The Wonderful World of Cinema

I love travelling (I work so I can travel), and if you’d asked me what are my favourite cities I’ve visited, Lisbon would be one of them. I visited the gorgeous Portuguese capital in November 2022 when I travelled for a month in Portugal. As soon as I got out of the subway station taking me from the airport to my hostel, I was struck by how beautiful it was. I know Europe usually has pretty cities, but it surpassed my expectations. I knew I had chosen the right place to begin my trip. I’m not exactly sure when that was, but not long after coming back to Montreal, I discovered the existence of a film called Lisbon. Ray Milland directed and also starred in it. So, it immediately caught my attention as he is one of my very favourite actors. He was joined by Claude Rains and Maureen O’Hara, who are not so bad either. But, like many films, I just put it on my Letterboxd watchlist and continued watching films that weren’t Lisbon.

That wasn’t the case until very recently when Letícia from Critica Retrô and Beth Ann from Spellbound with Beth Ann announced they were bringing back their Luso World Cinema Blogathon for a 4th edition. As I skipped the three past editions, I thought I needed to remedy that (especially since I don’t think I ever participated in a blogathon hosted by Beth and that it would be the occasion to finally give Lisbon a chance. So, here I am.

Before pursuing the article, I prefer going straight into honesty and telling you I didn’t like the film that much, unfortunately. I mean, it was far from being completely bad. However, it lacked some oomph to make it truly enjoyable and captivating. At some point, it pretty much became some background noise as I got distracted by other stuff. Yeah, I reached that point. So, I won’t go into a traditional review of this article but mostly into a discussion about its production, which is the whorthy aspect of it. But before going further, what is Lisbon all about?

Since my attention wasn’t 100 % there, and I prefer not to make up anything, I’d prefer directly citing the Letterboxd summary of the film to give you a brief idea of the story. I usually don’t do that, but this time, I’ve decided to take the liberty.

“For Capt. Robert John Evans [Ray Milland], smuggling black-market goods is nothing out of the ordinary. But one day he’s hired by Aristides Mavros [Claude Rains] for a more involved assignment – sneaking an imprisoned American out of communist-controlled territory. The job seems challenging enough, but when he meets the prisoner’s sultry wife, Sylvia [Mauree O’Hara], he realizes his mission comes with a startling catch: Not only must he rescue this man, he must bring him back from the dead.” (Letterbodx)

So, we are in the thriller and film noir department here. And well, it does take place on the West Coast like many noirs. This time, however, it’s on the European West Coast instead of the American. The film was one of the few noirs shots in colour (just like Leave Her to Heaven, Niagara or House of Bamboo), and that was one of the aspects of the film that worked well. On that level, the colourful images of Lisbon scenery really catch our eyes, and it was beautifully shot. It rightly makes the vivid colours pop and contributes to highlighting the liveliness of the Portuguese capital. The cinematography was by Jack A. Marta, who also worked on Cat Ballou, the Batman TV series (with Adam West), Duel and Hawaii 5-0. And talking of Duel, Steven Spielberg’s first film, the director said of the prolific cinematographer: “Jack was a sweetheart. He was just a kind, gentle soul who you know had never worked that fast in his entire career; none of us had, and yet there was nothing he didn’t do or couldn’t do, and he really enjoyed himself.” So, you feel he was a true professional who did his best to make a picture as impressive visually as possible. It does work for Lisbon, highlighting some of the city’s landmarks, especially the emblematic Bélem Tower. The cinematography was well-noticed by critics at the time. A review in Variety wrote: “Lisbon makes a colorful setting. […] Republic’s anamorphic Naturama process and Trucolor go a long way towards visual impressiveness.”

Another aspect of the film content that made a positive impression was the costumes, especially those worn by the breathtakingly beautiful French actress Yvonne Furneaux (who is, by the way, going to turn 98 on May 11!). The characters’ clothes were designed by Adele Palmer. She worked on many films and received an Oscar nomination for her designs created for The Best of Everything). Among her notable work on film, we can also list Dark Command, Too Late for Tears, The Quiet Man (Lisbon wasn’t her first time creating costumes for Maureen O’Hara), The Long Hot Summer, etc.

Lisbon was the second film directed by Ray Milland, just a year after the western A Man Alone. It premiered in Los Angeles on August 15, 1956. What makes this film particularly interesting and an ideal candidate for the blogathon is that it was the first Hollywood production made in Portugal. So, you know what you see is the real deal, not just some cardboard decor at Republic Pictures Studios (the film production and distribution company). Despite that, when looking at the cast and crew credits, it seems only a small portion was Portuguese.

