How did the censors change Casablanca's love scene, according to Sheldon Hall?

Sheldon Hall explains that the Production Code Administration had the late-night reunion of Rick and Ilsa end in a dissolve to a searchlight tower rather than a fade to black. A fade implied more time had passed, and so more opportunity for sex. Hall adds that in the original play Ilsa was an American called Lois Meredith who went to bed with Rick at once, which Hollywood could not show.

Claude Rains's Captain Renault was written as extorting women for sex in return for visas, and that was softened from the play and early drafts.
Critics have long argued about what the searchlight image means, and Hall says the ambiguity lets each viewer decide.

▸In their words

“In Hollywood grammar, a fade to black indicates a longer passage of time than a dissolve.” Sheldon Hall · at 38:51 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on In Our Time (2026-10-29). Read the whole episode summary →

▸More from this episode

Q1Was Ronald Reagan ever meant to star in Casablanca, according to Sheldon Hall?Q2Who wrote Casablanca's screenplay, according to Pamela Hutchinson on In Our Time?Q4What does Pamela Hutchinson say As Time Goes By means in Casablanca?Q5How does Casablanca argue against isolationism, according to Pamela Hutchinson and Ian Christie?Q6Why was Casablanca kept from North African audiences, according to the In Our Time panel?Q7Why were Casablanca's makers later targeted by HUAC, according to the In Our Time panel?Q8Why did Casablanca become one of the world's favourite films, according to In Our Time?

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