Lisbon (film)
Encyclopedia
Lisbon is a 1956
American crime film
produced and directed by Ray Milland
and starring Milland, Maureen O'Hara
, Claude Rains
, Edward Chapman
, and Jay Novello
. An American smuggler based in Lisbon
is hired to rescue a wealthy industrialist from behind the Iron Curtain
.
The film was shot on location in Lisbon
, Portugal
, in Trucolor
and Naturama
for Republic Pictures
. Nelson Riddle
's score included a version of "Lisbon Antigua
" that had been a top charting song prior to the film's release.
bought the rights to the story in 1951 and Irving Asher
was in charge of the production. The topic of the film was sensitive under the Cold War
perspective
of the 1950s and there were initial concerns about how Paramount would deal with a story involving the Iron Curtain
. Luigi Luraschi, Paramount's Head of Foreign & Domestic Censorship at the time, wrote a report to the CIA in January 1953 stating that "[Lisbon] could be messy if mishandled, but so far we have them thinking along the right track and this could be very useful to us. Shall watch very carefully."
Irving Asher hired director Nicholas Ray
and, in early 1953, Joan Crawford
was in talks to star as main character Sylvia Merril. Eventually, after several rewrites, the project was shelved as Asher and Crawford weren't sure about the strength of the script. Nicholas Ray and Joan Crawford went on to film the 1954 western Johnny Guitar
.
Paramount then sold the rights to Republic Pictures
and Herbert J. Yates hired Ray Milland
for his second directorial effort and starring role in the film. Milland reportedly wanted A Man Alone
co-star Mary Murphy
for the female lead, a part which ultimately went to Irish
actress Maureen O'Hara
. In her 2004 autobiography
, 'Tis Herself: A Memoir, O'Hara wrote about her role in Lisbon: "For the first time in my career I got to play the villain, and Bette Davis
was right – bitches are fun to play."
capital city of Lisbon
and its surrounding municipalities. It was considered the first Hollywood
feature made in Portugal
. For interior shots, the production used the facilities at Tobis Studios
. Exterior shots included many locations in Lisbon, among them the Belém Tower
, Praça do Comércio
, the Castle of São Jorge and the Jerónimos Monastery
. Outside the capital, there were seaside scenes filmed in Cascais
and a scene at the belvedere
of the Seteais Palace
, in Sintra
.
Cinematographer Jack A. Marta filmed using the Naturama
anamorphic
widescreen
lens system, a format developed by Republic Pictures in the 1950s. Color filming was achieved using the Trucolor
process, developed in the 1940s by Consolidated Film Industries
(a division of Republic Pictures). Variety stated that "Lisbon makes a colorful setting" and "Republic's anamorphic Naturama process and Trucolor go a long way towards visual impressiveness."
" was performed in the film by fado
singer Anita Guerreiro, in a restaurant scene.
on August 15, 1956 followed by wide theatrical release on August 17, 1956.
For the home market
, the film was released on VHS Cassette
in the 1990s, bearing the tagline "After Casablanca
they all came to... Lisbon." As of 2011, no digital edition
has yet been set for release.
1956 in film
The year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
American crime film
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
produced and directed by Ray Milland
Ray Milland
Ray Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
and starring Milland, Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
, Claude Rains
Claude Rains
Claude Rains was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 66 years. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man , a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Mr...
, Edward Chapman
Edward Chapman (actor)
Edward Chapman was an English actor who starred in many films and television programmes, but is chiefly remembered as "Mr. Wilfred Grimsdale", the officious superior and comic foil to Norman Wisdom's character of Pitkin in many of his films from the late 1950s and 1960s.Chapman was born in...
, and Jay Novello
Jay Novello
Jay Novello was an American radio, film, and television character actor.Born in Chicago as Michael Romano, of Italian descent, Novello began his career as a radio actor, playing Jack Packard on the Hollywood version of I Love a Mystery for a brief period, circa 1944...
. An American smuggler based in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
is hired to rescue a wealthy industrialist from behind the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
.
The film was shot on location in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, in Trucolor
Trucolor
Trucolor was a process used and owned by Consolidated Film Industries division of Republic Pictures. Trucolor was originally a two-strip process based on the earlier work of William Van Doren Kelley's Prizma color process. It later became a three-color process.Republic used Trucolor mostly for its...
and Naturama
Naturama
-Films produced in Naturama format:*Maverick Queen *Lisbon *Accused of Murder *Affair in Reno *Duel at Apache Wells *Hell's Crossroads...
for Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
. Nelson Riddle
Nelson Riddle
Nelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s...
