Le Paradis des mauvais garçons

Josef von Sternberg began Macao (and copped the directorial credit), but Nicholas Ray finished it. Nonetheless, it abounds with Sternberg's branded flounces and fetishes. As in Shanghai Express and The Shanghai Gesture, he trowels on the Orientalism in thick impasto (Sternberg could have made the best Charlie Chan movie of them all).

A nighttime chase through the Macao docks opens the movie (to be rhymed near its conclusion): A white-suited European is pursued by knife-throwing Chinese thugs; he falls in the water when one blade finds its mark. A badge filched from him pocket shows him to be a police detective.

Into this world of Asian intrigue sails a boat from Hong Kong, just 35 miles up the coast. On it is the motley crew of salesman William Bendix, drifter Robert Mitchum and mysterious woman Jane Russell, who lifts Mitchum's wallet. Sans passport, Mitchum comes to the attention of the Macao police chief (Thomas Gomez), who reports the suspicious stranger to gambling kingpin Brad Dexter. Dexter assumes Mitchum is a cop he knows to be on his way to extradite him back to Hong Kong....

It's a playfully plotted adventure story. Russell gets a gig singing at Dexter's club in eye-popping gowns which actually aren't any more provocative than the black-and-white daytime outfits she traipses around in, wielding a parasol. She fares better than Gloria Grahame, as Dexter's moll, looking washed out and largely wasted (though she puts her distinctive spin on a couple of lines). Mitchum by this time has done this role – the lippy but laconic reluctant hero – so often he could do it in his sleep, which, given his hooded eyes, may be the truth of the matter.

Macao is an utterly shallow film done with energy and style. The plotting remains perfunctory, but the play of shadows throughout remains transfixing – especially in the set-piece near the end, again on the dark waterfront, with ropes and nets casting their creepy spell. And the movie provides Russell with one of her few opportunities to flaunt her real, if narrow, talents: in addition to the statuesque figure that caught Howard Hughes' eye, she had spunk and sass. That's what Sternberg saw, and he fell for it. We do, too.

Cheeky, compact crime-drama in an exotic locale off the southern coast of China. Former Army Lieutenant Robert Mitchum, on the run from the law, winds up in the gambling and jewel-smuggling town of Macao without his wallet--seems pack-up-and-go lounge singer Jane Russell has fleeced him on the boat coming over from Hong Kong! Luckily, Mitchum becomes friendly with 'salesman' William Bendix, who is actually working to bring in the crime boss responsible for the death of an international police officer. Very tight and entertaining piece doesn't waste any time getting started. Some of the sloppy editing in the early stages fails to shape the scenes, but director Josef von Sternberg makes up for this with quick pacing and colorful asides. As for Russell, she's a stitch either working some very sarcastic dialogue or warbling seductive tunes down at the local gambling house. Gloria Grahame, as the boss's girl, wants Jane outta town fast--and it's easy to see why! *** from ****

Heh! Masterpiece it ain't, but it's got Mitch and Jane and in my book that's a plenty. Josef Von Sternberg was no stranger creating mysterious dreamscapes of his own making, Shanghai Express and Morocco comes to mind first and in this movie it also shows very much. Fishing nets, artfully bobbing sampans, black cats, exotic bit parts and beautiful Chinese "high-low" gamblers in slit skirts. Ahh... mysterious east it is. Unfortunately sum is not as high as parts would suggest and so this particular film leaves you wanting. Mitchum is in his usual mysterious tough guy mode and like a man said nobody does it better, Russell is little bland in the movie but very pleasing to the eye. Bendix is in fine form and it's a shame he doesn't have more screen time and Grahame is completely written down. Shameful thing it is when gals best scene is when she is blowing to the dice. Macao is not a bad movie in any way, but with better script it could have been so much more. If you want to check worthier Mitch & Jane collaboration take a look at His Kind of Woman, that film really rocks! Missed opportunity!

Macao is a paradise to outlaws since there is no extradition from this country. The former soldier Nick Cochran (Robert Mitchum) that had a problem with the New York police; the cynical and experienced singer Julie Benson (Jane Russell) and the salesman Lawrence C. Trumble (William Bendix) travel by ship and arrive at the port of Macao. Julie pickpockets Nick 's wallet and he loses his money and documents.

On the arrival, the corrupt Police Lieutenant Sebastian (Thomas Gomez) has the information that an undercover detective from New York is on board of the vessel and he believes that he is Nick Cochran. He discloses the information to the crime lord Vincent Halloran (Brad Dexter) that owns a casino and Halloran believes that Nick has the intention of taking him into international waters so that he can be arrested. Halloran hires Julie and tries to bribe Nick to leave Macao, but Nick and Julie feel attracted to each other and Nick has no intention to travel to Hong-Kong. When Trumble offers a deal to Nick with a diamond necklace, Nick shows a diamond from the necklace to Halloran and he concludes that Nick is really an undercover cop and sends his henchman to capture him. Who might be Trumble?

"Macao" is an entertaining adventure with a non-original story. The screenplay is weak, with a rushed conclusion, and the characters are poorly developed. The greatest attractions are the always great Robert Mitchum and the sultry Jane Russell that makes it worthwhile watching. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Macao"

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.