The Phenix City Story (1955) User Reviews

From the mind of an 8 year old

[non_sportcardandy · 8/10 · 27 September 2009]

Born in 1946 I was about eight years old when first viewing this movie and it left a deep impression.Not only scary ,for lack of a better word this movie haunted me for more than 50 years.The mob goon played by John Larch was terrifying.The only scene that stuck out in my mind during those 50 years was the killing of the little girl and the uncaring policeman referring to her as a "little n----- kid".Those words were replaced when the movie was shown recently on TV,maybe there are two versions of the movie or someone felt compelled to alter a little bit this heart breaking scene.Accurate or not the film went a long way in formulating my opinion of the South and still till today the closest I've come to visiting a southern city is El Paso.That stand may seem extreme but there is a little bit more to the story.When the movie was shown recently it became clearer why it haunted me for years.With the newsreel like beginning this movie gives the impression that what is being shown is fact.The film is made supposedly only one or two years after the depicted incidents adding to its realistic credibility.The terror in the movie isn't provided by creatures or space aliens but by persons living in our society at the time.Re killing of little girl:The recent viewing helped make clearer the impact it had on my 8 year old mind.When this movie came out the only school I had ever gone to was attended by mostly African-Americans.The victim looked like a girl in my class,it was like seeing an actual killing.It made a horrible scene that much worse.Maybe no one will find this review helpful but it helped me.

Different and Violent Film-Noir

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 10 June 2016]

In the 1940s and 1950s in Alabama, the notorious Phenix City is a town ruled by the organized crime and prostitution and gambling are the main economical activities. The police department is corrupt and the criminal Rhett Tanner (Edward Andrews) is the big boss. When the famous lawyer Albert "Pat" L. Patterson (John McIntire) welcomes his son John Patterson (Richard Kiley) that has just returned from Germany with his wife and children, he intends to keep his calm life in a neutral position and work with his son. However, there are serious and violent incidents and Albert Patterson accepts to run the elections to become the Attorney General of Alabama to clean Phenix City. He wins the election but is shot when he is leaving his office and dies. Now John seeks revenge but using the law instead of violence.

"The Phenix City Story" is a different and violent film-noir based on the true story of the assassination of Albert "Pat" L. Patterson. The film has great performances and the violence is impressive for a 1955 Hollywood film. The beginning with the documentary style is boring, but after the initial credits, the film becomes great. In the end, this story proves that one person can make the difference in a story of a country. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Cidade do Vício" ("City of the Vicious")

Not Even With Chicago And Al Capone

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 17 July 2010]

I'm surprised that more people are not aware of this story which climaxed with no less than the murder of the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Alabama at the time when said nomination was tantamount to election. That the election of Albert Patterson scared the local criminal syndicate into that kind of move is almost unprecedented. The only other example I can think of something like this occurring was in the early years of the last century when Special Prosecutor Francis J. Heney was shot and wounded while he was investigated the corrupt city machine in San Francisco.

After a brief documentary introduction by CBS news reporter Clete Roberts of actual Phenix City residents, the story begins with the Pattersons, father John McIntire and son Richard Kiley getting reluctantly involved in the fight to clean up their town which is notorious for being a wide open cesspool of vice and corruption. It's pointed out that Phenix City is across from Columbus, Georgia and thirty minutes from Fort Benning. A certain amount of vice and corruption will inevitably settle there in towns that cater to the military and the pleasures the service people will seek off duty.

But Phenix City has gotten way out of hand and it's become a state embarrassment to the people of Alabama. Which is why John McIntire wins that primary leading the way to the unheard of events that followed. Let's just say that what happens here was contemplated, but never done in Chicago during the days of Al Capone.

The cast also includes Kathryn Grant as a young woman working as an informer in one of the clubs, Lenka Patterson as Kiley's loyal, but concerned wife, Edward Andrews and John Larch as brains and muscle behind the syndicate. It also includes James Edwards and Helen Martin whose child is killed when Edwards helps Kiley. With I might add the appropriate feeling one might have for a small black girl in Alabama of the Fifties.

