Buying the rights to the unpublished and unstaged play by Burnett and Allison in January 1942 , Warners had , at various intervals , assigned its adaptation to scenarists Julius and Philip Epstein , Howard Koch and the uncredited Casey Robinson , while also putting at the helm one of their top directors , Michael Curtiz . Production began on May 25 , with final shooting concluded on August 3 . '' Casablanca 's '' New York City premiere was rushed to take place in November , thus taking advantage of the newspaper headlines announcing Allied capture of North African ports , including Casablanca . Because of the November release , the New York Film Critics included the film in its 1942 award season for best picture ( the ultimate winner turned out to be the British wartime naval saga , '' In Which We Serve '' ) , but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences insisted that since '' Casablanca '' was not released nationally until early 1943 , it would compete at the Award ceremony taking place in 1944 . Sixteen months after its New York premiere , '' Casablanca '' won Best Picture , Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Julius J. Epstein , Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch . There were five additional nominations : Best Actor ( Humphrey Bogart ) , Best Supporting Actor ( Claude Rains ) , Best Cinematography , Black-and White ( Arthur Edeson ) , Best Film Editing ( Owen Marks ) and Best Music , Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture ( Max Steiner )
Award ceremony taking place in 1944
16th Academy Awards
Casablanca (1955 TV series)