The Phenix City Story
| The Phenix City Story | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Phil Karlson |
| Produced by | Samuel Bischoff David Diamond |
| Written by | Daniel Mainwaring Crane Wilbur |
| Starring | John McIntire Richard Kiley |
| Music by | Harry Sukman |
| Cinematography | Harry Neumann |
| Editing by | George White |
| Distributed by | Allied Artists Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 14, 1955 (United States) |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Phenix City Story (1955) is a film noir directed by Phil Karlson for Allied Artists and written by Daniel Mainwaring and Crane Wilbur. The drama features John McIntire and Richard Kiley, among others.[1]
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[edit] Plot
The film depicts the real-life 1954 assassination of Albert Patterson, who had just been elected Alabama Attorney General on a platform of cleaning up Phenix City, Alabama, a city controlled by organized crime. Patterson was murdered in Phenix City, and the subsequent outcry resulted in the imposition of martial law on the city by the state government. Some prints of the film include a 13-minute newsreel-style preface including newsman Clete Roberts interviewing many of the actual participants.
In reality the city was so corrupt and dangerous--so many soldiers from nearby Fort Benning, Georgia, were robbed, beaten and murdered there that at one time the post's commander, Gen. George S. Patton, threatened to take his tanks into the city and clean it out himself if the state didn't do something about it (Patton was shortly thereafter transferred and the city remained the haven for gambling, prostitution and drug dealing that it had been).
[edit] Cast
- John McIntire as Albert Patterson
- Richard Kiley as John Patterson
- Kathryn Grant as Ellie Rhodes
- Edward Andrews as Rhett Tanner
- James Edwards as Zeke Ward
- Lenka Peterson as Mary Jo Patterson
- Biff McGuire as Fred Gage
- Truman Smith as Ed Gage
- Jean Carson as Cassie
- Kathy Marlowe as Mamie
- John Larch as Clem Wilson
- Allen Nourse as Jeb Bassett
- Helen Martin as Helen Ward
- Otto Hulett as Hugh Bentley
- George Mitchell (actor) as Hugh Britton
- Ma Beachie as Herself
[edit] Critical reception
When the film was released in 1955, Bosley Crowther, fim critic for The New York Times, gave it a positive review, writing, "In a style of dramatic documentation that is as sharp and sure as was that of On the Waterfront — or, for a more appropriate comparison, that of the memorable All the King's Men — scriptwriters Crane Wilbur and Dan Mainwaring and director Phil Karlson expose the raw tissue of corruption and terrorism in an American city that is steeped in vice. They catch in slashing, searching glimpses the shrewd chicanery of evil men, the callousness and baseness of their puppets and the dread and silence of local citizens. And, through a series of excellent performances, topped by that of John McIntyre as the eventually martyred crusader, they show the sinew and the bone of those who strive for decent things.[2]
Film critic Bruce Eder wrote, "One of the most violent and realistic crime films of the 1950s, The Phenix City Story pulses with the bracing energy of actual life captured on the screen in its establishing shots and key scenes, and punctuates that background with explosively filmed action scenes. Director Phil Karlson showed just how good he was at merging well-told screen drama with vivid verisimilitude, and leaving no seams to show where they joined. Filmed on location in Alabama with a documentary-like look, the movie captured the ambiance and tenor of its Deep South setting better than almost any other fact-based movie of its era."[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The Phenix City Story at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. The New York Times, film review, "Sin in the South; The Phenix City Story Has Debut at State," September 3, 1955. Last accessed: February 23, 2008.
- ^ Eder, Bruce. The Phenix City Story at AllRovi.
[edit] External links
- The Phenix City Story at the Internet Movie Database
- The Phenix City Story at the TCM Movie Database
- The Phenix City Story film clip at the Media Room at TMC
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