Watch Lisbon For Free

Best movie of this year hands down!

Simply Perfect

Captivating movie !

Blistering performances.

"Lisbon" (1956) was directed by Ray Milland. In theory, the stars are Milland, as Capt. Robert John Evans, Maureen O'Hara as wealthy Sylvia Merrill, Claude Rains as rich gangster Aristides Mavros, and Yvonne Furneaux as Maria Maddalena Masanet, a young woman who is "secretary" to Mavros. In fact, the real star of the movie is the beautiful city of Lisbon. The plot involves Rains as a successful Greek criminal, and Milland as a smuggler. They are both "gentlemen thieves," but Milland is an honest thief, and Rains is a very dishonest thief.Maureen O'Hara is the wife of a wealthy man being held captive somewhere. (Somehow, the U.S. State Department is involved as well, although it what never clear to me what they were doing in the movie.)The plot reminded me of "To Have and Have Not," except that Milland isn't Bogart, and O'Hara isn't Bacall. (Actually, I should say Furneaux isn't Bacall. It's complicated.) The best part of the film is the few minutes when Milland and O'Hara spend time in a fado club. The beautiful young fadista is the brilliant Anita Guerreiro. Now, 60 years later, Guerreiro is still singing fado in Lisbon. We heard here sing the fado in a club in April, 2017!We saw this film on (gasp) VHS. It would probably work better in a theater, but it's unlikely that anyone will ever show it, except maybe in a retrospective of one of the leads. If you have VHS capability, watch it that way. Just don't expect to see a thrilling melodrama. Expect to see the city of Lisbon, and that's a city worth seeing.To summarize, if you want to see boats and bad guys, watch "To Have and Have Not." If you want to see Lisbon and hear Guerreiro, watch "Lisbon."P.S. Dumbest line in the show, spoken by by Milland when O'Hara asks him about the fado Lisboa Antiga. "It's home sweet home for Brazilians." It's not.Smartest line in the show, spoken by Yvonne Furneaux, when she tells Milland that he's going to be killed, and he ignores her. "Imbecile!"

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.

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.