Enter the budget world of movie financing 1940's style. In this page you will find out about actors' salaries, credit debt, studio costs, general overhead, depreciation, and everything else that makes up a film's budget. Read on: I hope you find it fascinating and informative.

Continuity and Treatment: CASABLANCA is based on an unproduced play entitled Everybody Comes to Rick's by Murray Burnett and Joan Allison. The amount Warner Brothers paid for Everybody Comes to Rick's was $20,000.

The following are salaries paid to studio writers and other personnel for work on the script:

W. Klein: $1,983
Aeneas MacKenzie: $2,150
Julius Epstein: $15,208
Phillip Epstein: $15,208
Howard Koch: $4,200
Lenore Coffee: $750
Secretaries: $1,432
Script changes: $6,350

Writers' Salaries Grand Total: $47,281

Director's Salary: Michael Curtiz:$73,400

Producer's Salary: Hal Wallis $52,000

  • Assistant Directors:

    To the week ending May 23, 1942: $3,036

    Lee Katz: $1,431
    George Tobin: $560
    Alma Dwight: $630
    Extra Assistant: $280
    Hugh McMullen: $1,400
    Robert Aisner: $1,000
    Al Alleborn: $1,500

    Assistant Directors' Grand Total: $9,837

  • Cameramen & Assistants:

    To the week ending May 23, 1942: $2,813

    Director of Photography: Arthur Edeson, A.S.C.: $4,000
    2nd Cameraman: $1,040
    Assistant: $640
    Still man: $880
    Test, Extra cameras: $1,500

    Cameramen' Grand Total: $10,873

  • Cast Salaries:

    Humphrey Bogart

    $36,667

    Ingrid Bergman

    $25,000

    Paul Henreid

    $25,000

    Claude Rains

    $22,000

    Conrad Veidt

    $25,000

    Sydney Greenstreet

    $7,900

    Peter Lorre

    $2,333

    S.Z. Sakall

    $2,600

    Madeleine LeBeau

    $700

    Gino Corrado

    $350

    Dooley Wilson

    $3,500

    Joy Page

    $200

    Martin Garralaga

    $300

    John Qualen

    $400

    Dan Seymour

    $1,000

    Leo Mostovoy

    $2,267

    George Dee

    $300

    Helmut Dantine

    $800

    Curt Bois

    $1,000

    Marcel Dalio

    $667

    Corinna Mura

    $2,000

    A. Extras:........................................$44,978
    B. Bits: ............................................$10,551
    C. Animal Handlers: ..........................$490

    Talent Grand Total: $161,584

  • Musicians:

    A. Song writers, releases, arrangers: $8,000
    B. Musicians: $20,000

    Musicians' Grand Total: $28,000

  • Property Labor:

    A. Prop Labor: $850
    B. Set Dressers: $2,635
    C. Prop Operating Labor: $6,665

    Property Labor Grand Total: $10,150

  • Construction of Sets: $18,000

  • Stand-by Labor: $15,350

  • Electrical Rental and Expense: $750

  • Electricians:

    A. Rigging: $1,500
    B. Operating: $18,380
    C. Striking: $875

    Electricians Grand Total: $20,755

  • Make-up Expense:

    A. Make-up salaries: $6,000
    B. Hairdressers salaries: $2,600
    C. Wigs purchased and rented: $500

    Make-up Expense Grand Total: $9,100

  • Art Department Salaries: $8,846

  • Cutters Salaries: $4,630

  • Property Rental and Expense:

    A. Outside rentals: $2,790
    B. Outside purchases: $1,275
    C. Studio charges: $2,235

    Property Rental and Expense Grand Total: $6,300

  • Location Expense: $1,252

  • Trick shots, Miniatures, Etc.:

    A. Miniature construction: $3,025
    B. Cameramen: $1,775
    C. Operating Labor: $1,300
    D. Electricians: $1,373

    Trick shots, Miniatures, Etc. Grand Total: $7,475

  • Wardrobe Expense:

    A. Outside Rentals: $5,000
    B. Outside Purchases: $1,000
    C. Studio Charges: $6,035
    D. Wardrobe labor: $10,285

    Wardrobe Expense Grand Total: $22,320

    Negative Film: $8,000
    Developing & Printing: $10,500
    Camera Rental & Expense: $400
    Meals: $1,200
    Auto Rental Expense & Travel: $5,000
    Insurance: $2,800
    Miscellaneous Expenses: $3,350
    Sound Expense: $2,200
    Trailer: $2,000
    Sound Operating Salaries: $8,000
    Stills: $850

  • Publicity: $3,000

    Total Direct Cost: ................................... $638,222

    General Studio Overhead @ 35%: $223,822

    Depreciation @ 2½%: $15,956

    Grand Total Cost: $878,000

    More about the CASABLANCA budget on GOOGLE:

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