A Canção de Lisboa (1933)

After flunking in medical school, the young and bohemian Vasco need to trick his aunts, the main financers of his studies, preventing them to know that he is not a doctor.

Director:

José Cottinelli Telmo (as Cottinelli Telmo)

Writer:

José Cottinelli Telmo

Stars:

Vasco Santana, Beatriz Costa, António Silva

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vasco Santana	...	Vasco Leitão
Beatriz Costa	...	Alice
António Silva	...	Alfaiate Caetano
Teresa Gomes	...	Tia do Vasco (as Tereza Gomes)
Sofía Santos	...	Tia do Vasco
Alfredo Silva	...	Sapateiro
Ana María	...	Ana da Garcia - Namorada do Carlos (as Ana Maria)
Manoel de Oliveira	...	Carlos
Eduardo Fernandes	...	Quicas
Silvestre Alegrim	...	Criado do retiro
Manuel Santos Carvalho	...	Dono do retiro (as Santos Carvalho)
Henrique Alves
Artur Rodrigues
Júlia da Assunção	...	(as Julia Assunção)
Maria Albertina

Storyline

How happy and proud they are those two ladies back in their Tras-os-Montes region! Thanks to them, their bright nephew can study medicine in Lisbon and may already have become a physician. Little do they know. Not only has Vasco wasted his time drinking, dancing and picking up girls but he has just failed his examination. To crown it all, his two aunts announce their visit. Totally distraught, Vasco tries to make them believe he is already a doctor, but they are not taken in and decide to cut off their support from him...

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Plot Keywords:

singer | deception | aunt nephew relationship | medical student | city name in title | 

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Taglines:

O primeiro filme portugues feito por portugueses.

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Details

Country:

Portugal

Language:

Portuguese

Release Date:

7 November 1933 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

A Song of Lisbon

Filming Locations:

Praça do Comércio, Lisbon, Portugal

Box Office

Budget:

PTE 870,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tobis Portuguesa

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 91 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Tobis Klangfilm)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First Portuguese talkie entirely made in Portugal.

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Connections

Referenced in Backlight (2010)

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Soundtracks

Canção de Lisboa
(popular march)
Written by Raúl Portela and Raul Ferrão
Lyrics by José Galhardo

User Reviews

A great movie, a comedy lesson

I must say that this is one of the few movies to which I am constantly returning. I've watched it over and over and I find it every time more exciting. I believe this is due to several things. First of all, the fantastic interpretations of the great portuguese names such as Beatriz Costa, António Silva and, of course, Vasco Santana. Than, there is also the great dialogues and story (all the schemes Vasquinho finds to lie to his aunts...). But, in my opinion, what makes this movie, and other portuguese movies from this time, so special, is the fact that they were made honestly, completely honestly. Suddenly someone says "Let's make people laugh"; and they just did it, they were not trying to revolucionize the cinema or something, they had a simple straight project, and they went all the way with it... That's the attitude many portuguese (and not only) directors should have nowadays... It is interesting to notice that the most prestigious portuguese director alive, Manoel de Oliveira, played a role in this movie, Carlos. And if you have seen american "Space cowboys" you will find in it a joke that is already present in this 1933's movie (did the americans see this movie??)... It's when a girl asks Vasquinho "How should call you?" and he answers "Call me Vasquinho, call me Lulu... look... call me whenever you want that I'll be right there...". Donald Sutherland says an equivalent joke.

No doubt a lesson in how to make you laugh, even in black and white (which I love, by the way). 10/10