After the action of this film John Patterson took his dad's place as Attorney General and did put an end to the corruption of Phenix City. In 1958 he ran for Governor and won, but contrary to what you might think ran on a strict segregationist platform. His main primary opponent taking the more moderate racial position was George C. Wallace. That never happened again, Wallace saw to that.

And Patterson is still alive and in 2008 was a supporter of Barack Obama for president. Truth can really be stranger than fiction.

The Phenix City Story is a hard hitting, pulling no punches documentary style of a family's fight against corruption. Try to see it when next broadcast.

Mandatory Viewing

[scopitone · 6 March 2003]

Whether your a fan of Noir or not, The Phenix City Story remains superior filmaking on all levels regardless of it's budget and lack of special effects. While some may laugh at substituting a doll briefly for a dead child; it's follow up scene continues to have as much shocking impact today as it did upon it's release. To say this is textbook noir filmaking is too small as by all standards The Phenix City Story is the barometer by which crime, realism, fistfights and expose cinema is measured up to.

Ripped from the headlines

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 13 January 2020]

Phenix City, Alabama is a corrupt city of sin bringing lowlifes and soldiers from the neighboring base. Journalist Clete Roberts presents the murder of Albert Patterson presumably by mobster Rhett Tanner who has control of the corrupted government and police. Patterson is the Democrat nominee for Alabama Attorney General tasked with cleaning up the city. The heart of the movie is the amiable respected lawyer Albert Patterson being recruited to run for the post as violence mounts against the good people of the city.

This is a ripped-from-the-headlines story. It starts with a documentary style prologue like a real news report. Although it has documentary style and real life story, many parts of this is fictional. Nevertheless, there is real tension. It starts a little muddled but the tension does rise as the unrelenting violence mount. It has brutality that is beyond cinematic. Even women and children are beaten. The callousness of the corrupt police is just as brutal. It probably needs to give the father son relationship more screen time. It needs to develop the story better. Overall, there are some memorable scenes and it is an unique film.

A Very Good Movie, But Not Exactly Enjoyable

[evanston_dad · 9/10 · 29 September 2009]

"The Phenix City Story" is a brutal, hard-hitting docudrama about what was once dubbed the "wickedest town in America." The film documents the events that led up to the murder by the Phenix City crime syndicate of Albert Patterson, an Alabama attorney who made a bid for the state attorney general's office as a way to clean up the vice and corruption plaguing his hometown. His son, John Patterson, picked up his father's mantle after his death and won the post, making clean up of Phenix City a primary item on his agenda.

Director Phil Karlson created a film that has the ability to shock even today. The grimness is so relentless that the film is actually difficult to watch. We see the crime syndicate beat and kill in order to get what they want -- the beatings and killings include women and children, and one scene in particular, revolving around the death of a little black girl, is especially disturbing. It's not exactly an enjoyable film, because there's very little payoff at the end to reward the viewer for sitting through the infuriating events leading up to it, but it's a well made film, full of an intense and angry energy.

A 15-minute prologue includes a series of interviews with the actual inhabitants of Phenix City, some of who are then portrayed by actors in the fictional portion of the film. It lends the film a quality of urgency that carries over into the narrative, so that we feel like we're watching a documentary the entire time, a feeling that's helped by Karlson's choice to film on actual locations.

I'm glad I saw this movie, but it's one of those films that fills you with a sense of righteous indignation and then makes you feel helpless because you can't do anything about it.

Grade: A

Interesting Mix of Documentary Background and Real Movie

[iquine · 7/10 · 22 April 2020]

(Flash Review)

This opens with an actual reporter's recount of an organized crime murder. The film then portrays this story and how 14 Street in Phenix, Alabama has been overrun by wretched people that put fear into the general public. When General Patterson returns home from service, he is angered by seeing the violence and his father is talked into running for office to clean up the crime. Will he be able to convince voters to vote him in while they are threatened and attacked while the police department does less than the bare minimum? Crazy that the actually happened. The film is well edited, paced and the story was engaging.

