Vintage 1970 Casablanca Movie Poster in Wood Frame

The Piece

Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid dominate the upper register, their surnames printed in tall black lettering above a dense montage of faces from Casablanca. Below them, Bergman turns toward the viewer while Bogart, trench-coated and fedora-crowned, anchors the composition against the warm sepia, rust, cream, and black palette associated with mid-century film advertising. A pistol enters dramatically from the lower corner, while the surviving credit to producer Hal B. Wallis remains visible along the bottom edge.

This example is believed to be the 1970 Portal Publications issue of the Casablanca poster, a commercially produced vintage reproduction of imagery associated with Warner Bros.’ 1942 film. Printed decades after the original theatrical release, it has now acquired a period character of its own, combining Golden Age Hollywood graphics with the warm tonality and slightly softened print surface expected from a poster that has spent more than half a century in circulation.

The poster is presented under glass in a narrow stained-wood frame whose understated profile leaves the artwork to do the talking. The older fiberboard backing, metal retaining tabs, and simple hanging wire remain intact on the reverse.

History & Provenance

Casablanca premiered in 1942 under Warner Bros., directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Hal B. Wallis. Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine and Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa Lund became two of the most enduring figures of Hollywood’s studio era, and the film’s promotional imagery has remained almost as recognizable as the picture itself.

This poster is not represented as an original 1942 theatrical release poster. Its design corresponds with a commercial reproduction issued by Portal Publications around 1970, part of a generation of film posters produced for collectors, college interiors, theaters, bars, and home display as classic cinema entered a new period of popular rediscovery.

That distinction is important. Rather than pretending to be wartime advertising, this piece belongs to the next chapter of movie culture: a genuinely vintage poster made when Casablanca had already transformed from contemporary entertainment into American cinematic mythology.

The exact Portal Publications copyright line is believed to remain beneath the lower edge of the existing frame and will be confirmed when the piece is opened for final inspection.

Product Details

|Field                |Detail                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|---------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Object               |Framed vintage movie poster                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
|Film                 |*Casablanca*                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|Original Film Release|1942                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|Poster Edition       |Believed Portal Publications commercial issue                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
|Publisher            |Portal Publications Ltd., attribution pending final margin inspection                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|Era                  |c. 1970                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
|Featured Cast        |Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
|Production Credit    |A Hal B. Wallis Production                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|Printing             |Offset print on paper                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|Materials            |Printed paper, glass, stained wood frame, fiberboard backing, metal hardware                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|Form                 |Vertical rectangular framed poster                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
|Origin               |United States                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
|Dimensions           |Poster approx. 20″ W × 28″ H; framed dimensions to be confirmed                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|Condition            |Good vintage condition. Strong overall color with scattered age-related surface marks, minor creasing, tonal variation, and light wear associated with previous display. Wood frame shows small abrasions and surface wear. Older backing and hanging hardware remain intact.|
|Availability         |One of a Kind — 1 Available                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |

Why It Belongs in Your Home

This is the kind of piece that gives a room an instant point of view. The warm wood frame keeps it from feeling like conventional movie memorabilia, while the sepia-heavy artwork reads almost like a period portrait collage from across the room.

In a library, study, bar, office, listening room, or home theater, it brings in just enough Hollywood without turning the space into a themed set. Against dark green walls, walnut furniture, leather, brass, or collected artwork, the colors become particularly good.

And because this is a vintage circa-1970 printing rather than a newly produced poster, it carries its own history alongside the film it celebrates.