I watched this for the first time last week and I was surprised that the plot has remained pretty novel. It's one thing to watch an old movie and recognize it for first producing a certain story (or at least capturing it on film) but I can't think of a similar story to Casablanca and that impressed me.

It was also neat to see the film shot just like a play where there are very particular sets each scene. I wish I could have the scene the original play once.

A few things I didn't like though was the flashback. There was no subtlety and poor writing. They could have started the film with their time in France. The real plot point wasn't that the two characters knew each other but _why_ she left him.

And it was also odd to me that the general was in his headquarters when he learned about the escape attempt but then showed up at the airport... without any men.

Anyway, I did enjoy the movie and am grateful to it for introducing As Time Goes By.