I'm not one of those people who has memorized CASABLANCA or who watch it once a year. It was a good b-movie, but there are thousands of other films I need to see, so I've moved on, and I'm not in the least bothered that STORM OVER LISBON is basically Republic Pictures' low-budget echo of CASABLANCA, with Richard Arlen and Vera Ralston echoing Bogart and Bergman (after all, I can hear Republic president,and husband of Vera Ralston, Herbert Yates saying, "Bergman is a mysterious European with a seductive accent, so is Vera! This is a great vehicle for her."). The plot here is somewhat different, but there's no question that this film would not even exist without CASABLANCA. There's a lot of tension created in STORM OVER LISBON, and it's well-acted by Arlen, Robert Livingston, Erich Von Stroheim, Otto Kruger, Eduardo Ciannelli, and Republic regulars Kenne Duncan and Roy Barcroft reprising their heavy roles, but this time instead of working for an evil town boss in a western, they are working for shady club owner Von Stroheim. There's a well-staged dance sequence featuring Ms. Ralston, and after hearing for decades how bad she is, I was surprised at how bad she WASN'T. This was only her second dramatic film (I'm not counting her first two films, vehicles for her ice-skating prowess), and the script wisely does not give her many lines even though she is IN a lot of the film. The lack of dialogue helps to create a mysterious, seductive quality about Ms. Ralston, so whatever she DOES say we listen to and we apply a layer of mystery to. I don't know if her English is phonetic or not, but after having seen films starring Madonna, Tara Reid, Roseanne, and Milla Jovovich, I have no complaints about Vera Ralston. Richard Arlen is always a comforting presence in a film--his gruff, virile persona is one we want to empathize with, and he has a natural quality that makes him believable. A story of spies and intrigue and back-stabbing and desperation in the Lisbon of World War II, STORM OVER LISBON is a successful b-espionage film that is a great way to kill 70 minutes on a rainy day.
Add a Review
-
... in this spy versus spy Casablanca ripoff produced by Republic Pictures as yet another showcase for the beauty and non acting talents of Vera Hruba Ralston. Here she's an undercover agent, masking as a dancer, who is hired at Deresco's, a night club casino run by Erich Von Stroheim, a secret agent for hire by the highest international bidder.
Richard Arlen's in town, a Yank carrying a secret message (what it is we'll never know) but, nevertheless, all but the final outcome of the war lies in its importance. Now how to get that secret out of Arlen, the question is posed. Sound familiar? Arlen brings the excitement of a clam to his role. Ralston's excuse is that she used to be a skater, which perhaps explains her frozen performance.
Cliche plot and dull lead performances aside, Storm Over Lisbon has some impressive art deco sets, particularly an elaborate casino that is quite splashy to the eye. The film is also distinguished by the beautiful black and white photography of John Alton. There might not be anything particularly noirish about this drama but Alton still gives the film visual sheen. The film also benefits from an above average supporting cast. Aside from Von Stroheim, imperiously overlooking all, there is also Eduardo Ciannelli as an eager underling, always ready to knock someone off if things get a little slow, and Otto Kruger as a scared agent trying to figure out some way to stay alive. An uncredited Ruth Roman can also be briefly seen as a checkroom girl. She has one line of dialogue. -
mark.waltz31 May 2017There's something to be said for the live of a man towards the most unacclaimed actress in film history to turn her into the Garbo like star you see her as. That's love. That's what it was for Republic studio head Herbert J. Yates who for over 15 years determinedly tried to make Vera Hruba Ralston a star. "Storm Over Lisbon" is one of the early attempts to make her a leading lady of mystery, but the stubborn public simply refused to buy. Ms. Hruba Ralston plays an exotic dancer in Lisbon who finds herself going down "Casablanca" territory, certainly no Ingrid Bergman, as far from that film's female star as leading man Richard Arlen was from Bogart.
Doing good in a nice counterpart to "The Maltese Falcon's" Sydney Greenstreet is the imperious Erich von Stroheim, villain du jour who is out to knock off agent Richard Arlen. Ralston, photographed in good angles, can be lovely, but other angles are not so flattering. She's not so much bad as she is bland, and the fact that she dominated Republic made melodramas for much of the 1940's and 50's excludes her from being forgotten over other hopefuls who came and went much quicker. Often, she seems to be just reading her lines from cards. In scenes with von Stroheim, her amateur acting is more than obvious. When she attempts to dance to the music that later became "Stranger in Paradise", the results are simply laughable.
Great production values help this move along, as well as the performance of veteran character actor Otto Kruger who disguises his distinguished voice to become truly pathetic. Mona Barrie is also very showy as von Stroheim's associate who constantly seems on the verge of betraying him. As far as world war II films are concerned, this is probably unjustly forgotten, and on the subject of the espionage side of the war, it deserves to be rediscovered. Sine moments are truly chilling with the audience in total suspense of what will happen. What will not happen, however, is any emotion from leading lady Ralston, a storm over Republic between Yates and stock holders. -
jarrodmcdonald-110 February 2022The story, brimming with wartime espionage and intrigue, is no doubt inspired by CASABLANCA. But instead of Morocco, the main setting is a casino in Portugal, run by a very machiavellian Erich Von Stroheim. Stroheim is fantastic and underplays a role that is not quite subtle in terms of which side of the law he's on.