Inspiring Story of Citizens Battling Corruption; Much-Imitated

[silverscreen888 · 9/10 · 6 August 2005]

To view the fictionalized biography "The Phenix City Story", I claim, is to enter fields where U.S. filmmakers have seldom ventured, Director Phil Karlson got his directorial assignment on "The Untouchables" TV mega-hit series largely on the basis of "Kansas City Confidential" and this film; and it has become one of the most admired and most- imitated movies ever made. The rarest feat for US filmmakers seems to be the hero-centered purposeful anti-crime film or TV series; I remind the viewer how mightily "Cain's Hundred"'s and "Hardcastle and McCormick"'s and even "the Untouchables'"' producers had to work to produce anything but episodes devoted largely to the unfictional activities of criminals rather than those of their ethical opponents. This powerful, seminal and very-gritty movie has a style all its own; and its lesson seems to be attention to detail about the opponents and victims of criminal organizations as well as their gang members. There is a twelve-minute prelude to the film, in which reporter Clete Roberts interviews the real participants from the Alabama city's who had struggled against its corrupt vice gangs. The problem grew out of the presence of Fort Benning across the river, and the nearly century-long existence of vice dens in the area. The film details the return of John Patterson from Germany where he has been a prosecutor. His father, defeated for Attorney general of Alabama, refuses to join his pursuit of the 14th street vicelords despite several provocations including a beating of his son, avenged by Patterson on his tormentor. There are several well-developed characters, including Ellie, who works in one of the clubs and her honest boyfriend, the leader of the syndicate, the Pattersons and John's wife, Ed Gage, the vicelords' operatives and Zeke Ward, an honest black man victimized for his opposition to them. The cinematography by Harry Neumann and the art direction by Stanley Fleischer are in B/W and are very much like news-film, adding to the film's realistic power. Music by Harry Sukman contributes to the film effectively. Writer Daniel Mainwaring and Crane Wilbur produced a swift-paced and straightforward story that divides into parts. Part one illustrates the vicelords' empire from inside one of their clubs, showing the fate of a victim who is beaten and then picked up by police in the pay of the Mob. In part two, Albert Patterson refuses to oppose the leader of the Mob, the intelligent Rhett Tanner. In part three, young Patterson returns and after several incidents including his having to beat up the Mob's head goon to avenge his own beating decides to run his father for Attorney General of the state. His wife is horrified; and the Mob kills Zeke Ward's daughter and dumps the body at Patterson's house with a warning his children will be next. A few more such incidents, including the loss of a trial in which the Pattersons prove the goon killed a friend of theirs who had found the car implicated in the murder of the little girl, and watch the inquest declare the death accidental, convince Patterson to run, and he wins the Democratic statewide nomination despite the Mob's statist tactics--and is promptly assassinated. John Patterson stops a vigilante crowd from starting open warfare with the 14th Street mob and uses their voices to call the capital and demand martial law for Phenix City. The clubs are closed and equipment confiscated, but not before the girl inside is murdered by the Mob's goon, and Patterson has to be stopped by Zeke Ward from killing Tanner instead of delivering him to the law. The drama's ending is upbeat; but the prognosis for the town is less- sanguine than painted; the mob in fact tried to come back then moved to Tennessee. In this well-acted classic of anti-crime film-making, Richard Kiley is young but very strong as Patterson, playing it without an accent. John Mcintyre as his father is very good, while Edward Andrews as Boss Tanner is award caliber. Others in the cast include Kathryn Grant as the girl inside, Ellie, Jean Carson and Kathy Marlowe as the Mob's women, John Larch as their goon, Biff Mcguire as the young victim, James Edwards as Zeke Ward, Lenka Peterson as John's wife, and some good character actors as townsmen and Mob bosses. It is I suggest hard to say enough good things about the realism and lack of posturing in this film; it is certainly one of Phil Karlson's best directorial efforts. Karlson also did "The Scarface Mob" later did "Walking Tall" as well. A sobering and inspiring look at the ease with which complacent citizens of a public-interest democracy can acquiesce to tyranny, and how a few honest men can teach them the need to fight for their rights.

