Macao

1952 "A sultry chanteuse, a hunk on the lam and a fortune in stolen gems"
6.6| 1h21m| NR| en
Details

A man on the run in the Far East is mistaken for an undercover cop.

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Reviews

Micitype Pretty Good
Actuakers One of my all time favorites.
Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
mark.waltz There's terrific pretty much everything in this exotic film noir where Robert Mitchum does detective work, Jane Russell does vocal work, and William Bendix does wisecrack work. Unfortunately, you get to know as much about quiet Mitchum that you do about the fiery Jane and the bombastic Bill. This is mostly set on a cruiser from Hong Kong to Macao where Mitchum tries to break up a crime ring and finds all sorts of trouble along the way. Exotic settings and non stop action don't really create a fleshed out plot, and for the three stars (and a decent supporting cast), it's a disappointing entry in the career of the legendary Josef Von Sternberg. There are many great moments, but moments do not add up to a great film no matter how exciting they are. Highlights include Russell singing several songs (most notably "One For My Baby") and Mitchum playing cat and mouse with the bad guys. Gloria Grahame has a truly pointless supporting role, coming in a very busy year for her, but she's not even substantial to the story even with prominent billing. The performances are all decent, but there's little history or motivation given to their characters which is the real reason I consider this one a let down. Considering the time that this was made at RKO, it's obvious that scripts were being rushed out with little regards to detail, and this suffers from being a complete missed opportunity.
writers_reign From the late forties to the early fifties Robert Mitchum appeared to spend all his time in semi-exotic locales with either Jane Greer or Jane Russell thrown into the mix. As often as not he was down-on-his- luck, an adventurer, or both and all the movies were produced at RKO by owner Howard Hughes. This is really no better or worse than The Big Steal, His Kind Of Woman or any of the others although buffs will recognize the cluttered set signature style of Joseph Von Sternberg who was hired then fired by Hughes so that the movie was completed by Nicholas Ray, then in the process of divorcing Gloria Grahame, who was just along for the ride as the girl friend of Brad Dexter, who owns the largest casino in Macao but, like Pepe le Moko, can't go home again. It's a pleasant enough time-passer and Russell gets to slaughter One For My Baby, what's not to like.
seymourblack-1 In the chaos that followed the end of World War 11, places that fell outside the jurisdiction of international law became havens for all sorts of mysterious travellers such as, fugitives from justice, displaced persons and of course, the types of criminals who could best exploit these locations for their own purposes. The Portuguese colony of Macao, which lay to the south of Hong Kong, was one of these places and provides the setting for this movie in which adventure, romance and mistaken identities feature strongly.After recently having been involved in the murder of an undercover cop from New York City, local crime boss Vincent Halloran (Brad Dexter) expects another undercover officer to arrive in Macao to carry on where his predecessor left off. When a steamer from Hong Kong arrives at the port, corrupt police Lieutenant Sebastian (Thomas Gomez), who's on Halloran's payroll, watches with interest while three Americans have their entry documents checked. The three people in question are, Nick Cochran (Robert Mitchum), an ex-serviceman with no passport, out-of-work nightclub singer Julie Benson (Jane Russell) and travelling salesman, Lawrence C Trumble (William Bendix). Sebastian allows Nick Cochran to enter Macao despite not having a passport and reports back to Halloran about the new arrivals and his belief that Nick is the undercover detective that they've been expecting.Nick and Julie had struck up a certain rapport after having met on the steamer and so Halloran hires Julie as a singer for his casino with the intention of using her to find out more about Nick. Halloran also offers Nick money to leave Macao but he's more interested in staying to develop his relationship with Julie. The jovial Lawrence Trumble deals in a diverse range of items including nylon stockings, fertiliser and coconut oil and one day offers Nick $10,000 to sell a stolen diamond necklace to Halloran. After Halloran sees a diamond taken from the necklace, he agrees to travel to Hong Kong to complete the deal even though doing so would mean travelling through international waters where he would run the risk of being arrested.Halloran, who recognises that the necklace is one that he'd previously stolen, has Nick kidnapped. Nick then escapes with the assistance