 In 1973, the screenwriter Howard Koch wrote in "New York" magazine that "Everybody Comes to Rick's" "provided an exotic locale and a character named Rick who ran a cafe but little in the way of a story adaptable to the screen".Burnett unsuccessfully sued for $6.5 million in damages, contending his play had provided the heart of the film.In 1991, Howard Koch, who was then 89 years old, said in a letter to the "Los Angeles Times" that, after rereading the play, he thought it had provided "the spine" of the movie.