B. False.
In spite of its stellar cast and renown writers, <em>Casablanca</em>'s producers did not expect it to receive any brighter success than other Hollywood films of the year (1942-43).
The budget, a bit over 1 million dollars, was not extraordinarily high.
Upon release, it was actually censored in several regions of the world:
- it was banned in North Africa, where it was believed to risk stirring up tensions among Vichy regime supporters,
- it was banned and recut in Ireland, because the evil portrayal of Germany and Nazi-occupied France was interpreted as against the principle of wartime neutrality.
Yet <em>Casablanca</em> received great reviews, was a box-office success, and won 3 Oscars in at the 16th Academy Awards ceremony in 1944: one for Best Picture, another for Best Director for Michael Curtiz, and another for Best Adapted Screenplay for the brothers Epstein and Howard Koch. What's more, it has made its imprint on popular culture by becoming a cult movie, thanks to its memorable characters, lines, and music.
