the audience applauded

Powerful

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

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.

Great actors, great scenery, great filming - but oh, so dreary - this is one for the insomniacs amongst us. I never did get to see the end of the movie, about half way had me in the land of nod without any desire to find out what happened, that is if indeed, anything at all happened.Claude Rains looked glassy eyed and appeared that he was wishing he was elsewhere. The whole thing would have been better off as a travelogue with the actors posing for the different scenes.This movie is slow ........ Torturously slow! Those having a yen to watch paint dry will find that this fits well with their desire.1/10 - and that's for the scenery.

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.

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.