Arte: this small detail, for whom the sound of the bell saved one of the most beautiful scenes of Hollywood cinema

In July 1942, actress Ingrid Bergman began filming For Whom the Bell Tolls with her male partner, Gary Cooper. It is directed by Sam Wood, a veteran of the silent era who has already toured with Cooper Vainqueur du destin (1942) and after “Le Glas” will find him again in Casanova le petit (1944) and L’Intrigante de Saratoga (L’Intrigante de Saratoga). 1945, also with Bergman).

However, while he was filming For Whom The Bell Tolls for Paramount, Warner Bros. studio contacted him again because they needed to shoot a scene from Casablanca, which the actor had just finished.

Indeed, the musical director of the Michael Curtis film, Max Steiner, no longer wants to sing. As time passes and wants to replace him with someone else. Some whisper that Steiner wanted his own song more to collect royalties on it (As time passes is a standard that dates back to 1931 and was created for a Broadway play).

Therefore, it is necessary to bring back the scene of the famous line “Play It, Sam”, because the song has to be changed. In this excerpt, Ilsa (Bergman) asks bar pianist Sam to sing As Time Goes By, a song that reminds her of her love for bar owner Ricky (Humphrey Bogart). The musician is no longer allowed to play the tune because they are separated, but he does, leading to one of the most beautiful shots of the actor in cinema:

Anecdotally, if the song is performed vocally by the actor playing Sam (Dooley Wilson), the piano accompaniment is provided by studio pianist Jean Vincent Plummer.

Where is the problem?

Except that getting this scene back is not an easy task! For the purposes of Deathknell and his character, Bergman cut his hair quite short, which now creates a striking faux pas with the rest of Casablanca, in which it falls above his shoulders. We try to put different wigs on her, but in vain: nothing works, and for the rest of the film she regains the magic of her appearance.

So Steiner has to decide: to return the scene in which As time passes It is impossible. That’s why the song is preserved and becomes one of the most famous titles in cinema, a scene that has remained in the annals.

A short remix of the song has become iconic for Warner Bros., which has long used it as an accompaniment to its logo appearance at the beginning or end of its production. A legacy that wouldn’t exist if Ingrid Bergman hadn’t cut her hair in For Whom the Bell Tolls!