Casablanca (1983 TV series) still another familiar comical personality, "Cuddles" Sakall, returned in the person of latter-day character actor Arthur Malet. Finally, the main villain, Conrad Veidt'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 Kai Wulff. The series is described as taking place over a year before the events depicted in the 1942 film. Casablanca (1983 TV series) Casablanca is an American drama series, based on the 1942 film of the same name set in the
Casablanca (film) elements can be criticized, citing unrealistic special effects and the stiff character/portrayal of Laszlo. Critic Leonard Maltin considers "Casablanca" to be "the best Hollywood movie of all time." Rick, according to Rudy Behlmer, is "not a hero ... not a bad guy": he does what is necessary to get along with the authorities and "sticks his neck out for nobody". The other characters, in Behlmer's words, are "not cut and dried" and come into their goodness over the course of the film. Renault begins as a collaborator with the Nazis who extorts sexual favors from refugees and has Ugarte killed.