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 |
| Screenplay by |
Daniel Mainwaring Crane Wilbur |
| Starring |
John McIntire Richard Kiley Kathryn Grant |
| Music by | Harry Sukman |
| Cinematography | Harry Neumann |
| Edited by | George White |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Allied Artists Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2.2 million (US) |
The Phenix City Story is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Phil Karlson for Allied Artists, written by Daniel Mainwaring and Crane Wilbur, and starring John McIntire, Richard Kiley, and Kathryn Grant. It had an unusual "triple premiere" held on July 19, 1955 in Phenix City, Columbus and Chicago (NB. the AFI incorrectly lists it as July 9).
In a corrupt Alabama town, the law can do little to stop the criminal activities of Rhett Tanner, particularly in the wide-open "red-light district" area. Most of the police don't even try, being on Tanner's payroll.
Albert "Pat" Patterson is urged to run for office and clean up Phenix City, but he wants no part of a thankless, impossible job. He is content to welcome home son John from military service. But soon violence breaks out, John getting caught in the middle when Clem Wilson, a thug who works for Tanner, and others assault innocent citizens.
Patterson finally agrees to get involved in reforming the town, but as soon as he is elected, he is killed. It is up to John to avenge his father, but his own family ends up at risk.
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.
When the film was released in 1955, Bosley Crowther, film 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."
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