The Phenix City Story
The Phenix City Story

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- 72/100 based on 3,153 votes
  • Released: 1955
  • Runtime: 100 mins
  • Director:
  • Studio: Allied Artists Pictures
  • Genres: Crime

In this semidocumentary, an Alabama town is run by a crime syndicate that's grown fat on prostitution and crooked gambling, directed at soldiers from Fort Benning across the river. Lawyer John Patterson, back from the army, is triggered by what he sees to join the reformers with a plan: to run his father Albert for state attorney general. The syndicate responds with escalating violence: is no one safe? Credits preceded by a "newscast" containing spoilers.... (Full plot summary below)

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Actors in The Phenix City Story:

John McIntire
Richard Kiley
Kathryn Grant
Edward Andrews
Lenka Peterson
Biff McGuire

Full Plot Details

In this semidocumentary, an Alabama town is run by a crime syndicate that's grown fat on prostitution and crooked gambling, directed at soldiers from Fort Benning across the river. Lawyer John Patterson, back from the army, is triggered by what he sees to join the reformers with a plan: to run his father Albert for state attorney general. The syndicate responds with escalating violence: is no one safe? Credits preceded by a "newscast" containing spoilers.

Review & Comments

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Movie Reviews

User Review - 8/10 by Trent RWalking Tall in the 50s, with a gripping introduction interviewing actual witnesses, and some of the most callous violence in film history. Sometimes the world really is over the top.
User Review - 8/10 by Gregory WAnother movie I had to see for work and this one's a pretty damn good one. It starts off with a short news clip of interviews with journalists and people who were involved with the real life case of organized crime and corruption in Phenix City, Alabama and what follows is one hell of a film. Exciting, rousing and surprisingly quite brutal for its time (or any time really).
User Review - 8/10 by Robert BPhil Karlson's true crime pic targets an Alabama town that is rife with vice and corruption. Much like Sam Fuller's more hysterical work, the emotional pressure on the central characters (fighting the mob but resisting vigilante justice) is continually racheted up and up. Introduced with interviews with real people but closing with a pitch by the actor playing John Patterson (who later really became governor of Alabama and apparently substituted his own speech into some showings of the film when campaigning). Filmed quickly with a low budget but nevertheless gripping.
User Review - 8/10 by Jenna IBoy, I've got to give this movie credit for sheer balls. This movie might beat out Night of the Hunter for most shocking depiction of violence in 1955 films- and I don't say that lightly! While its acting and storytelling are dated, it kicks into high gear with it's first genuinely (!) shocking murder depiction, and only seems to keep going from there. I was worried this was going to be one of those films that indulges in its depiction of thugs, or worse, preaches at your for two hours. But it managed to walk that fine moral line, most likely because it was based on true events. The most interesting takeaway of this movie to me was the question of what does it take? When the murder of a child isn't enough to get the town up in arms, where do you go from there? A fascinating if not oddly relevant film to watch in 2016.
User Review - 8/10 by Matt TAnother movie I had to see for work and this one's a pretty damn good one. It starts off with a short news clip of interviews with journalists and people who were involved with the real life case of organized crime and corruption in Phenix City, Alabama and what follows is one hell of a film. Exciting, rousing and surprisingly quite brutal for its time (or any time really).
User Review - 6/10 by David TPartimos de la base que ver esta peli tiene merito, porque no es nada facil conseguirla. Esta b asada en hechos reales, en 1954, donde una ciudad de Alabama es presa de la corrupcion y otros males que aporta el juego, la prostitucion... Alli, donde los gangsters campan a sus anchas, un grupo de honrados ciudadanos tratan de establecer un nuevo orden... La peli es muy violenta para ser del año 1955, con escenas realmente fuertes. Tiene como estrella al fordiano-manniano John McIntire, y el resto esta hecho con 4 euros. Eso si, el director es Phil Karlson (solamente he visto 4 pelis de este tipo), pero tiene obras notables. Era un buen director de series B, y esta pelicula es realmente novedosa en muchos aspectos. Lastima de discursito moralista que jalona la historia. Sin ese recurso a lo capra, la peli seria de sobresaliente...