Realistic flick of a city riddled with vice & corruption - and the good men who intend to clean it up - but will evil prevail as it has for 80 years in the town?

[declancooley · 7/10 · 10 April 2023]

Skip the first 13 mins of newsreel interviews (you don't miss much - watching them later will work better) and we get to a story of entrenched vice and ruthless criminals who seem to squeeze their tentacles around every city institution to ensure their illicit profits keep rolling in! It feels much more realistic than films from the 1940s: the criminals have a more vicious edge, are willing to kill anyone in their way, and seem to run the town with impunity while the local populace is frozen in fear. An idealistic ex-WW II soldier moves back to his hometown with a family in tow and gets embroiled in some of the recent unsavoury goings-on via his old school pals and soon things turn very nasty indeed for everyone concerned. Crime expose docudrama with - some shocking violence and fervent speeches - heartily recommended. 7.5/10.

Low budget, hard hitting.

[bux · 10/10 · 21 May 2002]

During the Clete Roberts preface, I was beginning to think this was an Ed Wood production, however, what rolls out here is some pretty hard hitting stuff. The story of crime and corruption in a Southern town is told using a cast culled from Hollywood's Poverty Row, and this makes the movie all the more realistic. There are no punches pulled here, and at times the film is reminiscent of "The Well"(1951). The Black and White texture gives a newsreel-like quality. For certain, younger viewers will be reminded of "The Blair Witch Project" but this one IS based on REAL events!

Corruption and Gumption

[davidcarniglia · 7/10 · 12 July 2018]

An incredibly intense true-crime drama, let down somewhat by the drawn-out prologue. The violence is more pervasive than anything in its era, except perhaps for war movies. Maybe the social relevance of The Phenix City Story allowed for scenes that otherwise wouldn't become commonplace in movies until the 60s or 70s.

The great thing about the documentary focus, with its real-life edge, is that there are no Rambo-like supermen cutting a swath through Phenix's dens of iniquity. We're dealing the Pattersons and Gages against Rhett Tanner and his underworld cohorts; some strong personalities, and some strong men. But just men. There is a danger, though, in true-crime adaptations, to reduce the conflict to a melodramatic contest of good vs. evil.

Most of the characters have some subtlety. Even the ringleader Tanner initially allows the Pattersons some slack, hoping that they'll cooperate, or at least look the other way at his Phenix City mayhem. He doesn't overtly threaten and attack them until it's obvious that they will oppose him. I find myself thinking that the Pattersons are almost too good; by the time that their supporters gather at their front door, I wish John McIntire's character would assent to their desire to attack the gangsters.

Something that's handled very well is the seamless inclusion of the black family. They are involved in some of the more memorable incidents: the little girl's body thrown from the gangster's car; the subsequent reporting of which the policeman casually tosses off as "somebody dumped a n**ga kid's body in a front yard" (paraphrased here). Then, near the end, the girl's father persuades Albert not to drown his nemesis. Having important and sympathetic roles for black actors was unusual for the time, especially in a movie set in the South.

The sin-city locale is a lightning-rod for film noir, whether in a fictional El Paso of 1958's Touch of Evil, or an actual small Alabama town. But Phenix City also has elements of a horror or a sci-fi monster film. A malicious entity at large in a small community, the unwillingness of many citizens to recognize or take action against it; and the courageous ones who do oppose the evil. Calling out the Army is certainly the go-to solution to deal with most monsters (even those monsters of the human variety).

As much as I liked The Phenix City Story, I couldn't stand the initial ten-minutes with the reporter. Why tell the viewer what's going to happen, when you're going to show us? We're given more than enough introductory material with the textual commentary and the very effective narrated scenes. Showing the mundane assembly of all the tools of the racketeer's trade was a unique experience. It's also the perfect lead-in to the first scene at one of the gambling clubs.

I now realize that there's a version without the reporter's bit. I'd give that a '9'. A very good movie in any case. 7/10.