's score included a version of "Lisbon Antigua
Lisbon Antigua
"Lisbon Antigua" is a popular song, arranged by Nelson Riddle, that was a number-one song in the United States during the year 1956. It topped the Billboard magazine chart on February 25, 1956 and remained there for four weeks...
" that had been a top charting song prior to the film's release.
Cast
- Ray MillandRay MillandRay Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
as Captain Robert John Evans - Maureen O'HaraMaureen O'HaraMaureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
as Sylvia Merrill - Claude RainsClaude RainsClaude Rains was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 66 years. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man , a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Mr...
as Aristides Mavros - Yvonne FurneauxYvonne FurneauxYvonne Furneaux is a French film actress.-Personal life:Yvonne Furneax started her acting career in England in 1952. At first she started with a few minor productions...
as Maria Maddalena Masanet - Francis LedererFrancis LedererFrancis Lederer was a film and stage actor with a successful career, first in Europe, then in the United States.-Europe:...
as Serafim - Percy MarmontPercy MarmontPercy Marmont was an English film actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1916 and 1968. He is best remembered today for playing the title character in Lord Jim the first film version of Joseph Conrad's novel, and for playing one of Clara Bow's love interests in the Paramount Pictures film...
as Lloyd Merrill - Jay NovelloJay NovelloJay Novello was an American radio, film, and television character actor.Born in Chicago as Michael Romano, of Italian descent, Novello began his career as a radio actor, playing Jack Packard on the Hollywood version of I Love a Mystery for a brief period, circa 1944...
as InspectorPolícia JudiciáriaThe Polícia Judiciária is the main police branch of criminal investigation in Portugal, dedicated to fighting criminality, organized crime, terrorism, drugs, corruption and financial crimes...
João Casimiro Fonseca - Edward ChapmanEdward Chapman (actor)Edward Chapman was an English actor who starred in many films and television programmes, but is chiefly remembered as "Mr. Wilfred Grimsdale", the officious superior and comic foil to Norman Wisdom's character of Pitkin in many of his films from the late 1950s and 1960s.Chapman was born in...
as Edgar Selwyn - Harold Jamieson as Philip Norworth
- Humberto Madeira as Tio Rabio
Development
Lisbon was adapted from a short story by Martin Rackin. Reportedly, Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
bought the rights to the story in 1951 and Irving Asher
Irving Asher
Irving Asher was an Producer. He worked as a managing director for Warner Brothers in England in the 1930s, working on Alexander Korda's classic epic, The Four Feathers...
was in charge of the production. The topic of the film was sensitive under the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
perspective
Hollywood blacklist
The Hollywood blacklist—as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or...
of the 1950s and there were initial concerns about how Paramount would deal with a story involving the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
. Luigi Luraschi, Paramount's Head of Foreign & Domestic Censorship at the time, wrote a report to the CIA in January 1953 stating that "[Lisbon] could be messy if mishandled, but so far we have them thinking along the right track and this could be very useful to us. Shall watch very carefully."
Irving Asher hired director Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray
Nicholas Ray was an American film director best known for the movie Rebel Without a Cause....
and, in early 1953, Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
was in talks to star as main character Sylvia Merril. Eventually, after several rewrites, the project was shelved as Asher and Crawford weren't sure about the strength of the script. Nicholas Ray and Joan Crawford went on to film the 1954 western Johnny Guitar
Johnny Guitar
Johnny Guitar is a 1954 Republic Pictures Western film starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, and Scott Brady.The screenplay was based upon a novel by Roy Chanslor. Though credited to Philip Yordan, he was merely a front for the actual screenwriter, blacklistee Ben Maddow. ...
.
Paramount then sold the rights to Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
and Herbert J. Yates hired Ray Milland
Ray Milland
Ray Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
for his second directorial effort and starring role in the film. Milland reportedly wanted A Man Alone
A Man Alone (film)
A Man Alone is a 1955 Western directed by and starring Ray Milland. The supporting cast includes Mary Murphy, Ward Bond, Raymond Burr, Lee Van Cleef, and Alan Hale, Jr.. The story involves a man who stumbles into the aftermath of a stagecoach robbery in the desert in which there were no...
co-star Mary Murphy
Mary Murphy (actress)
Mary Murphy was an American film actress of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She was born in Washington, D.C. and spent most of her early childhood in Cleveland, Ohio. Her father, James Victor Murphy, died in 1940. Shortly afterwards, she and her mother moved to Southern California...
for the female lead, a part which ultimately went to Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
actress Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
. In her 2004 autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, 'Tis Herself: A Memoir, O'Hara wrote about her role in Lisbon: "For the first time in my career I got to play the villain, and Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
was right – bitches are fun to play."
