This is the third of eight installments in the series CASABLANCA CODES. See also the 2020 series CADDYSHACK CODES.

In this series’ previous two installments, FERRARI was identified as the Casablanca semiosphere’s dominant-discourse paradigm, and LASZLO as its counter-discourse paradigm. All of which is charted out via the Casablanca G-schema reproduced below. (For a nuanced discussion of the thematic complexes governed by these diametrically opposed paradigms, see these installments.)

We have so far identified two vertices from a single “semiotic square.” ^* In the diagram above, our semiosphere’s first semiotic square is colored red; please note that the color is not intended symbolically.

^* Also known as a “Greimas square” [le carré sémiotique] because the conceptual tool was developed by the Lithuanian-French semiotician Algirdas Greimas (based on Aristotle’s logical square of opposition) in his 1966 book Semantique Structurale and subsequent writings.

We turn now to the Casablanca semiosphere’s villain paradigm… which involves the second of our schema’s two semiotic squares. By identifying the four terms/paradigms whose relationship of contrasts and oppositions is mapped by this second square, and dimensionalizing each paradigm via an analysis of its two thematic complexes, we’ll eventually maneuver ourselves into a position where we can identify the first square’s “negative” (top-right vertex) and “neutral” (bottom-left vertex) terms/paradigms.

The Casablanca semiosphere’s “villain” paradigm, as is revealed by the G-schema above, governs the WAR territory. That is to say, the villain paradigm governs the two thematic complexes central to the WAR territory. Unlike the other two WAR-governing paradigms, it isn’t a hybrid; exactly like a semisophere’s “hero” paradigm (which we’ll investigate in the next series installment), the villain paradigm is laser-focused on its territory’s imperatives.

So which of this movie’s characters is focused entirely on war? Which Casablanca paradigm is an avatar of the WAR territory’s authoritarian and even totalitarian demands? The villain paradigm, for the semiosphere Casablanca, is: STRASSER.

Structurally, the villain’s role is to serve as a symbol of everything that the story’s hero opposes; they are a nemesis, an antagonist, a figurehead. (As I’ve discussed elsewhere, a semiosphere’s villain isn’t necessarily the most frightening, colorful, or evil baddie in a story.) A Nazi officer sent to Casablanca with more than one mission to accomplish, Major Heinrich Strasser is a ruthless figure who represents everything that Laszlo opposes.

As our Casablanca G-schema indicates, the two thematic complexes central to this semiosphere’s WAR territory are: CRUEL AUTOCRAT and MILITARY OFFICER. The paradigm STRASSER “governs” these two complexes, which we’ll explore in depth. But let’s pause, first, for a few notes about the actor who portrays Major Strasser in Casablanca.

After serving in WWI, Conrad Veidt (1893–1943) became one of Germany’s highest-paid actors, thanks to roles in silent films such as 1920’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and 1928’s The Man Who Laughs. (His starring role in the latter, as a man whose face is cut into a permanent grin, would provide the visual inspiration for the Joker.) An outspoken opponent of antisemitism, in the early ’30s Veidt ran afoul of Goebbels and the Nazi Party. Shortly after Hitler assumed power in 1933, he and his Jewish wife, Ilona, emigrated to Britain, where Veidt would make several films with Michael Powell… and where he’d also vouch for the bona fides of Paul Henreid, an Austrian refugee from the Nazis with whom he’d later appear in Casablanca. Veidt then emigrated to the United States, where he was mostly offered roles — including Casablanca‘s Major Strasser, the final role he’d play in a film released in his lifetime — in propaganda movies, playing Nazis.

Major Strasser is not only a military officer who demands obedience from the Third Reich’s subjects, but a cruel autocrat who requires fervent devotion to the Nazi cause. Veidt’s aristocratic bearing and hauteur make him believable as a military officer; but he’s also subtle, intelligent, suave — which make him believable as an ideologue and thought-cop.

MILITARY OFFICER

Before the plot of Casablanca gets started, we are shown a map of Europe — most of which is now under German control. Casablanca may be one of the English-speaking world’s favorite romance movies, but — as this opening reminds us — it’s also a war movie. One key aspect of the paradigm STRASSER, then, is that of a military officer, i.e., a man skilled at strategizing and issuing commands.

