Original artwork, not a still
My dear Ricky, you overestimate the influence of the Gestapo. I don't interfere with them and they don't interfere with me. In Casablanca I am master of my fate! I am...
— Casablanca · 1942
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The joke is the unfinished sentence. Renault has just claimed to be his own man, and the moment the Gestapo walks in he drops everything to fawn. It is the film's cleanest portrait of a survivor who bends with the wind, and Claude Rains plays him with so much charm that audiences forgive him, which is why he gets to walk away with Rick at the end.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for CasablancaShow the scene
In Rick's Cafe Americain, Captain Renault, the Vichy prefect of police, has just told Rick that Victor Laszlo must not leave Casablanca and that he has his orders. Rick calls him a Gestapo lapdog. Renault, looking at the mirror over the bar, answers with this speech: he does not interfere with the Gestapo and they do not interfere with him, and in Casablanca he is master of his fate. He is in the middle of another boast when an aide announces that Major Strasser has arrived, and Renault hurries off to greet him.
Sources (1)
- Casablanca shooting script (ScriptSlug PDF)Rick's bar: Renault's word of advice, then the Gestapo exchangeReference checked
Context reviewed
