[...] occupation at the time. The movie opens with her walking out on her live-in boyfriend. As I said before, the film “promises to be scandalous but really reinforces the social contract” once [...]

I haven’t heard of Arizona before, thanks for the tip!

Right, but it’s worth noting that none of those women actually know each other in the story. Why would Ilsa get into a conversation with the woman that Bogie helped? Also, the story is about a love triangle, no? The only thing any of them are talking about at any given moment are each other and the letters of transit.

The criticism itself seems almost anachronistic. It’s like saying I was disappointed that there were no progressive portrayals of LGBT’s in Gone With The Wind. Or saying that I was surprised that there were no non stereotypical portrayals of African Americans in Birth of a Nation. Saying it’s a product of it’s time is a fair criticism if “of the time” is refering to WW2 era films. But you can find plenty of pre code era films with women that pass the Bechdel test. I can think of half a dozen early thirties Norma Shearer films just off the top of my head that meet that challenge. I just thought that applying the test to a WW2 era film seemed a bit odd and unfair, IMHO. ;)

Oh, almost forgot, you’re right, History Is Made At Night is such a fun romantic film. Arthur is one of my favorite actors of classic film. My favorite scene is of Boyer giving her her jewels back in the cab on the way to the cafe. And when she orders scrambled eggs and they’re all aghast. So much fun.

Another great Arthur vehicle is “Arizona”, watched it recently and it quickly became my favorite Arthur film. She is such a badass in that. Check it out if you see it on tcm. It’s also on youtube. Even if the genre isn’t up your alley, it’s worth watching it to see that kind of leading lady role.

(Not that I still wouldn’t be surprised if any film passed the Bechdel test prior to 1970. But “Casablanca” is Bogie’s world, and we’re just living in it.)

I am curious as to why you thought to single out Casablanca as not passing the Bechdel test while not saying if any of the other films you watched did or not. Especially since the odds of a film from the 40s passing the test are virtually nill. You’d probably find more from the early 30s pre code era that pass than you would in nearly any film made during the war years when husbands were, you know, at war. ;)