You’ve heard the line. Everyone has. “Play it again, Sam.”

Except—it was never said in the movie. Not once.

Still, Casablanca boasts one of the most exquisitely poignant songs ever paired with a piano: the timeless, waltz-tinged As Time Goes By.

Let’s dive into the fascinating, winding story of how this quiet ballad from a modest 1930s Broadway show ended up haunting one of the greatest films in cinema history—and nearly vanished from existence along the way.

“Play it once, Sam… for old time’s sake.”

Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa Lund never actually said “Play it again, Sam.” What she did say was far more delicate:
“Play it once, Sam. For old time’s sake.”

And the song she asks for—As Time Goes By—is pure wistful nostalgia. A mix of love, longing, and what might have been.

But this wasn’t just a Hollywood ballad cooked up for the film. Its journey started over a decade earlier.

From Broadway to Obscurity (Almost)

As Time Goes By was written in 1931 by Herman Hupfeld for a modest Broadway musical called Everybody’s Welcome. The show ran for just 139 performances—not a hit, but not a flop either.

The song was first performed by Frances Williams (best known for her roles in Marx Brothers films). Early recordings followed, including versions by Jacques Renard, Fred Rich, and British star Binnie Hale. But it was Rudy Vallée’s version that quietly planted the seed for what would become Casablanca’s musical soul.

A Cornell Student’s Obsession

That seed found fertile ground with Murray Burnett, a Cornell student who heard Vallée’s version and became completely obsessed. He played it constantly.

Years later, Burnett—now a schoolteacher in New York—travelled to Europe in 1938 with his wife Frances, hoping to help Jewish relatives escape Nazi-occupied Austria. After being turned away by the U.S. Consulate in Vienna and horrified by what they saw, the couple left Austria heartbroken and headed for the French Riviera.

One night, in a smoky club called La Belle Aurore, they watched a Black pianist play in the background. Burnett turned to Frances and said:
“This would make a great setting for a play.”

And so it began.

Everybody Comes to Rick’s

Back in the U.S., Burnett partnered with fellow writer Joan Alison to pen Everybody Comes to Rick’s, a play filled with anti-Nazi themes and the soulful ache of As Time Goes By.

The play had all the key elements of what would become Casablanca:
– The conflicted, charming rogue Rick
– A past love who reappears under impossible circumstances
– Shadowy agents, dangerous politics, and an unforgettable gin joint

But Broadway producers refused to stage it—not because of the plot, but because the script hinted the female lead had slept with Rick to get travel papers for her husband. That was enough to violate the era’s “moral code.”

So the play sat in limbo—until the world changed.

The War Changes Everything

On December 7th, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. America entered World War II, and suddenly Hollywood studios scrambled for relevant material.

Just a month later, Warner Brothers snapped up the rights to Everybody Comes to Rick’s for $20,000 each—an enormous sum for an unproduced play (over $400,000 in today’s money).

From there, Casablanca was born. Producer Hal Wallis, with screenwriters Julius and Philip Epstein and Howard Koch, adapted the play for the screen—changing some characters, flipping the female lead from American to Norwegian (to suit Ingrid Bergman), and crafting a new ending.

But one thing they didn’t change?

The song.

As Time Goes By remained, just as Murray Burnett had loved it.

Enter Sam… and History

With Bogart cast as Rick, Bergman as Ilsa, and Rick’s Café ready to open its cinematic doors, the only missing piece was the piano player.

Who would play Sam?

(We’ll cover that in Part Two…)

Why This Story Still Matters

Behind one of the most iconic songs and misquoted lines in film history lies a deeper truth—a story of obsession, injustice, resilience, and art surviving against the odds.

Without a lovesick student in the 1930s, a failed Broadway play, and a smoky French piano bar, we might never have heard As Time Goes By at all.

And isn’t that the magic of music?
It travels, it hides, it waits.
Then—when it’s needed most—it plays again.

Want more on how the piano shapes the film? See the companion post:
We’ll Always Have Paris – How a Piano Shaped the Heart of Casablanca.