Macao | Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell | Mitchum and Russell Escape to Macao

Macao | Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell | A Little Seltzer :-)

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Macao

	Macao Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell Turner Home Ent, 1996 average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A traveling night club singer gets hired by an American expatriate who runs a casino in Macao and specializes in converting stolen jewelry into cash. Complications ensue when one of her traveling companions turns out to be a cop.

Mitchum and Russell Escape to Macao

This is one of Robert Mitchum's coolest films. It is not a dark noir film like "Out of the Past" but a crime caper with a great cast set in an exotic locale. It has its own atmosphere and is a lot of fun for Mitchum fans. This is pure entertainment with a breezy feel all the way through, much the same as "The Big Steal" with Mitchum and Jane Greer.

Mitchum ends up in Macao and is mistaken for William Bendix, a cop looking to extradite casino owner Brad Dexter. Gloria Grahame plays the beautiful and abused ingenue tangled up with Dexter, and would steal this film were it not for the obvious chemistry between Mitchum and Jane Russell.

The two obviously liked each other and had a lot of fun making this film. Mitchum always had nice things to say about Russell whenever asked about the actresses he had worked with and Russell in turn always had nice things to say about Mitch. Both of them had their difficulties with the little dictator and director Joseph von Sternberg and it is probably in spite of his involvement with this film rather than because of it this movie turns out so utterly entertaining.

There is a glossy sheen and an airy feel to this Hollywood escapism. The entertaining crime angle, as the easygoing Mitchum is mistaken for Bendix, is played out nicely against the exotic locale of Macao. And the burgeoning romance between Mitchum and Russell gives this film just the right flavor. A movie that is great fun to watch. You'll enjoy it a little more every time you see it. Don't miss this one!

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A Little Seltzer :-)

Of course I know this is a film noire, but for me it has always had a comic aspect. You see, my uncle/godfather, Harold J. Kennedy, played the part of the drunken letch in the opening scene. It cracks me up every time I watch as he really played against type. Robert Mitchum comes to Jane Russell's rescue, knocking my uncle out and later reviving him with a face full of seltzer. In his book, No Pickle, No Performance (pp. 205-207), Uncle Harold talks about the filming of that scene and how Mitchum, apparently a really nice guy, had an assistant deliver a towel and a drink, after the take, as an apology for having squirted him. My uncle's part is over in the first few minutes, but I'm a big Mitchum fan. It's a good flick, and it shows Mitchum nearing the peak of his sex appeal.

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Charmingly exotic

This is a delightful film, all naive and wallowing in its own exoticism. Robert Mitchum is always a powerful presence on screen, and as for Russell's designer lame', louche seductiveness, it's still naively camp. You can watch it again and again, flaws and all.

A MITCHUM AND RUSSELL BLOCKBUSTER!

This film is a potpourri of oriental and expatriate American film noir. It's two major stars (Jane Russell and Robert Mitchum) fit like gloves into their roles. Their attraction to each other melts through the screen. There are also outstanding character role performances (and these are the film's other great strengths) by Brad Dexter (nightclub owner, gem smuggler, etc.) Thomas Gomez, Gloria Grahame, and a special mention of William Bendix, who really added a tight performance to the film.

The plot is one of mistaken identities, a worn-out songstress looking for a place to land and rest, a man who can't go home, and a NYC policeman on a job. The center scene of the film is a Macao nightclub run by a shady and dangerous character. Mitchum and Russell captivate this plot with their on-screen presences.

Josef von Sternberg directed this film, but his stern movie set policies offended all, and especially Mitchum who did something about it (in the video, Jane Russell, still dazzling in old-age with shining silver hair) tells us this amusing anecdote. Nicholas Ray finished up the directorial tasks when von Sternberg was booted out, and their two talents form an interesting combination.

Mitchem and Russell had a preceding hit film called "His Kind of Woman." They probably would have been teamed again after "Macao," but Howard Hughes sold the RKO studio.

All in all, Macao belongs in anyone's collection of classic film noir.

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Made For Each Other

MACAO is a fairly entertaining story of crime and adventure in the Portuguese colony near Hong Kong after World War II. Jane Russell is a singer working for a local gambling boss (Brad Dexter). Robert Mitchum is an American who is on the run and William Bendix is pretending to be a salesman but he really has another more mysterious identity. The best thing about MACAO is the pairing of Russell and Mitchum who seem to be made for each other.

Josef von Sternberg also directed THE BLUE ANGEL.

reviews: page 1, 2

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