Considering its modest budget, it's exceptional.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 25 October 2010]

Before the actual film begins, there is a 13-minute newsreel-style preface hosted by Clete Roberts in which he interviews the actual participants. Interestingly, this was done while the criminal cases discussed in the film were actually still being prosecuted.

This film is a film noir-like film that dramatizes the actual story about the town of Phenix, Alabama--a city run by gamblers and organized crime. It seems that in the 1940s and 50s, all kinds of vice was ignored by cops and city officials who were paid to look the other way. As a result, the soldiers in nearby Fort Benning were routinely cheated and had little, if any recourse. Eventually when local citizens tried to stand up for law and order, the mob resorted to threats and even murder to hold on to their power.

Unlike the typical film of the day, the scenes are quite brutal and violent. The only sour note is the scene of the child being tossed onto the lawn--it's obviously a dummy. There is also a lot of brutal and frank language--some of which might offend you, though it does lend the film an authentic sound. And, despite having mostly smaller caliber actors, they generally did very well. An odd note was having Richard Kiley of all people playing a tough action hero--he just wasn't the sort of guy you'd expect to see acting with his fists. Overall, this is an excellent low-budget film--well worth seeing.

The only question I have about all this is how much is true and how much was changed for the film? According to IMDb the Attorney General was not quite the saint you see in the film, but what about the other facts? I'd sure like to know more.

You can smell the corruption.

[muddlyjames · 6/10 · 21 January 2002]

In most ways unremarkable due to its "social issue" focus, predictable plotting and indifferent acting. But man does Karlson get a sense of atmosphere! The sense of moral decay in this town is made almost palpable by the grimy, run-down locations, harsh high-contrast black and white photography, and (uncomfortably) close-ups of sweaty (alternately leering or fearful) faces. Karlson's hyper-realistic, cynical style was an obvious influence on many crime films that came out 15-20 years later.

I must have missed something

[alfiefamily · 4/10 · 13 November 2017]

After watching this film, and then reading some of the reviews, I feel as though I must have missed something.

"The Phenix City Story" is not even a good grade B film, in my opinion. I didn't find it interesting in the least. The writing, especially the dialog, was corny and even laughable. The acting by a long list of "B" actors was the same.

Yes, there were some noir-type scenes, but I would not call this a film noir movie. Nor is is a particularly interesting gangster film. And I just found the ending of the film extremely unsatisfying.

Although this is based on a true story, and several of the people involved in the story actually appear in a 12 minute prologue, I didn't feel that it was nearly as good as some of the other reviewers felt.

This one can be avoided.

B-Movie Gem

[dougdoepke · 30 April 2011]

Sometimes rush jobs really work out, like Phenix City Story. Consider that the movie was scripted, shot, and processed in less than a year after the triggering event of Patterson's murder. Credit the producers or someone for coming up with a first-rate cast, a marvelous director, and a big enough budget for location filming in the actual Phenix City. The result is the best of the "city expose" movies so popular at the time.

There's a rawness to the violence here that's more convincing than usual, in part because of director Karlson's "feel" for the material and also because it appears to grow organically out of the seedy surroundings of honky-tonks and carousing soldiers on leave from Fort Benning. Credit too the fine, underrated Edward Andrews for blending oily charm with ruthless violence, just the qualities needed to run an operation of that sort. Kiley too delivers in spades, his rage unusually intense and realistic. The only questionable note is Katherine Grant's Ellie, seemingly too sweet and naïve for a dealer in a crooked set-up.

Getting Karlson was a real coup. He was just hitting his stride as a top crime drama director during this period. His staging of the little girl's murder is a real grabber, along with the parking lot beating. In fact, the movie has an unusually pervasive atmosphere of unrestrained evil. Credit should also go to screenwriter Dan Mainwaring for a good tight script and some timely notes on the downside of vigilantism. Apparently, the lengthy prologue was added to ease censorship concerns, and, aside from historical value, can easily be skipped.