Strasser’s invasion is heralded by a droning sound in the sky above Casablanca. Outside the Palais de Justice, refugees waiting in line for exit visas look up hopefully. One of them, the naive Bulgarian Annina, says: “Perhaps tomorrow we’ll be on that plane.” Swooping past the sign for Rick’s Cafe Americain, the plane lands in the city’s airfield… and we see, at last, the swastika emblazoned on it. Casablanca isn’t under German control; it’s governed by unoccupied (Vichy) France. So Strasser’s arrival, leading a detachment of German officers and soldiers, is a blitzkrieg invasion of sorts.

Some ceremonious military blocking follows. A group of uniformed men — Captain Renault, the French officer appointed by Vichy as Casablanca’s prefect of police; Heinze, the German consul; Captain Tonelli, an officer of the Italian service; and Renault’s aide, Lieutenant Casselle — march into formation. The plane door opens, and out steps Strasser, his face frozen into a rictus. Heinze and Strasser exchange “Heil Hitler” salutes. Germany’s invasion of Casablanca has begun.

What are Strasser’s military objects, on this particular mission? He reveals one of them immediately. “By the way, the murder of the couriers, what has been done?” (Renault’s response: “Realizing the importance of the case, my men are rounding up twice the usual number of suspects.”) More importantly, he seeks to detain, capture, or kill Victor Laszlo… without disturbing the fragile relations of Germany and Vichy France.

In pursuit of Laszlo, Strasser shows up at Rick’s Café Americain. When his aide announces Strasser’s arrival to Renault, we’re treated to a little tableau vivant symbolizing the true nature of Germany and Vichy France’s alliance of equals.

RENAULT: I have my orders.

RICK: Oh, I see. Gestapo spank.

RENAULT: My dear Ricky, you overestimate the influence of the Gestapo. I don’t interfere with them and they don’t interfere with me. In Casablanca I am master of my fate. I am captain of my —

AIDE: Major Strasser is here, sir.

Renault immediately starts to leave.

RICK: Yeah, you were saying?

Later that evening, Strasser justifies his mission to Rick: “Victor Laszlo published the foulest lies in the Prague newspapers until the very day we marched in, and even after that he continued to print scandal sheets in a cellar.”

When Laszlo and Ilsa arrive, Strasser makes an initial foray. Renault presents him to the couple, and Strasser is all courtesy. “How do you do? This is a pleasure I have long looked forward to.” He waits, in vain, for Laszlo to invite him to sit down with them.

After some back-and-forth which we’ll discuss in the following section of this installment, Strasser has had enough of pretending to be sweet and reasonable. He issues a command, as though to a military subordinate: “Then we shall state another time and another place. Tomorrow at ten in the Prefect’s office, with Mademoiselle.”

He stalks off, and Renault can’t help teasing him: “A very clever tactical retreat, Major.” Renault reminds us that, although Rick’s Café Americain isn’t a battlefield, that Strasser is engaged here in a quasi-military operation.

The following morning, in Renault’s office, the two men continue to speak in terms of their respective military forces. Again, Renault gets the verbal upper hand:

RENAULT: If Rick has the letters, he’s much too smart to let you find them there.

STRASSER: You give him credit for too much cleverness. My impression was that he’s just another blundering American.

RENAULT: But we mustn’t underestimate American blundering. I was with them when they blundered into Berlin in 1918.

Once Laszlo and Ilsa arrive, Strasser continues to deploy the tonality of military command — as is fitting, considering that STRASSER is the central avatar of this semiosphere’s WAR territory. Laszlo, however, refuses to recognize Strasser’s authority.

STRASSER: Herr Laszlo, we will not mince words. You are an escaped prisoner of the Reich. So far you have been fortunate enough in eluding us. You have reached Casablanca. It is my duty to see that you stay in Casablanca.

LASZLO: Whether or not you succeed is, of course, problematic.

