10 Movies That Started Shooting Without A Completed Script

1. Casablanca

Despite many critics and fans hailing Casablanca as the greatest film ever made, the Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman romantic drama wasn't considered a major film for Warner Bros. when it went into production. It was simply one of the many World War II movies in the studio's pipeline that were being rushed into theatres after America entered the war. Warner Bros. had bought the rights to the unproduced play Everybody Comes To Rick's in January 1942, and production on the movie started in late May. Twin brothers Julius and Philip G. Epstein wrote the screenplay, with contributions to the final script by Howard Koch and Casey Robinson. However, the script was only halfway finished when filming began. Casablanca was shot in sequence to give the Epstein brothers time to write the second half of the script during filming. Because of this, two of the film's iconic lines weren't in the script. Rick's toast "Here's looking at you, kid" was reportedly a line Bogart said to Bergman during an on-set poker game, and the final line ("Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship") was thought up by producer Hal B. Wallis and added in post-production. Despite rumours that the screenwriters were undecided about the conclusion, the famous ending where Rick tells Ilsa to leave with Laszlo was always in place. Because of the Production Code rules, it would have been impossible to depict Isla leaving her husband for Rick. Still, they€™ll always have Paris. Do you think these films were hurt or helped by starting shooting without a finished screenplay? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!