On M List of Movie Reviews
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Macao (1952)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
2/24
2/24:
Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell did two films together: His Kind of Woman and Macao.
After seeing the first, I went for the second. Wow, it's a bad movie and a complete change of scenery at that despite the
outstanding intro. The filmmakers tried to make it seem like the stars were in Macao, but they actually never were. It's just
a lot of fake background stuff with the rest done on a sound stage in Hollywood. The oft-reliable Gloria Grahame is
wasted in the process. Being able to wear a different fancy dress daily, Jane Russell sure has a lot of room in her luggage.
The only positive thing out of this mess is the pairing of Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell, but they were far better in
His Kind of Woman which had a good script and a noir-like setting
to begin with. It didn't hurt one bit when Vincent Price ultimately
stole the show. Sadly, Macao has none of them. The production was troubled from the start because of director Joseph von
Sternberg who was eventually replaced by Nicolas Ray which went for naught anyway.
All in all, His Kind of Woman is a must-see for fans of Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell
while Macao can be safely skipped.