Friday, October 23, 2020 at 5:55:00 P.M. EDT
TCM’s Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight and 10 a.m. ET is Joseph von Sternberg’s Macao (1952), with Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, William Bendix, Thomas Gomez, Gloria Grahame and Brad Dexter.
Film Noir Guide: “When an undercover officer of the International Police is murdered by a gang of jewel smugglers in Macao, the ‘Monte Carlo of the Orient,’ the cops send in another agent to take his place.
“On the run from the law, Mitchum arrives in Macao on the same boat as a sexy nightclub singer (Russell) and a traveling salesman (Bendix).
“Casino owner Dexter, the gang’s ringleader, believes that Mitchum is the undercover cop sent to lure him beyond the three-mile limit so the international cops can apprehend him. After hiring Russell to sing at his casino, Dexter bribes Mitchum to leave Macao. Mitchum refuses because he’s fallen for man-hater Russell, who in turn is getting the evil eye from Dexter’s moll (Grahame), a croupier at the club.
“A little confusing, but interesting nevertheless thanks to the witty dialogue and the chemistry between sex symbols Russell and Mitchum. Gomez is terrific as the corrupt Portuguese police lieutenant, but noir icon Grahame has a too-small part.”
David in TN: Last week’s entry was a “B Picture.” This week’s entry is an RKO “A Picture.”
N.S.: How do you tell “A” from “B,” with RKO? Mitchum routinely headlined in both types. I suppose being directed by von Sternberg could be a tell, but this was from his P.M. period: Post-Marlene.
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TCM's Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight and 10 am ET is Mark Robson's The Seventh Victim (1943) with Tom Conway, Kim Hunter, Jean Brooks, and Hugh Beaumont.
Film Noir Guide: "Hunter, in her film debut, plays a boarding school student notified that her sister (Brooks) is missing. She travels to New York City to look for her and soon discovers that Brooks, hopelessly neurotic and suicidal, is on the lam from a coven of Satan worshipers. Beaumont is Hunter's brother-in-law, and Conway is the psychiatrist who's helping Brooks hide out. Although ominous and atmospheric, as one would expect from B horror film producer Val Lewton, this eerily filmed mystery (marking Robson's directing debut) is a bit slow."
Kim Hunter is best known for winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress is Streetcar Named Desire (1951). She was "STELLA!"
In his outro last week, Eddie Muller was enthusiastic about The Seventh Victim. Eddie considers it a B film just right for Halloween Night.
I have never seen it.
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