STRASSER: Not at all. Captain Renault’s signature is necessary on every exit visa. (He turns to Renault) Captain, would you think it is possible that Herr Laszlo will receive a visa?

RENAULT: I am afraid not. My regrets, Monsieur.

LASZLO: Well, perhaps I shall like it in Casablanca.

Strasser now proposes to negotiate with Laszlo, treating him as a kind of representative of a “nation” (a nation within a nation, really) resisting the Reich.

STRASSER: You know the leaders of the underground movement in Paris, in Prague, in Brussels, in Amsterdam, in Oslo, in Belgrade, in Athens.

LASZLO: Even in Berlin.

STRASSER: Yes, even in Berlin. If you will furnish me with their names and their exact whereabouts, you will have your visa in the morning.

He has shaken his big stick, and now he is speaking softly. Neither tactic works. The German military strategist is stumped by a foe who is courageous and idealistic.

Finally, he tries another approach. He threatens — though not in so many words, because to do so would be an affront to Vichy France — to have Laszlo murdered.

STRASSER: Herr Laszlo, you have a reputation for eloquence which I can now understand. But in one respect you are mistaken. You said the enemies of the Reich could all be replaced, but there is one exception. No one could take your place in the event anything unfortunate should occur to you while you were trying to escape.

Laszlo is unmoved by Strasser’s threats. But Ilsa is terrified, and perhaps that was Strasser’s goal. That evening, Strasser approaches her at Rick’s Café — after the “Marseilleise” scene.

STRASSER: Mademoiselle, after this disturbance it is not safe for Laszlo to stay in Casablanca.

ILSA: This morning you implied it was not safe for him to leave Casablanca.

STRASSER: That is also true, except for one destination, to return to occupied France.

When Ilsa scoffs at his offer, Strasser turns the screws.

STRASSER: There are only two other alternatives for him.

ILSA: What are they?

STRASSER: It is possible the French authorities will find a reason to put him in the concentration camp here.

ILSA: And the other alternative?

STRASSER: My dear Mademoiselle, perhaps you have already observed that in Casablanca, human life is cheap.

As previously noted, each Casablanca paradigm/character is mirrored (in a structural sense, though sometimes in a quite literal fashion — e.g., role, dialogue, costume, blocking) by a corresponding Star Wars paradigm/character. George Lucas made no attempt to obscure his movie’s manifold debts to Casablanca. This scene between a cadaverous, threatening Strasser and a defiant Ilsa is clearly a forerunner of the scene between Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia. Tarkin, who physically resembles Strasser, and who wears a similar uniform, is essentially… a Nazi officer. (In Lucas’ and Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, we’ll encounter many actual Nazis.)

When Renault manages to alert Strasser that Laszlo’s escape from Casablanca is imminent, Strasser snaps into military mode. He is furious, worried… but also elated, one suspects. He is a man of violent action, and the moment for violence has finally arrived. He orders a squad of police to meet him at the airport, and drives there himself.

Alighting from the car, he demands that Renault explain what’s going on. Renault indicates that Rick has arranged this escape. Strasser steps towards the telephone, to call the radio tower. Rick pulls out a gun, orders Strasser to step away from the phone.

Strasser is no coward, though.

STRASSER: I would advise you not to interfere.

RICK: I was willing to shoot Captain Renault, and I’m willing to shoot you.

Strasser runs toward the phone and grabs the receiver.

STRASSER: Hello?

RICK: Put that phone down!

STRASSER: Get me the Radio Tower!

RICK: Put it down!

Strasser, one hand holding the receiver, pulls out a pistol with the other hand, and fires at Rick. [Yes — unlike Greedo in Star Wars, Strasser shoots first.] He misses. Rick shoots Strasser, who crumples to the ground.

The military officer has died with his boots on.

CRUEL AUTOCRAT

As our G-schema indicates, in addition to governing the Casablanca semiosphere’s MILITARY OFFICER thematic complex, the paradigm STRASSER also governs its CRUEL AUTOCRAT complex. Not only does the Major Strasser character represent a military worldview and mode of action, then, he is a stand-in for Hitler himself. Or for any fascist leader — Mussolini, say, or Franco, Szálasi, Mosley, Salgado — who holds (or aspires to hold) complete authority and power. Strasser is a would-be dictator, a despot, a tyrant.

