Macao
Director: Josef von Sternberg
Year Released: 1952
Rating: 3.0
Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell and traveling salesman William Bendix show up in Macao together - via steamer! - with different agendas, but their lives end up converging, especially since a dodgy expatriate/casino owner (a wooden, almost comical Brad Dexter) suspects Mitchum of being a detective from New York. Horrendous production problems aside (four directors, eight screenwriters) - and, in my view, an all-too brief and neatly 'wrapped up' ending - this is a nifty little noir, with some nice sets and Mitchum being Mitchum: he's a gambler, but he ain't no detective. The movie even takes time to allow Russell to sing two numbers - I'm particularly fond of her rendition of "One for My Baby."