Anyway, the film's a must-see for B-movie fans, a happy coming together of a number of underrated Hollywood talents.

hard-hitting crime drama

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 2 June 2012]

"The Phenix City Story" is a 1955 film based on the true story of an Alabama town that was full of crime and corruption, with everyone turning a blind eye. The story focuses on John Patterson (Richard Kiley) who returns to Phenix City from the war with his wife and two children. His father Albert (John McIntyre) is an attorney but won't get involved in taking on the bad guys who run the town's bars and gambling establishments, which use marked cards and other devices so that the house always wins.

When the violence grows bad enough, the senior Patterson is talked into running for Attorney General. The question is, will he live long enough to be sworn in? The first part of this film is a series of interviews with town citizens, and I'll be honest, it's incredibly boring. The film, directed by Phil Karlson, was made very cheaply (the sound has an echo). However, it's the gritty location shots and low budget that gives "The Phenix City Story" its sleazy atmosphere.

Richard Kiley does a very good job as John Patterson while Lenka Peterson, who plays his wife, is one of the worst actresses of the last century. Some of the acting, in fact, isn't very good. McIntyre is very convincing, as are the bad guys: Edward Andrews and John Larch, most notably. Theater performers Jean Carson and her husband Biff McGuire both have roles, as does Kathryn Grant, later Mrs. Bing Crosby.

This of course isn't the whole story. John Patterson eventually becomes not only Attorney General but Governor and waged a huge anti-crime fight. He increased funding for the mentally ill as well as funding for highways and established anti-loan sharking legislation. Despite his support for JFK and Obama, he was also a rampant segregationist and refused to allow the NAACP to operate in Alabama, refused police protection for freedom rides, and was backed by the Ku Klux Klan. So I think we can assume that one part of this film was a complete fabrication.

A Rough, Tough Crime Movie

[Kirasjeri · 8/10 · 22 August 1999]

After World War II the ungoing crime in Phenix City, Alabama, encouraged by the money from an Army base just across the river in Georgia, got even worse. Gambling, prostitution, loan sharking, and the like helped an organized crime apparatus in the city. Soon it was too bad and violent to even tolerate anymore. This movie is based on the real story of that fight.

By the standards of the 1950's it was shockingly explicit. Although low-budget, that same small budget helped with the realism requiring location shooting. A very gritty film. Richard Kiley was marvelous as always, and John McIntire stolid.

Why this good movie isn't on video is a real puzzle!

Shocking to the point of horror.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 3 August 2013]

Phenix City is a border town in Alabama on the Georgia border, separated by the Chattahoochee River, and over-run by a crooked vice ring. This documentary like film dramatizes the events which exposed the crooks who dominated the red-light district filled with gambling and prostitution, resulting in a mob-like rule and a horrifying murder. Real-life people involved in the case actually appear in the film, and the location shot footage at the very beginning only taps the surface of what the dramatized film will present.

Right from the very beginning, you learn that the local attorney general candidate (John McIntire) will be murdered when he vows to break up this vice and how his son will organize the end of this mob, run by veteran character actor Edward Andrews. From the moment you see gambling house entertainer Meg Myles singing the "Phenix City Blues", you know there's something going on other than innocent crap games. Details go into how the cards are marked, how those who stand up to the machine are threatened, and in one truly disturbing sequence, the poor innocent young black daughter of a witness is abducted and disposed of like trash.

Some of the sequences are not for the squeamish or sensitive, and the theme of the film will stay with you for a long time. A cameo by an obviously beloved local Phenix City resident Ma Beachie adds honesty and heart to the drama, telling the viewer that many of the town's residents were totally unaware of the corruption within their own community, and thrilled to see it brought down. The busty Myles stands out in her brief scenes, a thrill for 80's soap fans who remember her as the kindly restaurant owner Sid on "The Edge of Night" and the devious Joanna Yeager (Stuart Chandler's first wife") on "All My Children".

I'm not stickin' my neck out. Why should I? Phenix City has been what it is for 80, 90 years. Who am I to try to reform it?

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 16 February 2020]

The Phenix City Story is directed by Phil Karlson and written by Daniel Mainwaring and Crane Wilbur. It stars John McIntire, Richard Kiley, Kathryn Grant, Edward Andrews and John Larch. Music is by Harry Sukman and cinematography by Harry Neumann.

