A Hollywood disaster that became a minor legend of director-star warfare

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The 1952 film noir Macao is remembered less for its plot than for the legendary friction behind the scenes. With a director who treated actors like props and stars who openly revolted, the production became a chaotic, expensive failure that critics once dismissed as a pedestrian, arthritic mess.

Directed by Josef von Sternberg, Macao was the second of two features he made for RKO Pictures under a contract with Howard Hughes. From the start, the production was plagued by conflict. Sternberg, who famously viewed actors as mere details of décor, clashed repeatedly with stars Jane Russell and Gloria Grahame. These tensions were so severe that they became a minor legend in Hollywood, with reports of frequent on-set fights and visibly strained performances. Sternberg eventually disowned the film, claiming he despised both the script and the studio's close control over his work.

The film’s troubled nature extended to its technical execution. Producer Alex Gottlieb was so dissatisfied with Sternberg’s handling of a critical fistfight between Robert Mitchum and Brad Dexter that he brought in director Nicholas Ray to film the retakes. While Ray’s contribution remained uncredited, Sternberg acknowledged it. Despite the star power of Mitchum and Russell, the film was a financial disaster, recording a loss of $700,000. Critics at the time, including Bosley Crowther of The New York Times, lambasted the story as a tired, flimflam affair that relied on outdated tropes of Far East menace.

However, the film’s reputation has shifted over time. While film historian Andrew Sarris famously criticized Macao for using superficial style to mask a lack of meaning, other scholars like John Baxter argue that the film is unfairly obscure. Baxter points to the director’s signature atmosphere—such as a chaotic waterfront chase and a memorable scene involving an electric fan and a pillow—as evidence of a uniquely Sternbergian vision. Modern reappraisals, such as those by Dennis Schwartz, suggest that the chemistry between Russell and Mitchum creates a genuine, tongue-in-cheek magic that makes the film an underrated noir gem.

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