Macao (1952)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Josef von Sternberg
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Writers:

Bernard C. Schoenfeld (screenplay) and
Stanley Rubin (screenplay) ...
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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)
Abdullah Abbas	...	Arabian (uncredited)
Rico Alaniz	...	Bus driver (uncredited)
Trevor Bardette	...	Alvaris (uncredited)
Genevieve Bell	...	Woman passenger (uncredited)
Truman Bradley	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
George Chan	...	Chinese photographer (uncredited)
W.T. Chang	...	Old fisherman (uncredited)
Spencer Chan	...	Hood (uncredited)
John Daheim	...	Det. Lt. Daniel Lombardy (uncredited)
Art Dupuis	...	Portuguese pilot (uncredited)
Lee Tung Foo	...	Merchant (uncredited)
Nacho Galindo	...	Bus driver (uncredited)
H.W. Gim	...	Sampan pilot (uncredited)
Phil Harron	...	Sikh (uncredited)
Sheldon Jett	...	Dutch tourist (uncredited)
Harold J. Kennedy	...	Drunken lecherous salesman (uncredited)
Marc Krah	...	Desk clerk (uncredited)
Tommy H. Lee	...	Chinese victim (uncredited)
James B. Leong	...	Hood (uncredited)
Weaver Levy	...	Chang (uncredited)
Alex Montoya	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Walter Ng	...	Fisherman (uncredited)
Manuel París	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Emory Parnell	...	Ship's captain (uncredited)
Alfredo Santos	...	Hood (uncredited)
May Takasugi	...	The barber (uncredited)
Philip Van Zandt	...	Customs official (uncredited)
Michael Visaroff	...	Russian doorman (uncredited)
Iris Wong	...	Croupier (uncredited)
William Yip	...	Rickshaw driver (uncredited)
Maria Sen Young	...	Croupier (uncredited)
Don Zelaya	...	Gimpy (piano player) (uncredited)

Directed by
Josef von Sternberg
Mel Ferrer		(uncredited)
Nicholas Ray		(uncredited)
Robert Stevenson		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Bernard C. Schoenfeld		(screenplay) and
Stanley Rubin		(screenplay)
Robert Creighton Williams		(story) (as Bob Williams)
George Bricker		uncredited
Edward Chodorov		uncredited
Norman Katkov		uncredited
Frank L. Moss		uncredited
Walter Newman		dialogue (uncredited)

Produced by
Samuel Bischoff	....	executive producer
Alex Gottlieb	....	producer
Howard Hughes	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Anthony Collins

Cinematography by
Harry J. Wild		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Samuel E. Beetley
Robert Golden

Art Direction by
Ralph Berger
Albert S. D'Agostino

Set Decoration by
Harley Miller
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Michael Woulfe		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Jerry Wald	....	production supervisor: additional photography (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James E. Casey	....	assistant director: additional photography (uncredited)
Richard Davol	....	second unit director (uncredited)
William Dorfman	....	assistant director: additional photography (uncredited)
Lowell J. Farrell	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Keye Luke	....	painter: murals (uncredited)
Edward Vorkapich	....	sketch artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Clem Portman	....	sound
Earl A. Wolcott	....	sound (as Earl Wolcott)

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director
Hugh Martin	....	vocal arranger

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Fox Hills Video (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Nostalgia Merchant, The (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1952) (France) (theatrical) (as R.K.O. Radio Films)
• Castle Video (????) (Finland) (video)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2004) (Finland) (TV)
• Éditions Montparnasse (2003) (France) (DVD)

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:

Both Joyce Mackenzie and Jane Greer were considered for the part eventually played by Gloria Grahame, wife of uncredited co-director Nicholas Ray.

Quotes:

Lt. Sebastian: [referring to Julie Benson] Besides her obvious talents, she also sings.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Ocean Breeze

A Lighter Shade of Noir

Nick Cochran, supposedly an American adventurer and petty criminal, arrives, short of cash and on the run from the United States where he is wanted, in Macao (at this period still a Portuguese colony). Arriving on the same boat is an attractive young woman named Julie Benson. Julie is hired by Vincent Halloran, the local gambling boss, as a singer in his casino-cum-nightclub. Halloran is also wanted in America (for offences far more serious than Cochran's), but cannot be extradited as long as he remains in Macao. Although this is a short film, there is still time enough for the plot to become very complex. A number of the characters are not what they seem. Is Cochran, for example, what he purports to be, or is he really a cop trying to lure Halloran beyond Macao's three mile limit into international waters where he can be arrested? Who is Lawrence Trumble, the mysterious salesman who also appears to have a sideline in stolen jewellery?

This is the second film which Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell made together; the previous year they had starred in "His Kind of Woman". The two films have much in common beyond the two leading actors. Both have an exotic setting and both feature gambling and a ruthless gangster. The two leads play similar types in both films, Mitchum a seedy, down-on-his-luck character, likable despite his shady past and occasionally cynical exterior, and Russell a sultry glamour girl. There is, however, an important difference between the two films. "His Kind of Woman" can be seen as a comic send-up of the crime thriller genre, starting off in the dark, menacing film noir style and then metamorphosing into a comedy action-thriller. "Macao" is the genuine article rather than a parody, being for the most part played seriously rather than for laughs, although it the atmosphere is perhaps lighter than in some other films noirs. The difference lies less in the look of the film- "Macao" has some striking black-and-white photography- than in the moral atmosphere. Films such as the Humphrey Bogart classics "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Big Sleep" were notable not only for their dark, gloomy look but also for their tone of moral darkness. The private eye characters played by Bogart struggle to maintain their private integrity in a world of corruption and deceit. In "Macao" there is something closer to a traditional morality, with good triumphing over the evil of the ruthless villains. The result is perhaps something of a hybrid between authentic noir and a more traditional adventure thriller, still highly watchable even today. 6/10