good back-story, and good acting

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Blistering performances.

Copyright by 1956 by Republic Puictures Corp. New York opening at the Mayfair: 29 August 1956. U.S. release: 17 August 1956. U.K. release through British Lion: 14 January 1957. Australian release through 20th Century-Fox: 18 July 1957. Sydney opening at the Plaza (ran two weeks). 8,139 feet. 90 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A smuggler, headquartered in Lisbon, attempts to get his hands on a $25 million fortune.NOTES: Milland's second film as a director, following A Man Alone.COMMENT: As Republic movies have a considerable cult following, I racked my brains as to which film I should review next for IMDb. I came up with Lisbon, mostly out of sheer perversity. I like the movie, but most Republic fans do not, as their interest usually lapses for the studio's products after 1950. What Lisbon has to recommend it are its players, its locations and its music score. Maureen O'Hara has a rare unsympathetic role, Milland is his usual suave self, while Yvone Furneaux plays the real heroine with considerable charm. But it's villain Claude Rains who has all the best lines: "Burn two of her dresses!" he screams to his servant. "She kicked me-hard!" replies the eager flunkey. "Indeed? Then burn just one of her dresses." With material like this, the hardworking Rains easily steals the movie's acting honors from Francis Lederer's maniacal killer and Percy "Aloma of the South Seas" Marmont (who makes but a brief appearance near the end). But it's the real Portuguese locations that lift Lisbon into the must-see class. Milland's direction is lively and he uses his backgrounds with considerable skill. In fact, the Naturama screen (it's actually Franscope in disguise) is so cleverly utilized and tightly framed that Lisbon cannot be squeezed at all happily into a standard TV image (which is another reason of course why the usual roster of Republic admirers don't like it).Nelson Riddle's haunting music score, including his top-of-the-chart "Lisbon Antigua", is an unexpected bonus.

Beautiful locations, a most fantastic cast, and some great moments do not make a good movie. This convoluted melodrama tries to be clever, often succeeds in being amusing, but it only comes off with a big huh? It's all about ray Milland aiding Maureen O'Hara in arranging for crooked Rains to help her find her husband, while Milland is pursued by a much younger woman (Yvonne Furneaux) while escorting O'Hara around Lisbon. This shows off the Portuguese locations gorgeously, but a trip to a museum or a travelogue video is quite different than trying to become involved in a political thriller.The gorgeous Maureen O'Hara seems to have had her voice altered in the editing booth to sound higher pitched, and it comes off as most distracting. Ray Milland seems pike a middle aged man desperate to hang onto his lighthearted appeal and comes off foolish looking. Claude Rains manages to hang onto his dignity, looking dashing with white hair and getting some of the best lines in the film. The opening scene with Rains, some birds and a hungry cat had me dropping my jaw. Francis Lederer comes off as a taller and thinner version of the middle aged Peter Lorre, but lacking in the humor. Milland directs as well (billed as R. Milland), and I have to wonder if he had to put up the money to have it produced with him as the star as well. Another late in their existence Republic film, it's an interesting example of a company trying to stay afloat yet failing, much like RKO was doing at the very same time. O'Hara is still gorgeous, formidable and mesmerizing, but Milland comes off as a bit misogynistic and unworthy of all the female attention he gets here. The story really just isn't all that interesting, and the script just seems to get more pretentious as it goes on. But since this is the closest I'll get to Lisbon in my lifetime, I'll take the opportunity to see it as it was long before I was born, with a bit of encyclopedia Britannica history thrown in.

This obscure adventure romance from Republic may be thin on story but is, at least, distinguished by its lovely Technicolor photography shot on location in the title city and the pedigree of its Hollywood veteran cast, Ray Milland (who also directed), Maureen O'Hara and Claude Rains. The film is further blessed with a light, engaging Nelson Riddle song, "Lisbon Antigua," which plays throughout the proceedings. The Riddle song was a radio hit at the time, and is still pretty easily recognized.The story involves Milland as a smooth operating smuggler (his operations are always kept vague) hired by suave well bred scoundrel Rains to pick up a "package" from an American just arrived in the city (O'Hara) which will involve her kidnapped wealthy husband. The story is neither here nor there, really. The combination of visual pleasures, Riddle's musical score and a capable cast of veterans may be enough for some viewers to want to spend an hour and a half of their time with this fairly inconsequential enterprise.Rains is always fun to watch with his velvet voice, as a suave sophisticate who is also moral corruption incarnate. He seems to be almost playing his part in his sleep this go round but a Claude Rains asleep is still a great deal more entertaining than many other actors awake.At one point in the film Rains delicately makes reference to O'Hara of how lovely she looks and how even more lovely she would look should something unforeseen "happen" to her millionaire husband, with he, Rains, receiving a small portion of her inherited good fortune. O'Hara is shocked and outraged by the suggestion, calling him a monster. Rains, realizing his faux pas, quickly regroups, saying that "in my own clumsy fashion" he was merely attempting to pay her a small compliment for not yielding to an idea to which a less scrupulous woman might succumb.As Rains hints at the implications of a murder he could arrange, a small smile constantly dances across his lips. His expression could almost be that of a wine connoisseur discussing a rare vintage very much to his liking. It's a small, almost throwaway moment in the film, but it's a pleasure to watch the effortless aplomb that Rains brings to the scene.

Lisbon is the local for this adventure romance, starring Ray Milland and Maureen O'Hara. It is beautifully photographed on location and the story is rousing and the intrigue suspenseful. Claude Rains, is the thief who Sullivan hires to get back her elderly husband, a millionaire, who has been kidnapped by the Chinese. Rains, is of course, suave, devious, and wonderful as the man of many tastes, including beautiful young women. He has always been good in such a part, as he was in Notorious, as the Nazi spy. Ray Milland is dashing, elegant and just nice to look at. His part as the smuggler gives him a chance to use a little comedy, especially when pursued by a beautiful young woman who Raines employs as a "secretary." She is enamored of Milland and she tries to help him escape the hands of Sarafin, who works for Raines and wants to kill Milland to keep the girl for himself. Maureen seduces Milland, but he rejects her advances after she tells him she wants her husband back "dead." He returns the husband alive, and Raines is picked up by the police for the smuggling that Milland was doing all along. Nice twists all around. Milland is still so wonderful to look at and listen to, it is not surprising that all the women are in love with him. For those who thought that Yvonne Furneaux had a hard time throwing herself into the arms of Milland, you have to remember that she is living with Claude Rains as his mistress. Therefore Milland would not look older to her. He directs this film with just enough pace to make it interesting, and the O'Hara character is smooth and crafty. Beautiful to look at scenery only adds to the pictures appeal.