Henchman_Number1 Based on a "True Story" the opening scene features a panoramic view of Portland as the narration extols the beauty, culture and incredible atmosphere of the city as a wonderful place to raise a family. Sounds like Paradise but...it seems the town has been overran by murderous rival crime syndicates vying for control of the lucrative pinball vending business. Filmed in a semi-documentary style, Portland Expose reveals the sordid, corrupt side of the City of Roses. The movie follows the plight of local barkeeper George Madison (Edward Binns) as he becomes entangled with the criminal underworld after he agrees to have a pinball machine placed in his tavern. Soon the syndicate forces him to place even more machines and his formerly quiet pub becomes a hangout for the 'wrong crowd'. Regretting his decision Madison decides to fight back after his daughter (Carolyn Craig) is attacked in the parking lot by a syndicate thug (Frank Gorshin). With the cooperation of local officials Madison decides to go undercover to gather evidence to expose the rackets. The movie draws inspiration from the detective exploitation magazines of the era that promised behind the scenes sordid details. The stories were usually presented in a lascivious manner to maximize sensationalism as they followed the crime investigation through the eyes of the investigators. Tame by today's standards, the film pushed the boundaries into the acceptable content of the time. Though it's a fairly typical 1950's matinee programmer, Portland Exposé weaves a pretty fair noirish tale. Gritty and not highly stylized, it features ensemble cast composed of prolific career character actors (Binns, Virginia Gregg, Russ Conway, Lawrence Dobkin, Frank Gorshin, Rusty Lane, Joe Flynn) who manage to make the movie better than might be expected. All in all a watchable B crime flick.

secondtake Portland Express (1957)Overall, this is often a stilted affair, and it begins and ends with a canned voice-over about Portland, the Oregon city at the center of this unlikely crime scenario. And for people looking for noir, this is not noir at all, though it does have a kind of throwback to some gangster thugs, and there is a good twenty minutes of night stuff that has a noir look.Portland Express is more about American innocence, and the surprise anachronism of these mobsters in fedoras pressuring a cute roadhouse into using their pinball machines. Which leads to bigger pressures. The lead man is a small time movie and later t.v. character, Edward Binns, a solid but unexciting actor, sort of perfect for this solid but unexciting town (back then--now I hear it's solid and exciting). And his daughter is a complete unknown who acts her heart out, and really feels like a teenager on the cusp of womanhood in a realistic way. This matters because she becomes central to the plot, including in a harrowing and almost abusive rape scene (it pushes the violence very hard for a movie of this simplicity). But it's a turning point for Binns, the father, and for the plot, as this likable, ordinary family man goes undercover to get the bad guys.Naturally, we root for him, and see the dismantling of the syndicate. It gets increasingly dark and desperate over time, and a bit unlikely, but you'll still want to watch to the end, when the cavalry arrives--a group of ordinary men in plaid shirts who rush in to save the day. It's not as hilarious as it sounds. There is a quality of really beautiful, ordinary middle-America here that resonates, and that helps show this is really a 1950s movie. It's widescreen black and white, and a genuine slice of its period.

MartinHafer This film begins with a rather unnecessary and stuffy prologue. Fortunately, despite this weak introduction, the film turns out to be a very, very tough film indeed--with thugs who are child molesters or threaten to throw acid in people's faces. This is NOT your typical 1950s Film Noir movie, but a hard as nails look at organized crime in a rather unexpected locale--Portland, Oregon.You'll probably notice Virginia Gregg in the female lead. She was seen in 1001 "Dragnet" episodes. Edward Binns, a fine character actor whose name you probably won't recognize plays Gregg's husband--a man who is being forced by the local mob to play ball. Frank Gorshin, in a small but memorable role, plays the rapist who is so vile even the gang is disgusted by him.As for the plot, it's a very familiar one--having been seen in such earlier films as LOAN SHARK and APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER. An honest guy is sick of the mob, so he agrees to join them in order to get evidence to prosecute them. In this case, Binns pretends to be a rather worldly and not too honest man who is interested in moving up in the organization. However, despite being familiar, the film is handled well and is more than just another time-passer.

funkyfry Who knew the dangers of the pinball machine racket? Often in these kinds of movies the hero makes one tiny slip-up that leads him down a path of ruin -- all the poor guy in this movie did was agree to put a pinball machine in his little country bed and breakfast near Portland Oregon. But soon a mob of acid-wielding goons show up, accompanied by pedophilic maniac Frank Gorshin, and force him to turn his place into a full on juke joint. Grown men and women in mixed company leer at the bouncing pinballs and drinks are mixed fast and furious. It all looks like the soda fountain in "Reefer Madness." Eventually we're treated to a party scene where the woman who's supposed to be the best "madame" in the USA serves fruit punch for the guests. It's just that type of movie.Virginia Gregg's rough features serve her well when she shows maternal concern -- she represents all that is good and sacred in the American Way. Carolyn Craig has strong features as well, and I liked the way she kissed off the yokel he tried to tell her they were "going out in the country" because she had "been around." The ensuing confrontation with Gorshin's hood is definitely a pretty raw depiction of sexual hunger. It's a very effective sequence of events, even if highly predictable. I believe what George (Ed Binns) says when he says "this is one thing that I'm gonna see through, all the way." I guess the interesting thing about the sequence of events is that the girl is exposed to dangerous and aggressive sexuality in both instances, but as it turns out (the boy is contrite and writes a heartfelt letter) one of them was only harmless enthusiasm while of course the other was psychopathic mania. So hard for a good 50s girl to tell the difference! Another sinister aspect of the movie is the union/labor involvement with the pinball racket. I don't know if the movie was made by ultra-conservatives who were trying to smear labor by associating it with the criminal element but that's what it sure looks like to me. Of course just like "corrupt cop" movies they make sure to include at least one good honest labor guy, Al Gray (Francis De Sales). The scene with the labor meeting has some really odd dialog.... "Al Gray will conduct the séance....." On the whole it's not a very memorable movie but I liked the performances and it's a good take on the theme of a little guy who tackles the big criminals. Not a true "noir" movie as some apparently have claimed, at least not in my opinion."Memorize this name: Alfred Gray. Do not make a note of it."