History of Casablanca control of Casablanca was not formalised until 1910. It was especially during the years of military governor Hubert Lyautey that Casablanca became Morocco's economic center and Africa's biggest harbour. The famous 1942 film "Casablanca" underlined the city's colonial status at the time—depicting it as the scene of a power struggle between competing European powers, carried out without any reference to the local population, and with the film's vast cosmoplitan cast of characters (American, French, German, Czech and some other nationalities) including not a single Arab. During the 1940s and 1950s, Casablanca was a major centre of anti-French rioting. A terrorist
Casablanca (film) that the film achieved a "near-perfect entertainment balance" of comedy, romance, and suspense. According to Roger Ebert, "Casablanca" is "probably on more lists of the greatest films of all time than any other single title, including "Citizen Kane"" because of its wider appeal. Ebert opined that "Citizen Kane" is generally considered to be a "greater" film, but "Casablanca" "is more loved." In his opinion, the film is popular because "the people in it are all so good", and it is "a wonderful gem". Ebert said that he has never heard of a negative review of the film, even though individual