L'Homme de Lisbonne

Ray Milland was not a great director, as this effort shows. This colour film shows much of Lisbon and the surrounding area in the mid-1950s, which is welcome. There are several excellent performances. Claude Rains is magnificent as usual as a devious and urbane crook, Francis (originally Franz) Lederer is superb as his henchman and assassin, underplaying and thereby increasing the menace of his character (which in the script cannot have amounted to much). Yvonne Furneaux is a charming ingenue who tries very hard indeed to be convincing about throwing herself into the arms of an aged Ray Milland and telling him she loves him. Maureen O'Hara flashes her usual Irish fire, but she also has to tell Milland she loves him, and two beautiful gals throwing themselves at Milland in competition is really too much to take, since he looks like he needs a month's rest in a sanatorium rather than a heady romance. Milland always had great 'watchability' and he still retains some in this film. This film has a very weak script and absolutely atrocious cinematography by Jack Marta, who seems only to use about two lights in his interiors. A friend who worked with Ray Milland once told me that Milland was the meanest man with money he had ever known, and he would always try to share taxis with poor actors and then pretend he had forgotten his money and make them pay. (That is why everyone tried to avoid sharing cabs with Milland.) Perhaps Milland, who co-produced this venture, was too mean to pay Marta to have proper lights! The interior shadows and lighting are simply unimaginably awful.There is an equally atrocious score by Nelson Riddle. Somebody should have taken a whip and beaten Milland back into his box. He had no business producing and directing. There is a fine authentic song performed by Anita Guerreiro in this film, who gives us a few moments of real music. Milland obviously loved Portugal, and we can be grateful for his enthusiasm in showing some of it to us as it was then. If only the film had come up to a higher standard, we would be able to say on our postcards: 'Having a wonderful viewing, wish you were here!'

Ray Milland had quite an hand in this quite classy looking seaside drama. He ("Capt. Evans") finds himself intrigued by an offer of $10,000 from the debonaire but entirely unscrupulous "Mavros" (Claude Rains) if he will suspend his usual brandy smuggling operations and bring a wealthy and recently kidnapped American to safety in Portugal. The whole operation is being funded by "Sylvia" (Maureen O'Hara) the much younger wife of the captured industrialist, so of course there are temptations afoot to maybe ensure his money is suddenly available for re-distribution. "Evans" turns out to be a bit of a babe magnet here as he also manages to attract the attention of "Maria" (Yvonne Furneaux) who works for "Mavros" and who takes an immediate shine to her sailor boy - despite the obvious chagrin of henchman "Serafim" (Francis Lederer). Who's going to prevail in this battle of hearts, wits and double-crosses? The story itself here is quite solid and Rains cones across well as the duplicitous schemer but O'Hara was always better when her character was allowed to let her hair down. Here, she is a bit stifled by the rather limited scope for her character and the equally linear contribution from an unremarkable Milland. The thriller elements are all too readily subsumed into the menage-à-trois romance and even the elements of menace are just too undercooked. It's got a good look to it and Nelson Riddle works some magic on traditional Portuguese music, but the rest of this is all a bit so what? It's watchable to see a group of consummate professionals do their work, but the film itself is nothing at all memorable.

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.

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.

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.