Filming
Lisbon was entirely produced in the PortuguesePortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
capital city of Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
and its surrounding municipalities. It was considered the first Hollywood
Classical Hollywood cinema
Classical Hollywood cinema or the classical Hollywood narrative, are terms used in film history which designates both a visual and sound style for making motion pictures and a mode of production used in the American film industry between roughly the 1910s and the early 1960s.Classical style is...
feature made in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. For interior shots, the production used the facilities at Tobis Studios
Tobis Portuguesa
Tobis Portuguesa was created on June 3rd 1932, in order to support and foster the development of Portuguese cinema, goal that kept during its 75 years of activity.-History:Tobis originally focused its activity on film production and lab processing...
. Exterior shots included many locations in Lisbon, among them the Belém Tower
Belém Tower
Belém Tower or the Tower of St Vincent is a fortified tower located in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal...
, Praça do Comércio
Praça do Comércio
The Praça do Comércio is located in the city of Lisbon, Portugal. Situated near the Tagus river, the square is still commonly known as Terreiro do Paço , because it was the location of the Paços da Ribeira until it was destroyed by the great 1755 Lisbon Earthquake...
, the Castle of São Jorge and the Jerónimos Monastery
Jerónimos Monastery
The Hieronymites Monastery is located near the shore of the parish of Belém, in the municipality of Lisbon, Portugal...
. Outside the capital, there were seaside scenes filmed in Cascais
Cascais
Cascais is a coastal town in Cascais Municipality in Portugal, 30 kilometres west of Lisbon, with about 35,000 residents. It is a cosmopolitan suburb of the Portuguese capital and one of the richest municipalities in Portugal. The former fishing village gained fame as a resort for Portugal's royal...
and a scene at the belvedere
Belvedere (structure)
Belvedere is an architectural term adopted from Italian , which refers to any architectural structure sited to take advantage of such a view. A belvedere may be built in the upper part of a building so as to command a fine view...
of the Seteais Palace
Seteais Palace
The Seteais Palace is a neoclassical palace located in Sintra, Portugal. The palace is nowadays a luxury hotel, restaurant and a tourist attraction included in the Cultural Landscape of Sintra, listed as World Heritage Site by UNESCO.-History:...
, in Sintra
Sintra
Sintra is a town within the municipality of Sintra in the Grande Lisboa subregion of Portugal. Owing to its 19th century Romantic architecture and landscapes, becoming a major tourist centre, visited by many day-trippers who travel from the urbanized suburbs and capital of Lisbon.In addition to...
.
Cinematographer Jack A. Marta filmed using the Naturama
Naturama
-Films produced in Naturama format:*Maverick Queen *Lisbon *Accused of Murder *Affair in Reno *Duel at Apache Wells *Hell's Crossroads...
anamorphic
Anamorphic format
Anamorphic format is a term that can be used either for: the cinematography technique of capturing a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film, or other visual recording media, with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio; or a photographic projection format in which the original image requires an...
widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
lens system, a format developed by Republic Pictures in the 1950s. Color filming was achieved using the Trucolor
Trucolor
Trucolor was a process used and owned by Consolidated Film Industries division of Republic Pictures. Trucolor was originally a two-strip process based on the earlier work of William Van Doren Kelley's Prizma color process. It later became a three-color process.Republic used Trucolor mostly for its...
process, developed in the 1940s by Consolidated Film Industries
Consolidated Film Industries
Consolidated Film Industries was a film laboratory, and film processing company, and was the leading film laboratory in the Los Angeles area for many decades. CFI processed negatives and made prints for motion pictures and television...
(a division of Republic Pictures). Variety stated that "Lisbon makes a colorful setting" and "Republic's anamorphic Naturama process and Trucolor go a long way towards visual impressiveness."
Music
The song "Lisbon AntiguaLisbon Antigua
"Lisbon Antigua" is a popular song, arranged by Nelson Riddle, that was a number-one song in the United States during the year 1956. It topped the Billboard magazine chart on February 25, 1956 and remained there for four weeks...
" was performed in the film by fado
Fado
Fado is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar, Rui Vieira Nery, states that "the only reliable information on the history of Fado was orally transmitted and goes back to the 1820s and 1830s at best...
singer Anita Guerreiro, in a restaurant scene.
Release
Lisbon had its premiere in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on August 15, 1956 followed by wide theatrical release on August 17, 1956.
For the home market
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
, the film was released on VHS Cassette
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in the 1990s, bearing the tagline "After Casablanca
Casablanca (film)
Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
they all came to... Lisbon." As of 2011, no digital edition
Digital video
Digital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
has yet been set for release.