User Review - 6/10 by Martin TIf you watch even a little bit of "The Phenix City Story", you'll know it was based on real events, the circumstances surrounding which are actually quite riveting. It's unfortunate then that the film regarding these events is so clumsy. After a short "newsreel" (where a reporter interviews some of the actual participants of the story), the film opens with a young man trying to get his girlfriend to quit her job as a dealer in one of Phenix City's several gambling dens. That Phenix City is in Alabama and both these actors speak with clear and obvious yankee accents is distracting, to say the least. Not only do several of the actors not even attempt an accent, some don't even attempt to act. The first half of the film is strictly B-movie grade MST3K type stuff. Phenix City, Alabama was once the sin capital (also known as the "wickedest city in the United States") of the United States, long before Las Vegas was even dreamt of. For 100 years, the "machine" ruled the city, raking in untold cash which, at the time the events of the film took place (early 1950s), added up to millions of dollars a year. Citizen groups occasionally rose up to challenge the mob, but they were usually squashed all too quickly by strong arm tactics and voter fraud. Yes, Phenix City, from the city hall and police force on down, was totally corrupt and on the take. That is, until John Patterson returned from serving overseas in Germany during the war. John saw his friends beaten and murdered joined in the fight against the mob. When his father, Albert Patterson, a great and famous attorney saw what his son was involved in, and became convinced he could no longer sit idly by. The father ran for attorney general of Alabama, on a platform that he would clean up Phenix City for good. It's quite a harrowing tale, and with a substantial amount of shockingly hard-nosed 1950s violence. Cheap sets and bad acting aside, the film is really quite something, although I think the newsreel portion of the film would've worked better as an epilogue rather than a prologue.
User Review - 6/10 by Dave RHmmm. I don't know about this one. The Phenix City Story in itself was pretty decent. Said to have been based on a true story of citizens fighting against a tradition of vice and corruption, The Phenix City Story tells its story effectively and at some points gruesomely (you see kids getting killed in this movie--almost comically but still.) More of a crime documentary than the obscure film noir classic its made out to be, this isn't a bad movie. Some scenes are very well done even if elements of the story aren't fleshed out so well. The biggest problem I had with The Phenix City story was the opening 15 minutes of man-on-the-street interview footage with the actual people who lived through the story. I understand the desire to make the movie more authentic or real, but the hokey and heavy-handed interviews were a bit much. Overall, not bad...
User Review - 6/10 by steve hgood noirish drama from the second cycle of film noirs
User Review - 6/10 by Devon BIf you watch even a little bit of "The Phenix City Story", you'll know it was based on real events, the circumstances surrounding which are actually quite riveting. It's unfortunate then that the film regarding these events is so clumsy. After a short "newsreel" (where a reporter interviews some of the actual participants of the story), the film opens with a young man trying to get his girlfriend to quit her job as a dealer in one of Phenix City's several gambling dens. That Phenix City is in Alabama and both these actors speak with clear and obvious yankee accents is distracting, to say the least. Not only do several of the actors not even attempt an accent, some don't even attempt to act. The first half of the film is strictly B-movie grade MST3K type stuff. Phenix City, Alabama was once the sin capital (also known as the "wickedest city in the United States") of the United States, long before Las Vegas was even dreamt of. For 100 years, the "machine" ruled the city, raking in untold cash which, at the time the events of the film took place (early 1950s), added up to millions of dollars a year. Citizen groups occasionally rose up to challenge the mob, but they were usually squashed all too quickly by strong arm tactics and voter fraud. Yes, Phenix City, from the city hall and police force on down, was totally corrupt and on the take. That is, until John Patterson returned from serving overseas in Germany during the war. John saw his friends beaten and murdered joined in the fight against the mob. When his father, Albert Patterson, a great and famous attorney saw what his son was involved in, and became convinced he could no longer sit idly by. The father ran for attorney general of Alabama, on a platform that he would clean up Phenix City for good. It's quite a harrowing tale, and with a substantial amount of shockingly hard-nosed 1950s violence. Cheap sets and bad acting aside, the film is really quite something, although I think the newsreel portion of the film would've worked better as an epilogue rather than a prologue.

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