of Halloran's girlfriend Margie (Gloria Grahame) who's very bitter about Halloran's obvious attraction to Julie and a series of further complications then follow before Halloran's decision to travel to Hong Kong leads to the story's exciting conclusion.Many of the characters in "Macao" are disloyal and very readily betray any trust placed in them. Some examples involve Halloran who's disloyal to his mistress (Margie) who reciprocates by transferring her loyalty to Nick. Lieutenant Sebastian has no integrity at all and his loyalty is always ready to be transferred to the highest bidder. Similarly, Julie, who was broke when she left Hong Kong, used her looks to sucker a sleazy stranger into sponsoring her trip to Macao, but then when the arrangement started to become uncomfortable dumped him with the help of Nick, who she rewarded by stealing his money and throwing his passport and wallet into the sea!! Treachery on this scale is probably no surprise in a location that's a magnet for people who want to escape their pasts or enjoy unregulated gambling but what's more unexpected is the rather playful tone of the whole movie where banter, wisecracks and witticisms are the norm. Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell both excel in their roles but are unquestionably at their most effective and charismatic in their scenes together. Brad Dexter, Gloria Grahame and William Bendix also do well in their important supporting roles.
Terrell-4 With noirs, good acting is the head on the mug of beer. Strictly speaking, it's not needed for enjoyment, but a beer is more satisfying with the foam on. That brings up Jane Russell. In Macao, she looks mighty fine with all that Howard Hughes-directed attention given to how she was photographed and what she wore. Not speaking, she's every inch a femme fatale. Speaking, she's just every other inch. That straightforward all-American diction (she was born in Minnesota) gets in the way of the noir illusion. She simply isn't a seducer of sweating insurance salesmen or dumb Swedes. She's a great pal to share a life and a bed with, a woman with a nice sense of pleasant irony. There just isn't much steam generated between her and Robert Mitchum. Rita Hayworth, on the other hand, would have set Mitchum's laid back toes to smoldering. There's a lot of inside discussion about von Sternberg and this movie...all that talk about arches in the casino and beaded curtains everywhere else. Personally, I think if you didn't know the gossip you'd never suspect von Sternberg had anything to do with Macao. The movie is just a better-than-average mystery with hints of noirish charm. The story is straightforward and unexceptional. The photography is first-rate. Whatever Nicholas Ray had to do to pull the pieces together when Howard Hughes fired von Sternberg after most of the movie had been shot, Ray did efficiently. What makes Macao interesting today is one more opportunity to watch Robert Mitchum be the coolest guy around. The downside is that Gloria Graham is wasted...and, contrary to quotes and gossip, she doesn't overact for a minute. The story? Three strangers arrive at Macao on the ferry from Hong Kong. There's Julie Benson (Jane Russell), a down-on-her-luck singer with a chip on her shoulder. She needs a job. There's Nick Cochrane, a down-on-his-luck drifter who can't return to the States. And there's Lawrence C. Trumble (William Bendix), a small-time businessman who deals in "coconut oil, pearl buttons, fertilizer and nylon hose." Within hours Benson and Cochrane are dealing with Vincent Halloran (Brad Dexter), owner of one of the biggest casinos in Macao, The Quick Reward. He hires Julie to be a singer in the casino and tries to convince Cochrane to get on the next ferry back to Hong Kong. Seems Halloran is wanted bad by the New York cops, but no one can touch him as long as he stays in Macao and within the three-mile territorial limit. Halloran thinks Cochrane is an undercover cop trying to trick him out of his lair. And what role does Trumble play in all this...it has to involve more than the pair of nylons he gave Julie on the ferry. Observing all this, leaning against a wall or a piano, looking through curtains and poking her nose into things she shouldn't, is Margie (Gloria Grahame), dice girl at the casino and Halloran's squeeze. She seems to love the guy. As the story plays out there will be knives in the back, chases through Macao's darkened docks and across boats, a romantic slow ride in a sampan, and diamonds. One drawback is that Howard Hughes gave Russell plenty of opportunities to sing in his movie. She has three songs. The story slows appreciably to make time for her carefully photographed songbirding. Russell has a nice voice and does no harm except to the Arlen-Mercer classic, "One for My Baby." She has no feel for the blues and sounds as out-of-touch with the song's emotions as Doris Day would have.