Not an entirely happy production - Sternberg, according to Mitchum, shot and cut it in such a way that characters kept walking into themselves, with the result that Nicholas Ray was called in to reshoot (uncredited) many of the action scenes - but still a delightful bit of RKO exotica. The thin story, set in the port of the title, sees Mitchum's drifter joining up with Russell's sultry singer and helping the local cops catch a criminal bigwig. But what is so enjoyable, apart from Harry Wild's shimmering camerawork, is the tongue-in-cheek tone of the script and performances, best evidenced in the sparkling banter and innuendo between Mitchum and Russell.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

*** 

My expectations for the 1952 "Macao" were not very high, although I think that Josef von Sternberg's Shanghai Express (1932) may be the most romantic movie ever made. His compositions built around Marlene Dietrich got more and more stylized (and they were already very stylized in "Shanghai Express") as the 1930s wore on. "Shanghai Gesture" (1941) which he wrote and directed is a travesty of a movie almost entirely set in a Shanghai casino catering to westerners, memorable mostly for the incredibly bizarre coiffure of Mother Gin Sling (Ona Munson). The debacle seemed to finish off von Sternberg's Hollywood career, but Howard Hughes temporarily revived it by hiring him to direct "Test Pilot" and then turning over the star he wanted to be transformed from a very beautiful, famously stacked, but straightforward American model into a glamorous siren, or at least femme fatale—in other words, to craft another Dietrich.

At some point, Hughes was quoted as saying that supporting Jane Russell was not a difficult engineering challenge. He was, of course, referring to designing brassieres for her. Building movies around her was more difficult. In repose, she could look like a femme fatale, but does not seem to have been able to act the part. Sternberg was more interested in showing off goddess archetypes than in acting or plotting and was not concerned about the genre requirement of a femme fatale. out of     

Excerpt from Steven O. Murray's Eopinions website located HERE

The Warner is also available as part of the Robert Mitchum - The Signature Collection . It includes Angel Face / Macao / The Sundowners / Home from the Hill / The Good Guys and the Bad Guys and The Yakuza.

Release Information:
Studio: Warner

Aspect Ratio:
Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1

Edition Details:

• Commentary by author and historian Eddie Muller, screenwriter Stanley Rubin and actress Jane Russell
• TCM Private Screenings with Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell, hosted by Robert Osborne (30:14)

DVD Release Date: January 23rd, 2007
In the Signature Collection a Slim Transparent Keep Case
Chapters: 23