MANILA, Philipppines?What if Oomph Girl, Ann Sheridan, had played the role of Ilya in ?Casablanca,? considered by many movie fans as Hollywood?s most beloved romance? Film lovers are forever grateful that David Selznick loaned Ingrid Bergman to Warner Bros. to star opposite Humphrey Bogart and Paul Henreid in the 1940 classic.

Originally, the studio intended to headline the film with its contract stars, Dennis Morgan and Ronald Reagan. Morgan was an amiable actor who had starred in musicals and detective thrillers. On the other hand, Reagan appeared in a series of B-movies, and he was then better-known as the husband of Academy Award-winning actress, Jane Wyman. I shudder to think of ?Casablanca? in the hands of these likeable but lightweight performers. I bet the great romance would never have become the classic that it is today!

Cary Grant is one of Hollywood?s greatest actors. The Continental gentleman starred in classics like ?The Philadelphia Story,? ?An Affair to Remember,? and Hitchcock?s ?Notorious,? ?To Catch a Thief? and ?North by Northwest.? However, the perennially tanned actor never won an Oscar. Grant may well have overestimated his image, because he was obviously afraid of playing unconventional roles. As a result, he turned down roles that could have earned him an Oscar.

Screen version

Grant was initially chosen to star as Professor Higgins in the screen version of the Broadway musical, ?My Fair Lady,? but the dashing star decided he couldn?t come up to the musical level set by Rex Harrison in the Broadway production, so he nixed the role. Grant was likewise offered another unconventional but demanding role in ?The Birdman of Alcatraz.? Instead, Burt Lancaster grabbed the role and got an Oscar nomination for his performance in it.

Harrison, a respected thespian was never in the league of Grant. But, after he won an Oscar in the screen version, his stock improved greatly and he had become a bonafide star by the end of his illustrious career. His Broadway costar, Julie Andrews, who had won awards for playing Eliza Doolittle onstage, was replaced by Audrey Hepburn in the film version, because producers still considered the London import a box-office risk then.

Graceful swan

Instead, Julie was cast in ?Mary Poppins? and won that year?s Academy Award, while Audrey was snubbed by the Academy despite her fine portrayal of the duckling transformed into a graceful swan. Andrews went on to become one of Hollywood?s box-office attractions, starring in hits like ?The Sound of Music.?