A crime-busting lawyer (Kiley) and his initially reluctant attorney father (McIntire) take on the forces that run gambling and prostitution in the "Sin City Of The South", Phenix City, Alabama.

Karlson's uncompromising film noir is based around the real life 1954 assassination of Albert Patterson (McIntire), who after being nominated for the role of Alabama Attorney General was on a mission to rid Phenix City of organized crime. It's important to note that this is not a historical fact film as such, it's more an interpretation of the Patterson murder and how Phenix City was a cess pool at the time in focus.

Print of the film I personally viewed had a 13-minute newsreel preface where newsman Clete Roberts interviews many of the actual participants of the events in the story. I wasn't prepared for it and thought I was about to watch a documentary, but then we shift to Karlson's film and it delivers quality noir film making.

Karlson ("Scandal Sheet" - "99 River Street") and his team don't hold back from violence and devastating scenes. Yet somehow in spite of the dark turns that occur, where the stink of racism and organized crime resides, there's an overriding message that even though we may want to fight fire with fire, sometimes the lawful ballot box is the best option.

Cast are well directed, so much so there's no weak links here, but one has to admire the class McIntire brings to the role of Patterson, while Larch gives us one of film noir's most repugnant villains. Neumann's photography is only ok, there's some flashes of expressionism here, but one can't help wishing for some chiaroscuro magic to befit the dark tones being played out.

This is still a film noir enthusiast essential, on proviso that it's understood there's some poetic licence undertaken. 8/10

Interesting but Poorly Acted

[kenjha · 6/10 · 28 September 2010]

This documentary style crime drama is based on the true events in Phenix City, Alabama in the early 1950s. In fact there is a talky prologue that consists of a series of interviews that goes on much too long and adds nothing to the film. The film itself is quite interesting, marked by gritty cinematography and a rapid pace. Given the vintage of the film, the violence is shockingly brutal, particularly when targeted at women and children. The main shortcoming is the uneven acting. McIntire is fine, but most of the cast is pretty bad. Kiley is the main culprit here, chewing the scenery as a gung-ho military vet intent on cleaning up his home town.

Amazing acting and filming, and a fast gutsy story...

[secondtake · 9/10 · 20 April 2011]

The Phenix City Story (1955)

Wow, this one came from nowhere and blew me away. It's a rough and tumble, unbelievably violent, true story of a block in a little town in Alabama where gambling and corruption ruled and where some local people were failing to fight back.

It begins with a very long (too long) series of interviews of real people involved in the very real story of Phenix City, on the border with Georgia. I would actually recommend skipping it--almost twenty minutes that was not in the original release of the movie--and start with the drama, which is dramatic above all. This is no film noir, but it's shot in that moody, graphic style, which is perfect. The bad guys--including both a ruthless mob leader with no class at all and a tough and reactionary henchman who gets away with murder--are a classic Southern good old boys network. The cops are in on the whole scheme, and this mini-Vegas runs with impunity, thriving mostly off the money of soldiers from a nearby army base. It's all extremely convincing, small time crookery.

The good guys--and women, one woman working at a gambling joint being a key insider witness--are equally convincing and small time. There is no Bogart or Mitchum or Lancaster in the leading role, though the father son lawyer pair who eventually lead the resistance are familiar faces: John McIntire and Richard Kiley (Kiley had been doing a lot of early t.v. but was also in "Pickup on South Street"). You might expect a familiar battle between the forces of good and evil, with tensions and violence and the eventual triumph of justice. And while the end of the gambling joints (after 80 years) is a matter of history, it takes so many really awful and gut wrenching turns it's riveting. I mean, this movie is like no other in terms of facing the facts--sometimes that person who would never get bumped off in a Hollywood script does actually die in real life.

And this is real life, scripted and filmed and acted and edited with the vigor of a great drama, but based on the ugly truth of it, and not looking the other way. Don't miss it.

I enjoyed the movie.....but....

