Steve Martaindale

“What’s your favorite?” is a question I usually avoid. Too often, the topic is one where I hold broad interests or maybe little interest. I couldn’t pick just one favorite artist, for example.

Several years ago – to have an answer to a frequent question – I decided to crown “Casablanca” as my favorite movie. (Similarly, I dubbed Jimmy Buffett’s “He Went to Paris” as my favorite song.)

I do not have a vivid memory of my first viewing of “Casablanca,” but it would have been after VCRs and VHS tapes came into vogue in the early ’80s. While I enjoyed the movie, I’m sure it didn’t rocket to the top of my favorites list with one watch.

A few years later, I acquired a copy of the film and got in touch with its beauty.

Colorful characters, a love story, quality wartime propaganda, top-shelf good guys, reluctant good guys, purely evil bad guys, self-serving minor bad guys, excellent dialogue wonderfully delivered … and more.

While I’ve seen “Casablanca” at home dozens of times, I’ve never had the opportunity to watch it in a theater, but that’s changing Wednesday.

Fathom Events has teamed with movie theaters all over for four special showings of the movie. Two happened Sunday; the final two are Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Central time. Click here to find a theater near you.

In preparation for the movie, I’m holding a quote storm today on my Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Here are the first few:

“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.” Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine.

“I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!” Claude Rains as Captain Louis Renault.

“Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time.” Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa Lund.

“You must remember this / A kiss is still a kiss / A sigh is just a sigh.” Dooley Wilson as Sam.

“You might as well question why we breathe. If we stop breathing, we’ll die. If we stop fighting our enemies, the world will die.” Paul Henreid as Victor Laszlo.

Quickly now, what other “Casablanca” quotes must I include?