The location-filmed Port of New York might have been forgotten had it not been for one of its leading players. In his first film role, Yul Brynner plays an erudite narcotics smuggler named Paul Vicola. Using a phony yacht club as a front, Vicola conducts a brisk drug trade, making certain that no one will blow the whistle on his operation by casually murdering his couriers. Detectives Walters (Scott Brady) and Flannery (Richard Rober) infiltrate Vicola's gang; one of the cops is killed, but the other manages to see that ...
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The location-filmed Port of New York might have been forgotten had it not been for one of its leading players. In his first film role, Yul Brynner plays an erudite narcotics smuggler named Paul Vicola. Using a phony yacht club as a front, Vicola conducts a brisk drug trade, making certain that no one will blow the whistle on his operation by casually murdering his couriers. Detectives Walters (Scott Brady) and Flannery (Richard Rober) infiltrate Vicola's gang; one of the cops is killed, but the other manages to see that justice is done. Yul Brynner was so obscure at the time of Port of New York (his only significant credit was Broadway's Lute Song) that one reviewer referred to him as "Yul Brunner." Hal Erickson, Rovi
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Seller's Description:
Yul Brynner, Scott Brady. Very good. 2004 Run time: 82. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Digital copy/codes may be expired or not included. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
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Barry Brooks, Neville Brand, William Challee, John Kellogg, Lynne Carter, Arthur Blake, Yul Brynner, K.T. Stevens, Richard... New. 1949 Run time: 82. Buy with confidence-Satisfaction Guaranteed! Delivery Confirmation included for all orders in the US.
Directed by Laszlo Benedek, "Port of New York" is a 1949 police procedural with strong noir overtones. The film centers around a large shipment of illegal narcotics. It is interesting to see illegal drugs as the theme of a 1949 film and to see the fright and violence drugs engendered at the time. Substance abuse had already reached epidemic proportions.
The film also is interesting for the positive portrayal it gives to law enforcement faced with a difficult case to track and the viciousness of the criminal ring. The film paints Customs, the Coast Guard and other law enforcement in glowing colors for their bravery, devotion to duty, and willingness to take risks even when the dangers of the job lead to death, as they do for one of the agents here. The strong law enforcement theme of this movie is enhanced by the documentary voice-over throughout the film, with Chet Huntley (1911 -- 1974) of Huntley/Brinkley fame as the narrator.
The film is shot in a gritty black-and-white. The scenes of the New York waterfront, the elevated railroad, Grand Central station, and a bustling Manhattan make the movie worth seeing. The characters are in late 1940's suits and hats. With all the proper emphasis of the evils of drugs and narcotics, cigarette smoking is everywhere.
The story is suspenseful and violent if ordinary. It begins with drugs smuggled on a passenger ship, the S.S. Florentine. A young woman, Toni Cardell, (K.T. Stevens) is brutally murdered by her boyfriend, a hardened but elegant smuggler, Paul Vicola (Yul Brynner in his first screen role). The film shows the arrest and the grilling of small-time hoods leading to the police infiltrating the smuggling ring, with the intrepid lead detective impersonating the buyer of a large shipment, "a man named Wiley".
The plot and characterization are routine, but the film works particularly in giving a view of the late 1940s. Drug use is shown as an evil and law enforcement is heroically if woodenly portrayed. "Port of New York" is a good, entertaining film that will appeal to viewers interested in film noir.
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