''A Canção de Lisboa'' (lit. ''The Song of Lisbon'') is a 1933 Portuguese musical

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

, directed by

José Cottinelli Telmo José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...

, and starring

Vasco Santana Vasco Santana (full name: ''Vasco António Rodrigues Santana''; 28 January 1898 in Lisbon – 13 June 1958) was a Portuguese actor, one of the most renowned of the classical era of Portuguese cinema. He already had a long career in theatre ...

Beatriz Costa Beatriz Costa (born Beatriz da Conceição, 14 December 1907 – 15 April 1996) was a Portuguese actress, the best-known actress of the golden age of Portuguese cinema. She was the author of several books. Filmography * '' A Aldeia da Roupa ...

, António Silva, Alfredo Silva, Ana Maria, Artur Rodrigues, Coralia Escobar, Eduardo Fernandes, Elvira Coutinho, Fernanda Campos, Francisco Costa, Henrique Alves, Ivone Fernandes, José Victor, Júlia da Assunção, Manoel de Oliveira, Manuel Santos Carvalho, Maria Albertina, Maria da Luz, Silvestre Alegrim, Sofia Santos, Teresa Gomes and Zizi Cosme. It was the second Portuguese sound feature film (the first was '' A Severa''; a 1931 biopic of the fado singer Maria Severa Onofriana). In fact, ''A Canção de Lisboa'' was the first sound feature fully produced in Portugal, in the labs of Lisboa Filme and with Tobis equipment. ''A Canção de Lisboa'' premiered at the São Luís Theatre in Lisbon on 7 November 1933, the first in a long line of popular comedies generically referred to as the '' comédia à portuguesa''. Among the team were some of the greatest names of Portuguese culture of the day, such as painter

Carlos Botelho Carlos Botelho (18 September 1899, in Lisbon – 18 August 1982, in Lisbon) was a Portuguese painter, illustrator, comics artist, political cartoonist, satirist and caricaturist, whose works are shown at the Chiado Museum and at the ...

(credited as assistant director) and the poet

José Gomes Ferreira José Gomes Ferreira, GOSE, GOL (9 July 1900 – 1985) was a Portuguese poet and fiction writer with a vast work of varied influences. Gomes Ferreira was also a political activist that participated in the resistance against the dictatorship o ...

(editor assistant). The artist

Almada Negreiros José Sobral de Almada Negreiros (7 April 1893 – 15 June 1970) was a Portuguese artist. He was born in the colony of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe, the son of a Portuguese father, António Lobo de Almada Negreiros, and a Santomean mother ...

was the author of both promotional posters. ''A Canção de Lisboa'' remains a classic of cinema in Portugal, and several of its lines and songs have entered common parlance.

Plot

Vasco Leitão (

), a medical student in Lisbon, is supported by a generous allowance from his two rich elderly aunts from Trás-os-Montes, Efigénia and Perpétua (Sofia Santos and Teresa Gomes), whom he had falsely told he had already graduated. In fact, he devotes himself to a bohemian life, preferring the popular fairs and pretty women, especially Alice (

), a seamstress from the Castelinhos neighbourhood, which rather upsets her ambitious father, Caetano ( António Silva), a tailor who is familiar with Vasco's debts. On the same day he fails his final exam, Vasco is surprised by his aunts' announcement that they will visit him in Lisbon to see his practice. Immediately after arriving in Lisbon, the aunts' bags are stolen and the two elderly ladies faint. Vasco sees himself forced to accept Quinquinhas's (Eduardo Fernandes) suggestion to carry the two unconscious aunts in the carriage announcing an upcoming bullfight; when the aunts come to, they are outraged at the means of conveyance and get cross with Vasco. To soothe their indignation, Vasco asks Caetano for help, and he lies to the aunts, telling them their nephew is an excellent, renowned physician. What Vasco does not know is that Caetano's real interest is the old ladies' large inheritance. Cl 33

Vasco and Alice have a falling out during the

Midsummer Midsummer is a celebration of the season of summer usually held at a date around the summer solstice. It has pagan pre-Christian roots in Europe. The undivided Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr ...

festival. Meanwhile, at the local recreational society, Caetano single-handedly decides on the outcome of the competition to crown "Miss Castelinhos" so that his daughter Alice can win: the ceremony acts as a musical interlude in which Alce performs a song from a

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

, "''A Agulha e o Dedal''" ("The Needle and the Thimble"), for all the inhabitants of the neighbourhood (who attend in spite of the tedious rhetoric of the jury led by Caetano). The aunts start getting suspicious and see through Vasco's lies once he cannot show them his surgery and takes them instead to Lisbon Zoo, where he is mixed-up with the

Veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

. The aunts are ashamed and stop supporting Vasco, and soon start being courted by Caetano and the local cobbler (Alfredo Silva) in a final attempt to get their inheritance. Cl casamento

Vasco is saved from misery by his good friend Carlos ( Manoel de Oliveira), who gets him a job earning his living as a

fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was ...

singer, turning him into something of a local celebrity. This does not deter him from pursuing a career in medicine, and he finally passes his final examination with flying colours, regaining the favour of his aunts and winning the hand of Alice in marriage.

Cast

as Vasco Leitão *

as Alice Costa * António Silva as Caetano Costa *

Sofia Santos Sofia Santos (31 August 186921 May 1945) was a Portuguese actress. Early life Maria Sofia dos Santos Gomes was born on 31 August 1869 in the parish of São José, in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. She was the daughter of the journalist Manu ...

as Efigénia Rocha *

Teresa Gomes Teresa Gomes de Almeida (Lisbon, 26 November 1883 - Lisbon, 13 November 1962) was a Portuguese actress. Biography Teresa Gomes was born in Lisbon, at number 60 Rua de Santo António à Estrela, parish of Santa Isabel, on 26 November 1883, t ...

as Perpétua Rocha * Manoel de Oliveira as Carlos * Alfredo Silva as the Cobbler *

Eduardo Fernandes Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese football ...

as Quicas * Ana Maria as Maria da Graça, Carlos's girlfriend * Manuel Santos Carvalho as Alexandrino * Silvestre Alegrim as João, waiter

Popular culture

An expression that found its way into everyday life in Portugal was an annoyed Vasco visiting Lisbon Zoo with his aunts and shouting repeatedly : “There's lot of hats, you fool!" ( pt, Chapéus há muitos, seu palerma!, label=none) Also his Aunts had no doubts about him studying medicine because he even knew what Sternocleidomastoid ( pt, Ele até sabe o que é o esternocleidomastoideo!, label=none). The song " pt, A Agulha e o Dedal, label=none", sung by Beatriz Costa, became a household reference.

DVD version

The DVD version was heavily restored, with an additional 3 minutes in length, and a sound and image recovery to match the initial quality.

References

Chronicle at Amor de Perdição, in Portuguese

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cancao De Lisboa 1930s Portuguese-language films Portuguese black-and-white films 1933 films 1933 comedy films Portuguese musical comedy films 1933 musical films 1933 musical comedy films