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Here’s a Helpful Casablanca Anecdote About Playing Hard to Get

For his turn hosting Ask a Grown Man for Rookie, John Mulaney has revived a useful anecdote from the filming of Casablanca about playing hard to get. Here’s what you do (you’re Humphrey Bogart in this situation, not Ingrid Bergman, sorry):

Humphrey Bogart was a handsome but not that handsome guy, and Ingrid Bergman was a very beautiful woman. And he was insecure, I heard, about the audience wondering why Ingrid Bergman would like him, so when they were filming the movie, if there was ever a close shot of the two of them, he took a step backward and Ingrid Bergman would take a step towards him, because she had to, to stay on camera, and to the audience it said, Look how much she likes Humphrey Bogart, she’s taking a step closer to him.

All I mean by that boring anecdote [WRITER’S NOTE: IT’S NOT BORING, TELL IT AGAIN!] is that backing up a little can make people come towards you.   

Do tricks for alluring people in 1942 work today? Probably; people haven’t changed that much. Everyone try this out and report back please.

A Casablanca Anecdote About Playing Hard to Get