CaSaBlAnCa

The ending to Casablanca was awesome. The whole movie, Rick is portrayed as selfish, as he makes clear by repeating that he sticks his neck out for nobody. However, the ending shows that he really does have a moral conscious because he makes Ilsa go back with Lazlo. He didn't want her to be in danger and I also believe that taking a women from her husband goes against his moral code as a man.

Even with the interesting character traits that Rick shows in the ending, attention should not be drawn away from Claude Rains's character, Louie. Louie says one funny after another throughout the film, but Rains's comedic timing during the last half hour of the film is nothing short of historical. Even in the heat of everything that is happening, when Rick pulls a gun on Louie and says, "I don't want to shoot you, but I will if you take one more step!". Louie then replies, "Under the circumstances I will sit down." Or when they are at the airport and Rick is explaining to Ilsa how bad her situation will be if she stays in Casablanca by saying, "Now, you've got to listen to me! You have any idea what you'd have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten, we'd both wind up in a concentration camp. Isn't that true, Louie?" and Louie replies, "I'm afraid Major Strasser would insist." The way he says it, in the heat of everything is so comedic and adds something extra to the film.

After doing some further research, I found out that there was an alternate ending of the film that was shot where Ilsa stays with Rick and they live "happily ever after". I love the fact that they decided not to use the 'hollywood' ending and chose the one that gives Bogart's character so much more depth.

Everything that happens in the end is clear to me, but the one question I have is what happens to Rick? Does he see Ilsa again? Is he punished for his actions?