Silver Screenings

If you’re in the market for a Casablanca knock-off movie, we’ve got a dilly for you.

Storm Over Lisbon (1944) is about secret agents and mercenaries in Lisbon during World War II. The plot, which could almost be a continuation of the movie Casablanca, is more mysterious than the legendary film, e.g. it’s not immediately apparent who’s a Good Guy and who ain’t.

If you recall, the prime directive in Casablanca was to get a coveted seat on the plane to Lisbon and, from there, glide to Freedom in America. Storm Over Lisbon shows us what you might find in the Portuguese city before your flight departs.

Events in this film center around a nightclub named Deresco’s, a glammed-up version of Rick’s Café. Deresco’s is owned by smarmy businessman Erich von Stroheim, who dons a dashing white dinner jacket (à la Casablanca’s Rick Blaine).

But in Storm Over Lisbon, the Thing Everyone Wants isn’t a pair of transit letters, it’s a canister containing footage of a covert war operation. People will kill to get it, even before they really know what it is.

The characters in this melee include a Czech dancer, an American journalist, a foreign operative with a British accent, and our German entrepreneur.

By far, one of the most fascinating aspects of this film is all the stuff, and by that we mean thousands of set pieces and props.

Honestly, it’s hard to think of another movie with So Much Stuff in it.

Storm Over Lisbon leads us to believe WWII Lisbon was a Hotbed of spies and counterspies. Was that really the case?

Apparently, yes. Portugal was, incredibly, able to declare Neutrality during WWII, allowing it to become a port of safe passage to North America.

“Lisbon’s role during World War II as a transit city, a refuge for those seeking safety, and a hub of espionage remains a remarkable and often overlooked chapter in history,” writes Rafael Gomes in Lisbon.vip. “The city provided hope and a fresh start for thousands…”¹

One of the Lisbon hotels/resorts that attracted spies and other notables during WWII was the Palácio Estoril, a resort still in operation today. According to their website:

During World War II, the Hotel Palácio provided sanctuary for European royal families who had fled to Estoril, earning the area the nickname “Coast of Kings.” … However, the hotel also attracted British and German spies who frequented the hotel’s bar, leading to tales of intrigue and espionage that later inspired famous novels and movies, including the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.²

Storm Over Lisbon also features a Clipper, a craft Wikipedia describes as a “long-range flying boat” that resembles today’s sea planes. There were 12 of these Boeing 314 Clippers made, and it was one of the largest aircraft of its time. The Clipper flew from the U.S. to neutral Ireland and Lisbon during WWII, and also covered routes in the Pacific.

According to Wikipedia, “It was the first aircraft to carry a sitting American president, when in 1943 Franklin D. Roosevelt flew from Miami to the Casablanca Conference in Morocco, via Trinidad, Brazil, and The Gambia.”³

Storm Over Lisbon was made by Republic Pictures, a “Poverty Row” studio, founded in the mid 1930s. Republic didn’t have the resources of an MGM or Warner Bros., but it still produced impressive films, such as the Oscar-winning The Quiet Man (1952).

The boss at Republic was Herbert J. Yates, and he cast his Czech wife, Vera Ralston, in Storm Over Lisbon. Ralston, if her publicity is to be believed, was a famous figure skater in her homeland and, in the late 1930s, she fled Czechoslovakia on the Last Plane Out before the Germans shut the door.

She did not enjoy an illustrious Hollywood career. Audiences weren’t crazy about her or her acting abilities. She has a nice screen quality, but her delivery is like a meat grinder: She churns out words to get through the scene.

However, Storm Over Lisbon is a stellar yarn about spies, counterspies, and lots of furnishings. There is a good-quality version on YouTube, and we hope you get the chance to see it.

This post is part of LUSO WORLD CINEMA BLOGATHON, hosted by Critica Retrô and Spellbound with Beth Ann.

Sources

¹ Lisbon VIP. (Retrieved June 15, 2025.) Lisbon during World War II (1939 – 1945) by Rafael Gomes.
²Palácio Estoril. (Retrieved June 15, 2025.) An Iconic Hotel with a Rich History.
³https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_314_Clipper (Retrieved June 15, 2025.) Boeing 314 Clipper.

Storm Over Lisbon starring Vera Ralston, Richard Arlen, Erich von Stroheim. Directed by George Sherman. Written by Doris Gilbert & Dane Lussier. Republic Pictures, 1944, B&W, 86 mins.