Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

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.

gmda I have not seen this film yet. So don't really know what it is about except what is on the site. However, Portland Oregon was a veritable "Den of Iniquity" back in the old days. "Shanghai-ing" I believe got its NAME from Portland, as unsuspecting men were lead to trap-doors and then "way-layed" only to wake up on a ship to ....guess where??? There was a lady mobster who ran the booze industry for years and even when "caught up with in the end".... SHE WALKED!!!! There was a whole literal UNDERGROUND CITY under Portland, and it has been shown on Cities of the Underworld. There were brothels, and white slavery, prostitution, and other vices,....opium dens. Portland has a small "China Town". There was underground fighting, yes.... a Fight Club! IT's ALL TRUE!!!Maybe not the movie exactly, but in real life....close enough!!!I ought to know. I live 55 miles south in Salem, Oregon. So this movie is probably close to the truth as to the type of people and things going on up in that wild town to the north! Edit: Just wanted to add that I look forward to seeing this movie soon.

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."

DJJOEINC 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+