''Casablanca'' is an American drama series, based on the 1942 film of the same name set in the genre of spying and intrigue during World War II. Five episodes were filmed but, following its

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

premiere on April 10, 1983, and two additional installments on April 17 and 24, it was taken off the air. The two remaining unaired episodes were ultimately scheduled four months later, during summer programming, and shown on August 27 and September 3.Hyatt, Wesley. ''Short-Lived Television Series, 1948–1978: Thirty Years of More Than 1,000 Flops'' (McFarland, January 6, 2003)

Cast

David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943) is an American-British actor and singer. He is known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television series ''Starsky & Hutch'' from 1975 to 1979; Joshua Bolt on ' ...

as Rick Blaine *Reuven Bar-Yotam as Ferrari *

Hector Elizondo In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

as Capt. Louis Renault *

Kai Wulff Kai Wulff (born December 18, 1949 in Germany) is an American actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Lt. Colonel Yuri Voskov in ''Firefox'' and 'The German' in ''Three Amigos''. He appeared in the films '' Twilight Zone: ...

as Lt. Heinz *Patrick Horgan as Maj. Strasser *

Ray Liotta Raymond Allen Liotta (; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Shoeless Joe Jackson in ''Field of Dreams'' (1989) and Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's ''Goodfellas'' (1990). He was a Primet ...

as Sacha * Arthur Malet as Carl *

Scatman Crothers Benjamin Sherman Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986), known professionally as Scatman Crothers, was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show '' Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hal ...

as Sam

Characters

As in the 1942 feature, which was widely released in 1943 and won the Academy Award for Best Picture in March 1944, the main character is named Rick Blaine and is portrayed in 1983 by

who was born in 1943. The role of French police captain Louis Renault, originated by Claude Rains, was assigned to

Sydney Greenstreet Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (December 27, 1879 – January 18, 1954) was a British-American actor. While he did not begin his career in films until the age of 61, he had a run of significant motion pictures in a Hollywood career lasting throu ...

's black marketeer Ferrari was played by Reuven Bar-Yotam and Sacha the bartender, played in 1942 by

Leonid Kinskey Leonid Kinskey (1893/1894 – September 8, 1998) was a Russian-born American film and television actor, best known for his role as "Sascha" in the film ''Casablanca'' (1942). His last name was sometimes spelled Kinsky. Life and career Kinskey ...

, a character actor usually seen in comical portrayals, was taken as a serious role by

. Sam,

Dooley Wilson Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (April 3, 1886 – May 30, 1953) was an American actor, singer and musician who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sam in the 1942 film ''Casablanca (film), Casablanca''. In that romantic drama, he performs its theme ...

's iconic piano player, was being interpreted by another veteran character player,

, while Carl the maître d', created by still another familiar comical personality,

"Cuddles" Sakall Szőke Szakáll (born Jakab Grünwald, akas: Gärtner Sándor and Gerő Jenő; February 2, 1883 February 12, 1955), known in the English-speaking world as S. Z. Sakall, was a Hungarian-American stage and film character actor. He appeared in m ...

, returned in the person of latter-day character actor Arthur Malet. Finally, the main villain,

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and '' The Man Who Laug ...

's Major Strasser, who is fatally shot by Rick at the end of the film, is likewise back, in the portrayal by English actor Patrick Horgan. Strasser is also given an aide, Lieutenant Heinz, played by

. The series is described as taking place over a year before the events depicted in the 1942 film.Castro, Adam-Troy. "Remake Chronicles: It’s Time To Forgive David Soul’s CASABLANCA" (Adam-Troy Castro, October 21, 2015)
/ref>

Episodes

US television ratings

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Casablanca 1983 American television series debuts 1983 American television series endings Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios NBC original programming Television series set in the 1940s English-language television shows Live action television shows based on films Television series based on adaptations