JohnHowardReid Despite all the sniping and negativity from both reviewers and industry bigwigs, the film is entertaining on its own level. True, the atmosphere is not as thickly exotic as we might expect, but the chase through the fishing nets is an effective and memorable set- piece. Still, when one compares the rather weak climax which Ray directed with the rest of the film, there can be no doubt of the quality of von Sternberg's contribution, which is the style and smooth visual polish imparted to each shot by a master, compared to the routine and not particularly attractive compositions of Mr. Ray. All the same, von Sternberg has done disappointingly little with his players. Miss Russell has not been transformed at all but is exactly the same as in Farrow's "His Kind of Woman", while Miss Grahame in a much smaller role than usual, gives her usual interpretation of smoldering passion, and Mitchum seems to be even more stereotyped than he was in His Kind of Woman. Bendix plays with aplomb, but he too could have been more forceful and something more could have been done with his part. And the same applies to Brad Dexter and so on all down the line. Still, the lighting is glossy, the sets are attractive and the film has obviously been lensed on a considerable budget. Integration of studio and actuality footage is skilfully accomplished.

Edgar Soberon Torchia After the bad experience Josef von Sternberg had had while shooting "Jet Pilot" for Howard Hughes, things improved a bit with "Macao" (1952). It is an escapist divertimento, with the pleasant combination of Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell, two hot stars who projected the image of professional fun-lovers, although you never knew who had brought the grass, and who had the rolling paper. They had appeared together in the 1951 film noir, "His Kind of Woman" (very enjoyable, highly recommended, with Vincent Price in one of his finest roles ever), set in a sound stage Mexico. "Macao" offered the opportunity to travel again, to another Hollywood sound stage, in one of those "exotic" confections (mind you, probably done with a lot of grass, but not enough cash), and who better than Sternberg, who had made the Marlene Dietrich films and "The Shanghai Gesture" (with Ona Munson as the villain); who better than he to evoke the Portuguese colony of Macao in a Californian sound stage? Mitchum is at home in the story of an American who helps to catch a fellow countryman who administers a casino, sell drugs and is wanted by the law, while la Russell, well, a good friend of boss Hughes as she was, only had to sing, be herself and pass a good time in company of a fine cast that included the great Gloria Grahame (forced by Hughes to play a little part, instead of being in "A Place in the Sun"), William Bendix and Thomas Gomez. When Sternberg had already shot two thirds of the script, Hughes had a tantrum "a lo Leonardo DiCaprio" in "The Aviator", he fired Josef, and Nicholas Ray and a few more acolytes shot additional scenes. Enjoy!

blanche-2 These RKO noirs sometimes don't make a lot of sense; "Macao" gets a little murky plot-wise, but otherwise, it's an entertaining film with an excellent cast. And as an added bonus, it has Josef von Sternberg at the helm until he was kicked off the movie, and then it has Nicholas Ray. Not bad.Robert Mitchum, sexy and wide-shouldered in one of those loose-fitting tropical suits, plays Nick Cochran, going to Macao to start over after leaving the U.S. and spending time in the service. He originally thought he committed murder, but even though he hadn't, he kept going. On the boat en route to Macao, he meets beautiful, sexy, non-nonsense Julie Benson (Jane Russell) and a salesman (William Bendix).When they arrive, Mitchum is taken for a police detective out to get a criminal/casino owner Halloran (Brad Dexter) back to the states. The chief of police (Thomas Gomez) is in cahoots with Halloran. Plus, Halloran becomes interested in Julie, so he really wants to get rid of Cochran. Criminals in Macao avoid the "three mile limit" - because three miles outside of Macao, international jurisdiction rules.Apparently Mitchum did some rewrites on this script because it didn't make much sense. The cast and crew, all of whom had worked together many times, were a little too friendly for von Sternberg, which caused Mitchum to push all of his buttons. I'm not sure if Ray dragged Gloria Grahame with him or what, but she's wasted here, and she had no interest in this role. Can't blame her.Despite all of this, Mitchum and Russell are great together, a wonderful, sexy combination. Both stars just ooze sex appeal, and Mitchum's laid-back performance is a great juxtaposition to Russell's character - it's pointed out that she has a big chip on her shoulder. Russell looks fabulous in the costumes, an added bonus.Pretty music, excellent noir photography, and a good pace help make "Macao" good entertainment. For me it can't touch "Out of the Past" or "The Big Steal," but you can't beat Mitchum and Russell heating up the screen.

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.