Casablanca chemistry onscreen

Bogart & Bergman's families gathered for a 60th anniversary screening of Casablanca and laid to rest some myths.

The families of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman gathered for a 60th anniversary screening of

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Casablanca and laid to rest some myths about their parents' famous on-screen chemistry.

Bogart's wife, Lauren Bacall and their son Stephen Bogart joined Bergman's daughters, Pia Lindstrom, Isabella Rossellini and Ingrid Rossellini yesterday for a special screening of a new 35mm print of the 1943 romantic classic at the Lincoln Center in New York.

The general consensus? Neither Bogart nor Bergman thought very much of the movie, nor it seems very much of each other. "She didn't really get on with your father," Lindstrom observed to Stephen Bogart, who agreed that the relationship was purely that of two professional actors doing their jobs.

The apparent chemistry between the film's stars has often been cited as the main factor behind Casablanca's enduring popularity, and even Bogart's then wife, Mayo Methot, was convinced they were having an affair and repeatedly confronted Bogart with her suspicions during shooting.

"It was very mysterious, because they weren't even friends," said Isabella Rossellini. Bacall was more frank. "They did have chemistry on screen, but I don't think they were at it off screen," she joked.