A Night in Casablanca storyline for the film was intended to be a direct parody of "Casablanca," with the characters having similar-sounding names to the characters and actors in the 1942 film. Groucho Marx has said that an early draft named his character "Humphrey Bogus", a reference to the leading actor in "Casablanca," Humphrey Bogart. Warner Bros. did not actually litigate, or even threaten to litigate, but it did issue a formal inquiry to the Marx Brothers concerning the plot and script of the film. The Marx Brothers exploited the situation for publicity, making it appear to the public that a frivolous lawsuit was
Casablanca (film) All the characters react to what the plot dictates to them; the plot does not organically flow from their personae." Umberto Eco wrote that "by any strict critical standards ... "Casablanca" is a very mediocre film." He viewed the changes the characters undergo as inconsistent rather than complex: "It is a comic strip, a hotchpotch, low on psychological credibility, and with little continuity in its dramatic effects." However, he added that due to the presence of multiple archetypes which allow "the power of Narrative in its natural state without Art intervening to discipline it", it is a movie reaching "Homeric