Lisbon

I have seen more films than practically anyone. One thing I really appreciate is a picture that surprises me...one that avoids the usual formulas and cliches. Well, although "Lisbon" seems like a by-the-numbers movie, its final portion manages to offer quite a few surprises...and I really appreciate that.

The film, not surprisingly, is set in Lisbon, Portugal. It centers initially around two very different criminal smugglers....Aristides Mavros (Claude Rains), a man who has no scruples whatsoever, and Captain Robert Evans (Ray Milland), a rogue with few scruples...though how much you'll have to discover through the course of the movie.

Into this den of not niceness arrives a lady who is there to ransom back her rich elderly husband. Sylvia (Maureen O'Hara) is an odd one...and who she is and what her intentions are not clear until later in the movie...which I appreciate. Of course, the Captain is smitten with her....and another lady is smitten with him. How does all this work out? See the film!

An odd movie....not O'Hara's nor Milland's best. But still, it offers enough surprises that I felt pleased overall. Oh, and it was also directed by Milland as well.

I've been to Lisbon and it looked nothing like this Lisbon of this movie filmed in the mid-50's. The Lisbon in this film is gorgeous. Today, it's rather gritty and contrary to this movie where everyone speaks English, no one does. The illiteracy rate is like 40%.

The film is a romance/drama/film noir.

Claude Rains is really odd. He was born in England but has a really non-English way of speaking. He also looks rather old. Ray Miland who also directed this film is also looking rather old. Every time I see him I think of he and Rosie Greer in the 2-Headed Man. He plays a really horny smuggler.

Anyway, on to the movie. It's capably directed. Well acted and reasonably well done. Some of it stretches believability. And segments are really hokey. The subplots are not needed at all --especially the one with the hot sexed up secretary. And some of the writing could have been improved.

But it sure does look nice in Technicolor.

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.

Elegant is the only word to describe this wonderful example of 1950s film-making at its best. Art direction is usually one of those obscure technical credits nobody ever bothers about, but in this case the entire movie is a feast for the eyes thanks to clever art direction using subtle shades of blue and brown to reflect the beautiful natural locations in Portugal. Almost every frame is a painting in its own right and the movie is worth watching just for its sumptuous looks alone.

Against this delightful visual backdrop, a complex double/triple-cross crime story is allowed to unfold at a leisurely pace as the viewer is gradually let in on the intricacies of the plot. Characters and motives also develop with the story and by its conclusion little is what it first seemed. Claude Rains, Maureen O'Hara and Ray Milland (who was also director and associate producer) are each excellent in their roles. Claude Rains in particular as a raffishly handsome crime boss with impeccable breeding is both lovable and chilling. Ray Milland has all the women falling at his feet, and not without reason. Maureen O'Hara is alternately tough and romantic as we see her character gradually revealed.

Movie buffs might even see some tongue in cheek allusions to the plot of Casablanca, particularly in the final scene, as this cleverly crafted story unfolds. There's certainly something to please everyone. I'm a person who rarely enjoys movies made in the 1950s because of the stifling social values of the era, but for me Lisbon has been a revelation of the artistic heights which could be achieved in that era when the movie makers stopped trying to preach political and social values and just did what they were good at.

I consider Ray Milland was a much more influential director and actor than the afficiandos estimate. A good sound actor who could carry the lead particularly well and as this film and "A Man Alone" indicate he had the ability to create watchable,logical movies that had good camera work and never over egged the pudding.The Camera work in Lisbon is particularly good as are the sets which convey the aura of the time. The story line is clever without being to complex and an air of authenticity pervades the production which was done in an age where the backlot was normally everything.Splendid acting from Claude Rains as usual with Milland and the rest matching it perfectly. A good rainy day movie even now and worth my score of 8.