In this aspect of the character, Strasser is concerned not merely with “hard” power (as discussed in this installment’s previous section), but with “soft” power — i.e., Nazi propaganda efforts. We’ve already seen evidence of Nazi (and Vichy) propaganda in the movie, by this point. A member of the Free French movement is gunned down before a huge poster of Philippe Petain, as was discussed in this series’ second installment. And when Rick throws a German out of his casino, the man threatens to report him to Der Angriff — the Nazi party’s chief German propaganda newspaper. Strasser is an enforcer of the Reich’s anti-democratic and nationalist ideology; and we can safely assume, though it isn’t depicted, that he is also an enforcer of the Reich’s anti-communist, antisemitic, white supremacist ideology.

As an enforcer of ideology, of course, Strasser would be particularly worried about the efforts of Laszlo, a truly inspiring rabble-rouser and fisher of men. He knows the value of “soft” power.

There was a well-known Nazi ideologue named Strasser, by the way: Otto Strasser (1897–1974) was a founding member of the Nazi Party. A leading member of the Party’s left-wing faction, he argued that the revolution should seek the support of the German working class; this brought the Strasserites into conflict with the right-wingers led by Hitler. In 1930, Strasser seceded from the Nazi Party and set up his own party. The Strasserists were annihilated during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934. In 1940, Otto fled to Bermuda by way of Portugal. Who knows? Perhaps as he scurried out of Europe, Strasser passed through Casablanca.…

Which brings up a question: Is Strasser a member of the Gestapo—the Nazis’ secret police? Some Casablanca exegetes insist that he must be, since Rick jokingly says “Gestapo spank” to Renault, when Strasser first appears. And of course the Gestapo’s mission was to stamp out ideological dissent (as expressed by political opponents, religious organizations, and others; and as represented, in the Nazi worldview, by the Roma population, handicapped persons, homosexuals, and, above all, the Jews). However, it doesn’t seem likely that Strasser is, technically, a Gestapo officer. After all, they were a secretive plainclothes agency, while Strasser is a proudly uniformed military officer. Nor does he wear an all-black SS uniform; instead he wears the uniform of a Luftwaffe Major.^* In some scenes, he even wears white. Still, he’s an ideology-enforcer whose skull-like features remind us of the SS’s Totenkopf insignia…. So let’s call him a Gestapo-adjacent figure.

^* WWII uniform nerds like to point out that Strasser’s insignia is that of a Luftwaffe Generalmajor.

As an autocratic, Gestapo-adjacent figure, Major Strasser is prickly, to say the least, whenever Renault or Laszlo says anything that seems to contradict the Nazi party line. He is forever taking offense, and misses no opportunity to instruct his interlocutors on how they should see, think, feel, and speak about the Reich. Which he would have everyone regard as a natural, permanent, and inevitable phenomenon.

RENAULT: You may find the climate of Casablanca a trifle warm, Major.

STRASSER: Oh, we Germans must get used to all climates, from Russia to the Sahara. But perhaps you were not referring to the weather.

In fact, Strasser’s agenda is not merely the capture or murder of Laszlo. He also seeks to stamp out any and all dissent in Casablanca. The two figures about whom he seems most concerned about (presciently, it turns out) are Rick and Renault. When Renault first mentions Rick’s cafe, Strasser replies: “I have already heard about this cafe, and also about Mr. Rick himself.” If he’d come only to deal with Laszlo, he’d hardly have done so much homework. ^*

^*  Note the juxtaposition, on our G-schema, of the thematic complexes BLACK MARKETEER and CRUEL AUTOCRAT. One suspects that Strasser has also done his homework on Signor Ferrari… who does not seem to be on Strasser’s radar. Which bolsters the suggestion made, in this series’ first installment, that Ferrari is likely willing to cooperate with the Nazis if doing so is profitable.

