Leofwine_draca PORT OF NEW YORK is a low budget crime thriller of 1949 in which a couple of narcotics agents go up against a criminal organisation smuggling drugs in through the New York docks. As a film it's very much par for the course and a product of its era, mostly a police procedural with a few scenes of interest here and there. There's a large cast but the characters tend to be underwritten so it's difficult to care about whether the heroes live or die; this is the kind of genre that would reach its peak some 20 to 30 years later in the films made by Roy Scheider and his contemporaries. Chiefly of interest is the casting of a youthful Yul Brynner - with hair! - as the bad guy, supported by a debuting Neville Brand as a snarling henchman.

zardoz-13 Before Laslo Benedek made "The Wild One" with Marlon Brando, he made "Port of New York" with Yul Brynner. This concise crime thriller about heroin traffic is taut, one of the many that appeared after the Production Code Administration amended its rules to allow for the use of narcotics in movies. The break out movie that made movies like "Port of New York" possible was the Dick Powell thriller "To the Ends of the Earth." Billed as another excerpt from Government files, "Port of New York" concerns an investigation by Customs agents working with the Bureau of Narcotics. When a box of narcotics is found filled with sand and a purser aboard the ship vanishes without a trace, the agents start snooping around and a pretty young woman, Toni Cardell (K.T. Stevens), offers to help them. Before she can help them, her suave boyfriend Paul strangled her. Later, the agents get another lead involving a nightclub performer, Dolly Carney (Arthur Blake), who is arrested when a messenger shows up with a box of pure heroin. Our heroes follow another lead that ends up with one of the, Waters, getting a bullet in the back and being dumped in the ocean. The Bureau of Narcotics agent is predictably determined to finish the case. Jim Flannery (Richard Rober)impersonates a go-between and meets evil drug lord Yul Brynner. Naturally, complications arise and the sagacious Vicola steers clear of the appointed rendezvous to exchange $200 grand for the heroin. The drug gangsters are appropriately ruthless and kill without a qualm. This was Yul Brynner's film debut and he delivers a terrific performance, savoring each line of dialogue. Look carefully and you will spot future "Laredo" television star Neville Brand as one of Brynner's henchmen.

ZenVortex This effective noirish crime drama was Yul Brynner's film debut in which he demonstrates star quality as a debonair, brutal crime boss engaged in drug trafficking. Brynner was born in Vladivostok and his oriental features and full head of wavy hair (!) are perfectly suited to this role. In particular, his facial expressions and body language when he gets busted are superbly acted and well worth watching. Scott Brady and Richard Rober deliver generally good performances as federal agents whose goal is to track down a shipment of narcotics. Although they are portrayed as heroes, neither has star quality and their acting is occasionally hammy. The rest of the cast plays a convincing ensemble of feds, thugs, dealers, and dames.The direction and cinematography are excellent with some beautifully composed classic noir scenes where Brady and Rober explore a dark warehouse. The plot is predictable without major twists or sharp dialog, although the stentorian narrator gives the movie an interesting fascist undertone as war-on-drugs propaganda. The print (Classic Film Noir, Volume 2) is quite good although the sound track is scratchy. Despite its flaws, this is a well-crafted fast-paced minor film noir worth adding to your collection.

vitaleralphlouis This fine crime drama shows the work Federal agents in Customs, Narcotics and the Coast Guard did to fight the drug trade in 1949's New York City. This is known as Yul Brynner's first movie, but the real star is Scott Brady.With 59 years having past, I found this movie an unintended heartbreak. Young people might not believe this but in 1949 the narcotics trade was limited to small areas of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles --- not all 50 states, not every town in America. The Federal agents portrayed in this movie might have just cried if they could have seen 14 years into the future when narcotics swept across the USA like a hurricane and infected our lives, our streets, our schools.All this was done with the Federal government opening the door wide. When LBJ appointed crime-friendly Ramsey Clark as Attorney-General and appointed crime-friendly judges to the Supreme Court, this and other corrosive steps were applauded by Newsweek, Time, CBS and others. New York City lost 20% of its population and literally went bankrupt in the late '70's --- primarily because of unchecked crime. The 1966 movie "Death Wish" portrays this era well. This was your parents and grandparents era. It could not have happened without them. When you have time, search for their stash and tell them off.