Casablanca (1955 TV series) had an unbilled part as the refugee Mr. Leuchtag in 1942) portrays the Sakall-styled maître d', Ludwig, Clarence Muse is at the piano as Sam and Michael Fox provides slight comedy relief as Sasha the bartender. Twenty-seven years after the final first-run episode of "Casablanca" was broadcast in April 1956, Warner Bros. Television produced another TV series titled "Casablanca" which premiered on April 10, 1983. The role of Rick, whose surname was returned to its original form, Blaine, was won by David Soul who gained TV stardom as one of the stars of the popular 1975–79 police detective series "Starsky
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.