It’s thanks to Strasser and his little black book that we learn a few intriguing details about Rick’s background. “Richard Blaine, American. Age, thirty-seven. Cannot return to his country. The reason is a little vague. We also know what you did in Paris, Mr. Blaine, and also we know why you left Paris.”

Rick, however, firmly insists that he is neutral, a businessman, a drunkard—nothing to worry about. He succeeds in persuading Strasser that (as was mentioned earlier) he is just a “blundering American.” He’s mistaken in this impression… but to be fair, Rick himself believes what he tells Strasser about himself.

Which leaves Strasser, in his role as cruel autocrat concerned with ideology, with nothing to worry about except Renault. Who represents Germany’s ally, unoccupied Vichy France… yet who seems worrisomely independent-minded. Is Renault merely a greedy sensualist and opportunist? Or a potential foe?

We’ve discussed Strasser’s encounter with Laszlo already, in this series’ previous installment. However, one wonders if Strasser would have bothered with the “You were a Czechoslovakian. Now you are a subject of the German Reich” stuff if Renault hadn’t been privy to the exchange. Was it for his benefit?

In nearly every scene the two characters have together, Major Strasser is concerned that Renault should get his mind right. For example:

RENAULT: We are very honored tonight, Rick. Major Strasser is one of the reasons the Third Reich enjoys the reputation it has today.

STRASSER: You repeat “Third Reich” as though you expected there to be others.

Strasser seems to have missed the biting irony in Renault’s talk of Nazi German’s reputation. He is concerned only with Renault’s historicizing insistence on saying “the Third Reich” instead of merely “the Reich.”

After a Vichy French officer and a German officer tussle in Rick’s Café (because of a cutting remark the Frenchman had made to Yvonne, who is openly consorting with the German), the Vichy officer says, in French, “Dirty Boche. Someday we’ll have our revenge!” Strasser remarks to the too-complacent Renault: “You see, Captain, the situation is not as much under control as you believe.” “My dear Major,” Renault protests, “We are trying to cooperate with your government, but we cannot regulate the feelings of our people.” Which leads Strasser to ask: “Are you entirely certain which side you’re on?”

Renault, who is all too aware that Strasser is a tireless enforcer of the idea that Hitler’s Reich is natural, permanent, and inevitable, gets off a good zinger here. After Renault compares himself to a weathercock that submits to the prevailing wind, Strasser challenges him: “And if it should change?” His smirk suggests that he thinks he’s won this verbal argument; Renault should swear his allegiance to the Reich. But Renault finds a loophole: “Surely the Reich doesn’t admit that possibility?” Strasser has goofed.

Another opportunity for Strasser to enforce the Reich’s “soft power” comes when a group of German officers commandeer the piano at Rick’s and sing “Wacht am Rhein,” in German. [“Now thunders forth the call once more / Like clash of arms and waters’ roar: / ‘The Rhine, the Rhine, the German Rhine! / Ho! who will help to guard that line?'” etc.] When Laszlo directs the cafe’s jazz orchestra to play “The Marseilleise,” Strasser himself attempts to lead the Germans in out-singing the inspired crowd.

Furious when his propaganda effort fails miserably (“Vive La France! Vive la démocratie!”), Strasser strongly “advises” Renault (whose obedience he can’t command) to close down the joint.

STRASSER: You see what I mean? If Laszlo’s presence in a cafe can inspire this unfortunate demonstration, what more will his presence in Casablanca bring on? I advise that this place be shut up at once.

RENAULT (innocently): But everybody’s having such a good time.

STRASSER: Yes, much too good a time. The place is to be closed.

RENAULT: But I have no excuse to close it.

STRASSER: Find one.

When “soft” power fails, it’s time to drop the hammer. Strasser has reverted from cruel autocrat to his role as a military officer used to making rapid decisions when under fire… and to being obeyed.

Though distinguishable, the paradigm STRASSER’s two thematic complexes are, in fact, closely intertwined. The same is true, it bears repeating, of every paradigm in a G-schema.

Next CASABLANCA CODES series installment: ILSA.

All series installments: FERRARI | LASZLO | STRASSER | ILSA | UGARTE | YVONNE | RICK | RENAULT.