Macao (1952)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Bernard C. Schoenfeld (screenplay) and
Stanley Rubin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 April 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Adventure

Tagline:

A sultry chanteuse, a hunk on the lam and a fortune in stolen gems.

Plot:

A sultry night club singer, a man who has also traveled to many exotic ports and a salesman meet aboard...

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Salesman | Club | Diamond Smuggler | Rickshaw

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	Nick Cochran
Jane Russell	...	Julie Benson
William Bendix	...	Lawrence C. Trumble
Thomas Gomez	...	Lt. Sebastian
Gloria Grahame	...	Margie
Brad Dexter	...	Vincent Halloran
Edward Ashley	...	Martin Stewart
Philip Ahn	...	Itzumi
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Kwan Sum Tang
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Everett Glass	...	Garcia (unconfirmed)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Cantonese | Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #14783) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Spain:T | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

Robert Mitchum actually wrote several scenes for this movie when Nicholas Ray came on board to do uncredited directing so that the script would make more sense.

Quotes:

Margie: [to Nick Cochran] You're up early for a loser.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Private Screenings: Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell" (1996)

Soundtrack:

One for My Baby

Mitchum and Russell salvage drab Von Sternberg

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.