Macao (1952)

Nick Cochran, an American in exile in Macao, has a chance to restore his name by helping capture an international crime lord. Undercover, can he mislead the bad guys and still woo the handsome singer/petty crook, Julie Benson?

Directors:

Josef von Sternberg, Nicholas Ray (uncredited)

Writers:

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

Stars:

Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, William Bendix

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert Mitchum	...	Nick Cochran
Jane Russell	...	Julie Benson
William Bendix	...	Lawrence C. Trumble
Thomas Gomez	...	Police Lt. Sebastian
Gloria Grahame	...	Margie
Brad Dexter	...	Vincent Halloran
Edward Ashley	...	Martin Stewart
Philip Ahn	...	Itzumi
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Kwan Sum Tang
Don Zelaya	...	Gimpy - Piano Player

Storyline

A sultry night club singer, a man who has also traveled to many exotic ports and a salesman meet aboard ship on the 45-mile trip from Hong Kong to Macao. The singer is quickly hired by an American expatriate who runs the biggest casino in Macao and has a thriving business in converting hot jewels into cash. Her new boss thinks one of her traveling companions is a cop. One is -- but not the one the boss suspects.

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Plot Keywords:

cigarette | chinese | macao | singer | hong kong | 

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Taglines:

They try to forget their pasts in exotic, exciting Macao, port of sin and shady dealings!

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Cantonese Japanese

Release Date:

28 May 1952 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Макао

Filming Locations:

San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Howard Hughes fired director Josef von Sternberg about a third of the way through and shot the rest with Nicholas Ray. However, in the Spring 1972 edition of "Focus on Film: screenwriter Walter Newman said he and Nicholas Ray were asked by RKO production boss Jerry Wald to write and direct three scenes that "tied the story together a bit." Newman sad he did a love scene in a Chinese junk with Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell.

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Goofs

In the DVD subtitles, some of the Portuguese police commander's dialogue has the words "señor" and "señora," spelled in the Spanish way. The Portuguese forms are "senhor" and "senhora".

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Quotes

Halloran: How 'bout two weeks salary in advance?
Julie Benson: This is one time I won't say no.

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Connections

Featured in Biography: Jane Russell: Body and Soul (1997)

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Soundtracks

Ocean Breeze
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Leo Robin
Sung by Jane Russell
Played on phonograph

User Reviews

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.