Austrian actor Paul Henreid was lucky. In Casablanca (1942), he was given the second male lead to Humphrey Bogart’s leading role. His was also a likeable character, while most German-speaking actors in Hollywood had to accept small supporting roles or ones depicting Nazis. That was also the case in this film: Conrad Veidt played the German Major Strasser and Peter Lorre, in a few appearances, played the criminal Ugarte, who sold visas at horrendous prices to desperate refugees. 

Henreid played the Czech resistance fighter Victor László, an escapee from a German concentration camp. He depicted the character as an elegant gentleman with a natural sense of authority, whose wife

(Ingrid Bergmann) idolizes his courage and high standards. It is for him that she has abandoned the great love of her life, Rick.

The film became a great favorite with movie-goers and received many awards. Its popularity proved to be more a curse than a blessing for Henreid. Although he attempted to change his image by playing villains, for the movie-going public he would always be Victor László and all his subsequent efforts would be measured against his performance in Casablanca.