Portland Expose casts Edward Binns as an honest tavern owner who gets lured into the clutches of organized crime by of all things a pinball machine that some guys with smashed noses urge him to put in his place of business. It's a way of earnings additional cash, but that's there way of starting and pretty soon it's slot machines and hookers.
Although the racketeers have several spots, Binns's tavern is of particular interest because it's near a lot of industrial plants and the gangs are looking to infiltrate labor unions. Binns goes along at first, but after his daughter Carolyn Craig is nearly raped by Frank Gorshin playing one of the hoods, Binns turns informant and starts wearing a wire to his meetings.
The next time you're in a bar hoisting a few, if you've seen Portland Expose you might look at the pinball, the computer games, and the Foozeball in a different light. Not much in the way of production values in Portland Expose, not really too much of Portland other than establishing shots. But the story moves well and performances to note are that of Virginia Gregg as Binns's concerned wife, Lea Pennman as a west coast Polly Adler, and Jeanne Carmen as a cheerfully amoral hooker who really makes her scenes count.
The film also has a coda ending with reference to the then current McClellan committee investigating labor racketeering. The counsel to that committee was one Robert F. Kennedy and their main target was the Teamsters and Jimmy Hoffa. Not a bad noir at the end of the noir cycle.
Although the racketeers have several spots, Binns's tavern is of particular interest because it's near a lot of industrial plants and the gangs are looking to infiltrate labor unions. Binns goes along at first, but after his daughter Carolyn Craig is nearly raped by Frank Gorshin playing one of the hoods, Binns turns informant and starts wearing a wire to his meetings.
The next time you're in a bar hoisting a few, if you've seen Portland Expose you might look at the pinball, the computer games, and the Foozeball in a different light. Not much in the way of production values in Portland Expose, not really too much of Portland other than establishing shots. But the story moves well and performances to note are that of Virginia Gregg as Binns's concerned wife, Lea Pennman as a west coast Polly Adler, and Jeanne Carmen as a cheerfully amoral hooker who really makes her scenes count.
The film also has a coda ending with reference to the then current McClellan committee investigating labor racketeering. The counsel to that committee was one Robert F. Kennedy and their main target was the Teamsters and Jimmy Hoffa. Not a bad noir at the end of the noir cycle.