Leading lady Vera Ralston conveys a simple sometimes naive quality which works well in this particular yarn. She had previously appeared in THE LADY AND THE MONSTER with Von Stroheim. Ralston's best bit in this offering is an exotic number that she performs on stage at the casino with a collection of other pretty dancers. It puts to good use her athleticism and she radiates much more sex appeal here than Ingrid Bergman does in the other film. The musical number is slightly repeated near the end, but interrupted, because that night, Ralston is fleeing the country with a man who's captured her heart, played by Richard Arlen.
The ending is a reversal of CASABLANCA's ending, where instead of Bogart watching Bergman leave on a plane, we have Ralston watching Arlen leave. After all, Arlen is a government agent and he has to fly back to America to provide testimony against Von Stroheim and Von Stroheim's cronies. These final shots are perfectly staged, and I think the ending outdoes CASABLANCA if I'm honest.
One of Von Stroheim's cronies is played by superb character actor Otto Kruger. There's a great scene where Kruger senses he has exceeded his usefulness to the boss, and he pretends that he is in cahoots with someone on the outside that may compromise Von Stroheim's operation of trading government secrets. Kruger goes to the window to adjust a blind, which is meant to signal the outside person. But Von Stroheim figures this is a bluff, there is no such person outside the casino, and Kruger's futile attempt to save his life means curtains for him.
Republic's design team have done a very meticulous job of creating what feels like a grand night spot. There are huge, and I do mean huge, staircases; ornate chandeliers; countless gaming tables; a posh bar; spacious hallways; and decorative rooms for the guests that have elaborate balconies. Von Stoheim's office, complete with back elevator, is adorned with antique set pieces that makes him seem much more refined than any run-of-the-mill gangster.
There is also a running gag involving two elderly women (Sarah Edwards & Alice Fleming) who have come to the casino on their vacation, looking for a little ahem action. In one amusing moment, they think Arlen is hitting on them, and the excitement is almost too much for them to handle. But trust me, they are no competition for Miss Ralston. -
The atmosphere is exotic and nice, there is nothing wrong about the cinematography, the music is all the way to great advantage, so what is wrong about this film? Everything else. There is no plausible plot, the dialog is miserable, the acting is stale and sterile, there are a few gunshots now and then interrupting the general boredom, the action is absurd, a few cold-blooded murders doesn't make it any better, and I have seldom seen Erich Von Stroheim in a poorer role. As the owner of a casino he manages some sort of spy central working for the Japanese, disposing of whoever he doesn't have any use of any more. The one thing that makes this film worth watching is Vera Ralston as she dances, her first performance to the wonderful music of Borodin actually lifts the film to some level of interest, she is beautiful to watch and makes a fine performance, but she is the only one. All the others are just standard types of crooks and machos. The three street musicians also help to give the film some attraction, but on the whole it is a sorry display of just the cheapest kind of elegance. I had expected better of Erich Von Stroheim.
-
timothymcclenaghan20 August 2023This isn't the only Casablanca knock-off ever made. Republic Pictures was known for its cowboy movies (Autry, Rogers, et al) but once and awhile ventured into better pictures, especially those of John Wayne. I'm not saying this was a good movie, just that it came from a source with little experiernce of making a good movie.
I've seen several movies with Vera Ralston in the cast. I think a mention should be made of her dancing in this one. After Sonja Henie introduced dancing into women's figure skaing, every other skater took dancing lessons. Ralston was perhaps one of them.
I don't think a double was used for Ralston's dancing. If you watch it carefully (I did 3 times), watch her turns. She turns like a skater, not a dancer. Dancers don't usually pull their forearms in to turn or tuck their forearms to the chest, as Ralston did in this dance. -
planktonrules14 September 2023In my opinion, and that of many others, "Casablanca" is one of the very best films ever made. Much of it was because of the plot...but much more because of the wonderful ensemble cast. Warner Brothers used all the best supporting actors in its inventory to create a masterpiece. So, it's not surprising that another studio would try to cash in on its success. Unfortunately, this other studio was Republic. I say unfortunately because they didn't have access to nor could afford such a terrific cast. In addition, the film is saddled with studio chief Herbert Yates' personal 'favorite'.... Vera Ralston. According to most film experts, Ralston was Yates' mistress* and this alone would explain why he cast this woman in the leads in so many films, as she certainly was no great actress. Additionally, they have her doing something new here...sing and dance...and you have to see it to believe it! All in all, a recipe for mediocrity....at best.
Erich von Stroheim plays Mr. Deresco, a man who owns a nightclub in Lisbon and who is a rather amoral man. He really doesn't see too concerned about who wins the war....and is more than willing to do spying for both sides. After all, his allegiance is to Deresco. And, like in Casablanca, all sorts of stateless people arrive there in order to avoid the Nazis.
So is this third-tier "Casablanca" worth seeing...even if it stars the likes of Richard Arlen, Vera Hruba Ralston and Erich von Stroheim? Not especially. It's not terrible but sure could have been so much better with a better script and with better leads.
*Eventually Ralston and Yates did marry in 1952 after Yates divorced his wife, Petra.