Macao (1952)

That was an excellent one.

Admirable film.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Believe me - 1952's "Macao" (a cliched and predictably routine "boy-meets-girl" crime-drama set in China) was the sort of film where you'd swear that all of the main actors had, literally, phoned their performances in. It's true.I found that this was especially so of Macao's 2 super-sexy leads, Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell. I mean - The truth is - These 2 hot lookers just weren't right for this picture, at all. No way, Jose.As I understand it - Part of the answer to all of these "phone-in" performances came down the tyrannical rule on the set by director, Josef Von Sternberg. Apparently he and Mitchum were in constant conflict with one another throughout Macao's entire shooting.*Note* - Be sure to watch the bonus extra on this disc of TCM host, Robert Osborne interviewing Mitchum in 1996. Mitchum was 78 at the time and you would never recognize him, ever. He died the following year.

Following the success of "The Big Steal" and "His Kind of Woman", RKO decided to make a very, very similar sort of film with many of the same actors--hoping to once again hit it big in the box office. Robert Mitchum starred in all these films and they took his co-stars from these films (William Bendix and Jane Russell) and tossed in the same sort of story. Because of this, it's pretty easy to mix this film up with the others--I know I did after seeing all three. Now this is NOT to say that "Macao" is a bad film--it's just a case where there wasn't a whole lot that was terribly original. Once again, Mitchum is in a foreign land and has a vague and possibly shady past and once again he's dealing with underworld figures.The film begins with the three stars about to arrive in the Portuguese colony of Macao. Oddly, however, no one seems the least bit Portuguese! Anyway, Russell lifts Mitchum's wallet--making it hard for him to gain admittance to the city or afford to stay there. So, eventually Mitchum and Russell hook up with a mobster (Brad Dexter) and you never know at the time whether Mitchum is a crook, a wannabe crook, a cop or just some noble guy. And, like the previous films, by the end, Mitchum gets the girl, defeats evil and lives happily ever after...just like his other films.Good acting but a retread from start to finish. It's well worth watching but just doesn't meet the standards of the other films.

Cheeky, compact crime-drama in an exotic locale off the southern coast of China. Former Army Lieutenant Robert Mitchum, on the run from the law, winds up in the gambling and jewel-smuggling town of Macao without his wallet--seems pack-up-and-go lounge singer Jane Russell has fleeced him on the boat coming over from Hong Kong! Luckily, Mitchum becomes friendly with 'salesman' William Bendix, who is actually working to bring in the crime boss responsible for the death of an international police officer. Very tight and entertaining piece doesn't waste any time getting started. Some of the sloppy editing in the early stages fails to shape the scenes, but director Josef von Sternberg makes up for this with quick pacing and colorful asides. As for Russell, she's a stitch either working some very sarcastic dialogue or warbling seductive tunes down at the local gambling house. Gloria Grahame, as the boss's girl, wants Jane outta town fast--and it's easy to see why! *** from ****

Bob Mitchum and Jane Russell make for a rugged romantic duo in this crime film set in the Far East, directed by Josef Von Sternberg. In this rather light, watered down noir Russell, as a streetwise nightclub singer matches Mitchum with world weary put down after put down.Director Von Sternberg, whose visual style of the 30's was the envy of Hollywood but had fallen on tough times and was nearing the end of his career, occasionally captures the magic that displayed Marlene Dietrich with such allure and mystery in films like Shanghai Express and Morrocco. The problem is that Dietrich and Russell are different animals. Russell has never looked more glamorous but she doesn't move like Dietrich and her singing scenes make her look a bit like Gilda on steroids. Still, there is a chemistry between her and Mitchum that keeps the film entertaining. The supporting cast offers a comically hammy turn by William Bendix and a somewhat strange, semi-comatose performance by Gloria Grahame. Von Sternberg borrows heavily from his last good film, The Shanghai Gesture in many scenes, but Macao's main strength rests squarely on the broad shoulders of its two stars.