We'll Always Have Baltimore

So, last night I'm watching The Wire. As Proposition Joe is making it clear to Marlo Stanfield that he has his ear to the ground, it struck me that it all seemed familiar somehow.

Then, it hit me. Prop Joe is the Sydney Greenstreet character from Casablanca, Signor Ferrari. Ok, so the picture is from The Maltese Falcon, but just bear with me.

So, does that make McNulty the Bogart character, Rick? To further strain the comparison, Ilsa Lund's Baltimore analog would be Rhonda Pearlman and Victor Laszlo would be Cedric Daniels.

Or would Ilsa be Theresa D'Agostino and Victor be Tommy Carcetti? Mmmm. Theresa D'Agostino.

For that matter who would the Nazis be and who would be the French? Either Stringer Bell or Marlo Stanfield would have made a good Major Strasser. But the cop/Nazi connection is too ripe with comparison to pass up.

Is Bunk Moreland closer to Sam or Captain Renault? What about Freamon and Greggs?

Ok, so maybe the whole Wire/Casablanca thing doesn't really stand up under close examination. But the two fat men are too much alike for me to not think of Greenstreet saying, "As leader of all illegal activities in Casablanca, I am an influential and respected man." everytime I see Prop Joe double dealing someone.