[jpozenel · 7/10 · 27 August 2011]

I did enjoy the movie, and found it especially interesting because it was based on a true story. My rating would be based mostly on the fact that it was not a fictional story. Many of the actors were old familiar faces that I've seen so many times over the years on television and the movies. The acting by the more established actors was reasonably good, while the performances by some of the lesser or unknown actors left something to be desired.

After watching it, I thought I would see if I could find out some more facts about the whole incident. I did some research on John Malcom Patterson (son of the murdered father) and found out that he eventually became the governor of Alabama. The article on Wikipedia about him, especially about his time as governor just prior to George Wallace, sheds a different light on the man who was the hero of the story. It was a bit disappointing to read these negative things about him.

Haunting

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 17 July 2019]

When I was 16, I received my driver's license. My younger sister and I had the freedom to go places on our own. There was a small town about 14 miles away that had a small movie theater. We went to see whatever was on the screen when we could. I knew nothing about this film, so went in thinking I would be seeing the usual adventure film or comedy. This was the early sixties, so this film had been around for a while, but that was normal for tiny theaters. I should also point out that where I came from, the chances of seeing a black person were almost nil. And I grew up around some serious racism. Anyway, when this film began I found it to be an ugly portrayal of a terrible place in Alabama. Probably for the first time in my life, I was exposed to the horrors the minority population had to deal with. It also focused in on corruption, vice, and organized crime. For a 16 year old with his 15 year old sister, it was almost too much. This film really made an indelible impression on me.

Interesting Film Noir

[JoeB131 · 7/10 · 28 May 2011]

This film is set in post-War Alabama, in a city that serviced Ft. Benning, GA.

It's a semi-documentary, but the facts are so obscure people probably think this is the real story. Clean living crusaders take up against a corrupt gang who run prostitution and gambling on 14th Street. When they feel threatened, the gangsters start fighting back, killing some people, but eventually losing. Or something.

What is interesting is just how gritty this movie is for 1955. There are multiple uses of the N-word, a bunch of fights, an implied rape, a bunch of murders.

What doesn't work out well are the semi-"Documentary" scenes in the beginning of the film that tell you this is a "true" story. Besides giving away the plot, they aren't well shot and look kind of sloppy.

When will the government treat people like people?¿

[pilkingtonb-46976 · 5/10 · 2 June 2023]

Nothing in this film that doesn't happen every day in every place around the world for thousands of years including today in Phenix city. You know it & I know it. The difference for the last 30 years I believe is in treating adults like adults! The government treats people like they are children who don't know what they want. As well force people to do, act & think as they say. Yet no matter how much you try to force people they'll act like they want to.

In the Netherlands sex & drugs are legal. They have the nicest cities, lowest taxes, lowest drug usage & the lowest crime rate of all Europe. Don't believe me look it up! They've turned thier aids, drug infested, highest crime & tax rates around... How?¿¿ Why¿ Because they've realized the things that happen in Phenix City happens everywhere & have fon as long as there's been people.

Treating people like adults doesn't mean you allow lawlessness, crime or murder. We know that the government is continually lying to us & treating you like children. In the same light if things like drug usage & prostitution are legalized, taxed & regulated not only decriminalized but made safe & positive cash income provides much needed services that will better the community. Fighting what's normal & natural only causes conflict in cases like this movie. Think if adults we're free to be adults & treated like adults it would decriminalize many things so your dropping crime while generating positive tax income! It's the only way to treat people like adults & lowers crime as well as taxes. No law will ever stop adults from exercising their free will.. There's always going to be a woman who not only likes but loves being used as a prostitute or a man that's lonely from seeking what's natural & normal. Providing much needed release & services legal or not. It decreases corruption & crime while providing services & needs while being regulated & brings in a positive cash flow.

How much more money, people & resources are going to be waisted on things like the "war on drugs"¿ If someone's going to kill themselves with heroin hell let em do it in a safe place & way that they don't have to rape, rob, steal, pillage or bother others to do it.... This movie like many others is a government utopian fantasy that doesn't & will never exist. It's an attempt to brainwash people into not being people & it just ain't going to happen. So stop creating conflict & wasting my money to stop something that will never end as long as people are alive ..