The piano from the Oscar-winning film Casablanca could fetch more than $1 million when it is sold at auction in New York next month on the 70th anniversary of the premi猫re of the classic movie, Sotheby's said Tuesday.
The 58-key piano, on which actor and singer Dooley Wilson performed As Time Goes By, has a pre-sale estimate of $800,000 to $1.2 million for the Dec. 14 auction.
Wilson sang the song while playing the role of Sam in the 1942 film as Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, the star-crossed lovers Rick and Isla, leaned on the piano in a flashback to their time in Paris.
"How can anything say 'I love you' better than the piano from Casablanca?" said David Redden, vice-chairman and director of the special projects department at Sotheby's.
The film, set in Morocco during the Second World War, won three Academy Awards including best picture, best writing and best director.
In 1988, when Sotheby's sold the piano to a Japanese collector, it fetched $154,000, the highest price ever paid for a movie prop. Since then, interest in film props has grown, Sotheby's said.
Marilyn Monroe's white "subway dress" from the 1955 movie The Seven Year Itch, sold for $4.6 million last year.
