Casablanca (1946), first Belgian release poster (1946)

Unframed: 18 x 11 5/8 in (45.7 x 29.5 cm)

Framed: 21 3/8 x 17 1/2 in. (54 x 44.4 cm)

Owing to paper shortages during and after World War II, film posters could not be printed on the larger format paper used before the war. This size poster was therefore typical during and directly after the war. There is a franked stamp on the bottom right-hand side of the poster. This signifies that duty was paid when the poster was originally displayed, which was a regulation in Belgium at the time. The blank area at the top of the poster was for the cinema to write the screening information of the film. Part of this area has been covered by the framing mount.

Casablanca remains the most famous film of all time. It was directed by Michael Curtiz, and stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre. After Bogart's success in The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca was the film that truly elevated him to global stardom.