This dynamite pair only made two films together, 1951's His Kind Of Woman and 1952's Macao, but they are regarded as one of Hollywood's premiere screen couples. Thanks to Howard Hughes, the pair joined forces for the film noir His Kind Of Woman and generated undeniable screen chemistry. Actually the duo would have made three films together when Hughes considered casting Russell opposite Mitchum for 1949's The Big Steal. This film was rushed into production after Mitchum's arrest for smoking marijuana. Hughes didn't want to risk teaming Russell with him, fearing it would taint her career. Instead, Hughes gave the role to Jane Greer, his former flame he wanted to punish for having rejected him. Regardless, we have two solid films with the pair definitely in their element.
His Kind Of Woman had gambler Dan Milner (Mitchum) in Mexico and comes across a gangster (Raymond Burr) who is trying to get back into America after being deported and a lovely singer named Lenore (Russell). There are twists and turns aplenty in this entertaining film.
Russell's and Mitchum's second film Macao has Mitchum as a man on the run trying to redeem himself by capturing an international crime lord. Russell is cast once again as a singer and has a grand time delivering her lines with spunk and sass. Macao also co-starred Gloria Grahame. It's a shame this duo only made these two films together as you can tell they had a great connection and worked well with one another. They made their mark as one of cinema's sexiest teams.
monty, Wonderful pick for "Great on Screen Couples". As you may already know.. Mitchum , is one of my favorite actors.((sigh)).
ReplyDelete"Macao" is a lot of fun. Josef von Sternberg is listed as the director, but after he alienated the entire cast and crew in the first few days of production, RKO sacked him and he was replaced by Nicholas Ray. Gloria Grahame (was she married to Ray at the time?) and William Bendix provide fine support. Also, Jane does a nice version of "One For My Baby," a reminder that she was a much better singer than she was often given credit for.
ReplyDeleteVP81955, I agree.. Jane does have a great singing voice. Thank you for sharing your awesome triva with us.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, Monty.. will know the answer your question.