The Austrian born director Josef von Sternberg was considered a genius, a force to be reckoned with during his heyday of the 20's and 30's, he is credited with discovering Marlene Dietrich and directed Emil Jennings to winning the very first best actor Oscar; by the 1950's he was lending his prestige name to mostly forgotten projects at RKO, the last of these 'Macao' he didn't get to finish. Studio boss Howard Hughes unhappy with Sternberg's work brought a young Nicholas Ray in at the end, mostly to punch up the action sequences, but allowed the Austrian to keep sole directorial credit. Ironically Ray, who Hughs often trusted to do clean up on other directors work in the early 50's (so much so Ray complained it kept him from doing more of his own work), would be removed as director before production wrapped on two of his last studio films, like Sternberg having become difficult to work with and perceived to have lost his touch.
Despite its troubled production I liked 'Macao', somehow the chaos behind the scenes translated to an easy going vibe on screen. Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell and William Bendix arrive in the Portuguese Hong Kong of Macao on the same boat, one of them secretly a cop on a mission to trick rackater Brad Dexter into international waters so he can be arrested. A love triangle develops between Mitchum, Russell and Dexter, while Gloria Graham's uncertain loyalties provide some additional complication. Filmed at the studio this 'exotic' feature has an unreal air and nothing feels all that important, which I think helps this movie. It's a vehichal for these stars to do their persona's and if you like the persona's it works, though at time's Russell lays the tough broad shtick on a little too thick, she does get to sing however as her characters a lounge singer and she's not bad at it.
Pleasant and low key 'Macao' is a bit of a guilty pleasure, a nothing plot and some hammy acting, still makes for an about perfect lazy afternoon movie. **1/2
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