape routes. When his former lover Ilsa reappears with her resistance hero husband, Rick must decide between personal happiness and a higher cause.

75 Save the Cat fit score 12% analysis confidence / 50 parsed scenes

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1

Opening Image

Scene 1 / Page 1 / 1% target

10%

Introduces Casablanca’s gloomy, tense atmosphere under the desert sun.

2

Theme Stated

Scene 6 / 5% target

10%

Strasser’s arrival hints at choices between collaboration and resistance.

Unoccupied France welcomes you to Casablanca.
3

Set-Up

Scene 5 / 10% target

15%

Establishes Rick’s café milieu and the refugee crisis with petty crime and warnings.

4

Catalyst

Scene 7 / 12% target

20%

Ugarte shows Rick the precious letters of transit that drive the plot.

Look, Rick, do you know what this is? Something that even you have never seen. Letters of transit...
5

Debate

Scene 17 / 20% target

20%

Rick agonizes at the train station over Ilsa’s absence and his feelings for her.

Where is she? Have you seen her?
6

Break into Two

Scene 18 / 25% target

18%

Ilsa unexpectedly arrives, pulling Rick into personal and political conflict.

Rick, I have to talk to you.
7

B Story

Scene 16 / 30% target

18%

Flashback to Rick and Ilsa’s Paris romance grounds the emotional subplot.

The Germans'll be here pretty soon now, and they'll come looking for you. And don't forget there's a...
8

Fun and Games

Scene 31 / 40% target

20%

Rick’s café antics and gambling tips provide lighter moments amid tension.

Have you tried twenty-two tonight? I said, twenty-two.
9

Midpoint

Scene 34 / 50% target

22%

The Marseillaise scene unites patrons in defiance, raising the stakes of resistance.

Play the Marseillaise! Play it!
10

Bad Guys Close In

Scene 38 / 65% target

18%

After the raid, Laszlo and allies return shaken, tightening Nazi pressure.

The police break up our meeting. Herr Rick! We escaped in the last moment.
11

All Is Lost

Scene 36 / 75% target

20%

Ilsa confronts Rick alone in his apartment, bringing heartbreak to a head.

I told you this morning you'd come around, but this is a little ahead of schedule. Well, won't...
12

Dark Night of the Soul

Scene 37 / 80% target

20%

Ilsa reveals her marriage and betrayal, leaving Rick in despair.

Why weren't you honest with me? Why did you keep your marriage a secret?
13

Break into Three

Scene 40 / 85% target

20%

Rick and Renault forge a risky plan to help Laszlo and Ilsa escape.

I'm not. But I am interested in what happens to Ilsa and me. We have a legal right...
14

Finale

Scene 48 / 95% target

20%

At the foggy airport hangar, Rick ensures Ilsa leaves with Laszlo.

Louis, have your man go with Mr. Laszlo and take care of his luggage.
15

Final Image

Scene 50 / 99% target

20%

Strasser’s death marks Rick’s moral victory and the dawn of a new resistance.

All except one thing. There's something you should know before you leave. You said you knew about Ilsa...