Answered from Casablanca · In Our Time · 2026-10-29
Pamela Hutchinson says As Time Goes By, an existing song rather than one written for the film, carries the memory of Rick and Ilsa's Paris romance and is woven through Max Steiner's score. She contrasts it with Knock On Wood, the one original song, whose cheerful advice to sit tight is exactly what the film argues against. The American standards Dooley Wilson plays mark Rick's Cafe as a small outpost of America.
Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on In Our Time (2026-10-29). Read the whole episode summary →