Original artwork, not a still
Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects.
— Casablanca ‧ 1942
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the moment the film's cynical police chief quietly changes sides: he knows exactly who shot Strasser and chooses to protect him by pointing the police at no one in particular. The phrase has outgrown the film as a wink for a predictable, useless investigation, and it is the reason a famous 1995 thriller is called what it is.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for CasablancaShow the scene
In the final scene of Casablanca (1942), Rick makes Ilsa board the plane to Lisbon with her husband, Victor Laszlo. Major Strasser, tipped off by Captain Renault, arrives at the airfield and draws a gun on Rick, who shoots him dead. When the police arrive, Renault, the unabashedly corrupt prefect of police, pauses for a moment and then tells them to round up the usual suspects. He then suggests to Rick that they both join the Free French in Brazzaville. The phrase later gave its name to a book on the film's making, Round Up the Usual Suspects, and, indirectly, to the 1995 thriller The Usual Suspects.
Sources (1)
- Wikipedia: Casablanca (film)Plot (ending) and Cast / LegacyReference checked
Context reviewed
