Passably entertaining, producer-director-star Ray Milland's film, "Lisbon," deals with big-time smugglers and petty crooks in 1950's Portugal. A beautiful redhead, trophy wife of a wealthy industrialist, who has been held prisoner behind the Iron Curtain, enlists a Greek expatriate smuggler named Mavros to help her bribe the Communists and rescue her husband. Mavros subsequently hires a part-time smuggler with a fast boat, Captain Evans, to facilitate the rescue. Unfortunately, with a screenplay full of holes, awkward direction, and unconvincing romance, the Republic Pictures production fails on several counts.
The stellar cast, however, remains an asset, especially veteran character actor Claude Rains, who plays Aristide Mavros with conviction and authority gleaned from decades of accomplished performances. Fiery Maureen O'Hara as the duplicitous wife is also quite good, despite her transparent character. Producing, directing, and starring may have been one or two roles too many for Ray Milland, however. His direction is pedestrian, and his staging of the fight scenes is clumsy at best. Besides his limitations as a director, Milland is not everyone's idea of a romantic lead, and O'Hara's and 30-year-old Yvonne Furneaux's attraction to the nearly-50-year-old Milland stretches credibility to the breaking point. While Milland's character supposedly shows interest in his female co-stars, the actor lacks any chemistry with them, and their romantic scenes together are cold and lifeless.
Another asset is Jack Marta's color cinematography. Marta lensed the film on scenic locations in and around Lisbon, which looks glorious, and the film will entice some viewers to book a flight. But, despite the city's color and beauty, watching Milland and his co-stars stroll around the tourist spots adds nothing but padding to the thin predictable plot. Beyond Lisbon's attractions, O'Hara's beauty, and Raines's acting skill, "Lisbon" has little to offer other than a lazy way to pass 90 minutes with an undemanding, uninspiring movie.
The stellar cast, however, remains an asset, especially veteran character actor Claude Rains, who plays Aristide Mavros with conviction and authority gleaned from decades of accomplished performances. Fiery Maureen O'Hara as the duplicitous wife is also quite good, despite her transparent character. Producing, directing, and starring may have been one or two roles too many for Ray Milland, however. His direction is pedestrian, and his staging of the fight scenes is clumsy at best. Besides his limitations as a director, Milland is not everyone's idea of a romantic lead, and O'Hara's and 30-year-old Yvonne Furneaux's attraction to the nearly-50-year-old Milland stretches credibility to the breaking point. While Milland's character supposedly shows interest in his female co-stars, the actor lacks any chemistry with them, and their romantic scenes together are cold and lifeless.
Another asset is Jack Marta's color cinematography. Marta lensed the film on scenic locations in and around Lisbon, which looks glorious, and the film will entice some viewers to book a flight. But, despite the city's color and beauty, watching Milland and his co-stars stroll around the tourist spots adds nothing but padding to the thin predictable plot. Beyond Lisbon's attractions, O'Hara's beauty, and Raines's acting skill, "Lisbon" has little to offer other than a lazy way to pass 90 minutes with an undemanding, uninspiring movie.