In the chaos that followed the end of World War 11, places that fell outside the jurisdiction of international law became havens for all sorts of mysterious travellers such as, fugitives from justice, displaced persons and of course, the types of criminals who could best exploit these locations for their own purposes. The Portuguese colony of Macao, which lay to the south of Hong Kong, was one of these places and provides the setting for this movie in which adventure, romance and mistaken identities feature strongly.
After recently having been involved in the murder of an undercover cop from New York City, local crime boss Vincent Halloran (Brad Dexter) expects another undercover officer to arrive in Macao to carry on where his predecessor left off. When a steamer from Hong Kong arrives at the port, corrupt police Lieutenant Sebastian (Thomas Gomez), who's on Halloran's payroll, watches with interest while three Americans have their entry documents checked. The three people in question are, Nick Cochran (Robert Mitchum), an ex-serviceman with no passport, out-of-work nightclub singer Julie Benson (Jane Russell) and travelling salesman, Lawrence C Trumble (William Bendix). Sebastian allows Nick Cochran to enter Macao despite not having a passport and reports back to Halloran about the new arrivals and his belief that Nick is the undercover detective that they've been expecting.
Nick and Julie had struck up a certain rapport after having met on the steamer and so Halloran hires Julie as a singer for his casino with the intention of using her to find out more about Nick. Halloran also offers Nick money to leave Macao but he's more interested in staying to develop his relationship with Julie. The jovial Lawrence Trumble deals in a diverse range of items including nylon stockings, fertiliser and coconut oil and one day offers Nick $10,000 to sell a stolen diamond necklace to Halloran. After Halloran sees a diamond taken from the necklace, he agrees to travel to Hong Kong to complete the deal even though doing so would mean travelling through international waters where he would run the risk of being arrested.
Halloran, who recognises that the necklace is one that he'd previously stolen, has Nick kidnapped. Nick then escapes with the assistance of Halloran's girlfriend Margie (Gloria Grahame) who's very bitter about Halloran's obvious attraction to Julie and a series of further complications then follow before Halloran's decision to travel to Hong Kong leads to the story's exciting conclusion.
Many of the characters in "Macao" are disloyal and very readily betray any trust placed in them. Some examples involve Halloran who's disloyal to his mistress (Margie) who reciprocates by transferring her loyalty to Nick. Lieutenant Sebastian has no integrity at all and his loyalty is always ready to be transferred to the highest bidder. Similarly, Julie, who was broke when she left Hong Kong, used her looks to sucker a sleazy stranger into sponsoring her trip to Macao, but then when the arrangement started to become uncomfortable dumped him with the help of Nick, who she rewarded by stealing his money and throwing his passport and wallet into the sea!!
Treachery on this scale is probably no surprise in a location that's a magnet for people who want to escape their pasts or enjoy unregulated gambling but what's more unexpected is the rather playful tone of the whole movie where banter, wisecracks and witticisms are the norm. Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell both excel in their roles but are unquestionably at their most effective and charismatic in their scenes together. Brad Dexter, Gloria Grahame and William Bendix also do well in their important supporting roles.
After recently having been involved in the murder of an undercover cop from New York City, local crime boss Vincent Halloran (Brad Dexter) expects another undercover officer to arrive in Macao to carry on where his predecessor left off. When a steamer from Hong Kong arrives at the port, corrupt police Lieutenant Sebastian (Thomas Gomez), who's on Halloran's payroll, watches with interest while three Americans have their entry documents checked. The three people in question are, Nick Cochran (Robert Mitchum), an ex-serviceman with no passport, out-of-work nightclub singer Julie Benson (Jane Russell) and travelling salesman, Lawrence C Trumble (William Bendix). Sebastian allows Nick Cochran to enter Macao despite not having a passport and reports back to Halloran about the new arrivals and his belief that Nick is the undercover detective that they've been expecting.
Nick and Julie had struck up a certain rapport after having met on the steamer and so Halloran hires Julie as a singer for his casino with the intention of using her to find out more about Nick. Halloran also offers Nick money to leave Macao but he's more interested in staying to develop his relationship with Julie. The jovial Lawrence Trumble deals in a diverse range of items including nylon stockings, fertiliser and coconut oil and one day offers Nick $10,000 to sell a stolen diamond necklace to Halloran. After Halloran sees a diamond taken from the necklace, he agrees to travel to Hong Kong to complete the deal even though doing so would mean travelling through international waters where he would run the risk of being arrested.
Halloran, who recognises that the necklace is one that he'd previously stolen, has Nick kidnapped. Nick then escapes with the assistance of Halloran's girlfriend Margie (Gloria Grahame) who's very bitter about Halloran's obvious attraction to Julie and a series of further complications then follow before Halloran's decision to travel to Hong Kong leads to the story's exciting conclusion.
Many of the characters in "Macao" are disloyal and very readily betray any trust placed in them. Some examples involve Halloran who's disloyal to his mistress (Margie) who reciprocates by transferring her loyalty to Nick. Lieutenant Sebastian has no integrity at all and his loyalty is always ready to be transferred to the highest bidder. Similarly, Julie, who was broke when she left Hong Kong, used her looks to sucker a sleazy stranger into sponsoring her trip to Macao, but then when the arrangement started to become uncomfortable dumped him with the help of Nick, who she rewarded by stealing his money and throwing his passport and wallet into the sea!!
Treachery on this scale is probably no surprise in a location that's a magnet for people who want to escape their pasts or enjoy unregulated gambling but what's more unexpected is the rather playful tone of the whole movie where banter, wisecracks and witticisms are the norm. Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell both excel in their roles but are unquestionably at their most effective and charismatic in their scenes together. Brad Dexter, Gloria Grahame and William Bendix also do well in their important supporting roles.