However, there is a name that should catch our attention, and that’s the one of Eduardo Anahory, who was the set decorator on the film. Born in Lisbon in 1917 and more precisely in the Bairro Alto neighbourhood, he lived an artistic life that touched various facets. He also worked as a sculptor, publicist, graphic designer, painter, and designer, and he was also known for his architectural work, although he never completed his diploma. He began his artistic education at the Lisbon School of Fine Arts but abandoned the architecture class. Because of that, architect friends often had to authentify his work. His architectural work is described as being simple, without too many embellishments and in harmony with the surrounding nature. His contribution to the Luso world arts surpassed Portugal since he also lived five years in Brazil. There, he contributed to various projects, such as being the set designer for plays presented in Rio. His work on film doesn’t seem to have occupied most of his career. Aside from Lisbon, we can mention his work in the costume and wardrobe department for Fado, História d’uma Cantadeira, which starred Amalia Rodrigues, known as “the Queen of Fado”. He also worked on the 1973 Spanish horror film Al otro lado del espejo directed by Jesús Franco. Lastly, the Portuguese films A Morgadinha dos Canaviais and Saltimbancos are probably worthy of mention as well.

Eduardo Anahory /// Aiola House /// Arrábida, Galapos, Portugal /// 1959-60

The cast, although mostly non-Portugese, includes three names to remember: Humberto Madeira, who played the role of Toni; Vasco Santana, a well-known Portuguese actor of the classic era; and Anita Guerreiro, who played the Fado singer in the restaurant. She was indeed both an actress and a renowned Fado singer. So, she was a judicious choice for this scene of the film. Her career as a fado singer spanned around 50 years, and she received many honours. In 2001, the city of Lisbon awarded her a silver pillori. Later, in 2004, the city council of Lisbon celebrated her work with the Gold Municipal Medal of Merit, a prestigious honour. Guerreiro is still with us at 87 and lives in Lisbon. Her contribution to Milland’s film, although uncredited, is notable. The camera takes the time to focus on her and gives her a brief moment of glory as she sings in the Fado restaurant accompanied by musicians. The song is “Lisboa Antiga”, a famous Portuguese song of 1937 with music written by Raul Portela and lyrics by José Galhardo and Amadeu do Vale. It was also recorded by other famous Fado signers such as Amália Rodrigues and Hermínia Silva. It was also translated into English as “Lisbon Antigua” and became a hit in the USA.

While watching the film, although it didn’t captivate me, I enjoyed observing the city and trying to recognize some of the places I saw while I visited. As said before, the Belém Tower is seen on a few occasions, including as a drawing in the opening credits. It’s an emblematic part of the city, so it seems normal that they will often show it, like a film set in Paris with many shots of the Eiffel Tower. We also see the famous Praça do Comércio (my hostel was very close to it), the Jerónimos Monastery (another notable place in Belém) and the Castle of São Jorge is seen in the background in a scene where Ray Milland and Yvonne Furneaux walk together outside. At some point, they also seem to be in the Lisbon cathedral. There are also many bird-eye views of the city, which are essential to mention as Lisbon is well-known for its “miradouros”. These are various viewpoints in the city. You have to go uphill, but it’s worth it! Scenes were filmed outside Lisbon, namely in Cascais and Sintra, more precisely at the Seteias Palace. I went to Sintra during my trip to Portugal, but Seteias is not one of the palaces I visited. I believe it’s not the most mentioned or the better known either. However, while they are here, Ray Milland shows a view of the Pena Castle to Maureen O’Hara, which is one of the best-known palaces of Sintra. However, it is very far away, and we don’t understand how colourful it is. Of course, the film also includes a lot of interior scenes filmed at Tobis Studios. The Portuguese film production and lab processing company was at the head of many noteworthy Portuguese film productions from the 30s, 40s and 50s.

As said before, Lisbon, unfortunately, did not match my expectations. However, its background remains very interesting, especially for its Portuguese touch. I loved looking at the city through a different time frame (the 50s) and seeing how they could incorporate iconic elements of the Portuguese world, such as fado music and the city of Lisbon, into the story. It’s a film that is just ok, and I feel that I could enjoy seeing Portuguese scenery again through truly Portuguese films. But, although I might not have convinced you to see it, I hope you found this article informative and interesting, nonetheless!

A huge thanks to Leticia and Beth for hosting the blogathon. Make sure to read the other participants’ entries here.

See you!

**Enjoy this blog’s content? Consider supporting The Wonderful World of Cinema!**