Portland Exposé (1957)

Pretty Good

Great Film overall

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

A tavern owner helps authorities get the goods on gangs trying to take over a labor union.This Lindsley Parsons production is one of the many "confidential" or "expose" films of the time. Usually the tabloid title would include the name of a city whose supposed racketeers the movie would then expose. This movie appears inspired by the acid blinding of New York City labor reporter Victor Riesel in 1956 for his investigations into labor racketeering in that city. The low-budget Parsons outfit may have produced this programmer, but they managed two key assets, despite the lowly origins. First, they got heavyweight actor Ed Binns for the lead, along with familiar face Virginia Gregg and that fine little actress Carolyn Craig. What Binns lacks in marquee value, he makes up for in sheer talent, having been one of the Twelve Angry Men (1957) in that powerhouse film of the same year. Second, the movie did extensive location filming in Portland, lending the visuals both interest and a realistic air. The woodsy tavern, in particular, looks genuine instead of the usual Hollywood fakery. Then too, the screenplay manages some suspense, especially when Madison (Binns) goes undercover. But the highlight may be hoodlum Joe's (Gorshin) attempted rape of sweet little Ruth (Craig). It's pretty explicit for the time. If there's a downside, in my book, it's the absence of real menace from any of the bad guys (contrast with the subtle menace of kingpin Edward Andrews' in Phenix City Story {1955}). All in all, however, the movie manages a number of interesting features without being anything special.(In passing—Catch sexpot Jeanne Carmen (Iris) who was Marilyn Monroe's "bosom buddy" in more obvious ways than one. Also, such a shame that Carolyn Craig died so young and under rather mysterious circumstances, as well.)

(Some Spoilers) Trying to muscle in on Portland Oregon's taverns and restaurant trade the Seattle Mob at first infiltrates and then takes over the local teamster unions using them to blackmail anyone, depending on the truckers delivering their booze and food products, who doesn't play ball with them.It's when the mobsters started putting pressure on tavern owner George Madison, Edward Binn, that things started to backfire on them. Madison a hard working man and WWII vet at first gave into the mobs demands in buying their exclusive booze, trucked in by the corrupted teamsters, for his customers as well as installing a number of pinball machines. It's when the mob started to press their luck on him that George started to push back.It's when Seattle mobster the hot in the pants, for underage females, Joe, Frank Gorshin, attacked and tried to rape George's teenage daughter Ruthie, Carolyn Craig, that George took matters into his own hands. At first cold cocking the surprised, in George coming to his daughters rescue, Joe and knocking him out cold it was then decided by Joe's bosses to ice him, since he wasn't worth all the trouble that he caused, by laying him on the railroad track, drenched with booze, and run over making it look like he was a drunk who lost his way to the ginmill. Back at the tavern George saw that booze and pinball machines where soon to be replaced with drugs and prostitution in his family oriented establishment and decided, with the cooperation of the local and still uncorrupted police, to go undercover and get the goods on the mob thus putting their sleazy operation out of commission.Using a hidden tape recorder, circa 1957, that was about the size of a lunch-box George started getting enough evidence on the mobsters, by playing along with them, to put them away for life. It's when mob moll Iris, Jeanne Carmen, started to get a little close to George, on the dance floor at his tavern, that she noticed a bulge, not where she expected it to be, under George's clothes that alerted her that he was up to no good and relayed that very important information to her boss.***SPOILERS*** With George now exposed, thanks to Iris, as a police plant the mobsters started to give him the business by working George over in having him tell them when the tape recordings he took of them where hidden. It was when George's daughter Ruthie who had fled Portland, together with her mom and kid brother, for her own safety showed up unexpectedly to attend the senior high-school dance that she together with her pop, George, was held captive by the mobsters. It's when the mobsters threatened to disfigure Ruthie's pretty face with a vile of acid is when George just lost it. With what seemed like superhuman strength George broke loose and took on the entire Portland Mob almost singlehanded until the police arrived not to rescue him but the mobsters whom he was on the verge of annihilating!Filimed entirely in and around the "City of Roses" Portland Oregon the movie "Portland Expose" shows how one man pushed to he brink can become a one man demolition squad to the shock and surprise to those who did the pushing. It was the Portland Mobs misfortune to find that very important lesson out the hard and bare knuckles way!

Portland Expose- solid exploitation B flick -ripped from the headlines and all.We follow a very straight arrow citizen- an owner of a tavern that goes from solid straight shooter to undercover mob tough guy- in 72 minutes we are shown this thru him doing some collections and talking tough to the mob dudes.Ed Binns is decent as the lead.Look for a young Frank Gorshin in the movie's most notorious scene where he tries to rape the underage daughter of the protagonist.What makes the DVD worth the purchase is the commentary by Lindsley Parsons,Jr.- it is a little dry- but very informative about the making of B pictures and the system they had to pump out these movies.Since the movie was exposing the teamsters- they decided to work outside the union for this picture and where actually threatened by the mobsters.The voice-over tends to muddle the picture and even provide some unintentional chuckles.Worth a rental for the commentary track. C+

PORTLAND EXPOSE is another one of those films from the 1950's that purports to expose the crime, vice, sin and corruption of some major city. Think of all the films with a major city in the title followed by : "expose", "story", "syndicate", and "confidential". Perhaps someone with a lot of time on their hands should put together a list. Then again, perhaps not.In this film Edward Binns plays a honest tavern owner who is forced to go into partnership with the mob. At first he goes along, but decides to fight the mob when one of the mobsters tries to rape his daughter.PORTLAND EXPOSE a conventionally made low-budget crime thriller from the fifties. Like many films of this genre, the ads claimed it is based on a true story. The film is a bit rougher than some other films from the period. In one scene Binns' daughters boyfriend suggest they go to a hotel for a night of...well you know, because he thinks she is loose because he knows that her fathers tavern has been used by the mob as a pickup place for hookers. Then mob thug Frank Gorshin tries to rape her. Its also mentioned that Gorshins character did time for a sexual offense involving children. Pretty rough stuff for a 1957 low budget crime thriller.