-- as it is with this, his early masterpiece, THE PHENIX CITY STORY (1955). He is content to welcome home his son John from military service. 3.8K likes. Credits preceded by a "newscast" containing spoilers. One of the few local, honest attorneys in Russell-Tallapoosa Counties, Albert Patterson, ran for Attorney General of Alabama with a platform to cleanup Phenix City. Spike Lee TCM 2012 2 on Charles Laughton's Night of the Hunter - Duration: 7:19. Phenix City, Alabama, 1954. 28 of 31 people found this review helpful. Local attorney, Albert "Pat" Patterson, initially neutral and complacent, is urged to run for State Attorney General and clean up Phenix City, but he wants no part of a thankless, impossible job. The Phenix City Story. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. The Phenix City Story Vice, Southern style, gets the expose treatment in phenix City Story. One of the priest's colleagues sets out to find the killer. View production, box office, & company info. The city, just across the bridge from Georgia’s Fort Benning, has been at the mercy of mob rule for a hundred years. 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. In Phenix City, Serafin writes, things got so bad that after the bloody assassination of a local reformer named Albert Patterson, the governor of Alabama was forced to declare martial law, and bring in a decorated World War II general to straighten the town out. Kathryn Grant played Ellie Rhodes, the girl with a heart of gold, working for the bad guys. Whenever Scorsese talks about genre pictures it often is a treasure trove for little seen gangster films like The Phenix City Story or this underseen take on the legendary gangster. The Phenix City Story (1955 b 100') En: 6 Ed: 7. The city is right across the state border from Ft. Benning, Georgia so soldiers were always crossing the bridge to gamble and find women. However, soon violence breaks out trying to silence the reform-minded citizens committee. 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. 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. It is a film of monstrous evil, heart-breaking sacrifice, and selfless heroism. Starring: John McIntire , Richard Kiley , Kathryn Grant , et al. Richard Kiley stars in this gripping crime drama about a crusading lawyer who takes on the corrupt machine running a Southern town, based on actual events. [4] It had an unusual "triple premiere" held on July 19, 1955[5] in Phenix City, Alabama, Columbus, Georgia and Chicago, Illinois (the AFI incorrectly lists the date as July 9). A mentally unbalanced young man kills a priest. Patterson was murdered in Phenix City, and the subsequent outcry resulted in the imposition of martial law by the state government. Adventure. The grimness is so relentless that the film is actually difficult to watch. God, heaven, and several Old Testament stories, including the Creation and Noah's Ark, are described supposedly using the perspective of rural, black Americans. The film depicts the real-life 1954 assassination of Albert Patterson, who had just been nominated as the Democratic candidate for Alabama Attorney General on a platform of cleaning up Phenix City, a city controlled by organized crime. Written by 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. 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. The Phenix City Story is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Phil Karlson[3] for Allied Artists, written by Daniel Mainwaring and Crane Wilbur and starring John McIntire, Richard Kiley and Kathryn Grant. 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. In Silver Lode, Dan Ballard is arrested by 4 Marshals for murder and theft but he denies the charges and searches for the real culprit even as the townsfolk start abandoning him. Some people want the town cleaned up. Most of the police do not even try, since they are on Tanner's payroll. 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. 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. Add the first question. 5. Introduced by witnesses to the true story dramatized, a city of gambling and vice run by small-town gangsters is challenged by a father and son who are lawyers and by some conscientious citizens. The most amazing part is that The Phenix City Story is based on a true story. 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. Whether you watch weekly or want to join in for the big finish, get ready for these big Spring TV and streaming finales. When Bill and Connie Fuller are forced to move out of their Manhattan apartment because of their pet dog, Connie persuades Bill to buy a dilapidated old Pennsylvania house that George Washington allegedly slept in. Rod Crawford , "The Phenix City Story" is a brutal, hard-hitting docudrama about what was once dubbed the "wickedest town in America." Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Phenix City was known as the "Sin City" of Alabama where gambling, prostitution, and any number of other vices were tolerated openly by the law as organized crime controlled the local government. Comedy, Certificate: Passed A host of them were stationed at Ft. Benning in Columbus, Georgia. The crime history in Phenix City, Alabama isn't limited to the 50's era of "Sin City". 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 … Clete Roberts reports the news about Phenix City … "[8], In 2019, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Genre: Documentary Date de sortie: 1955-08-14 Age: NR Durée: 1h 40min Réalisateur: Phil Karlson Société de production: Allied Artists Pictures Pays de production: United States of America Prix iTunes: USD 5.99 iTunes prix récent: USD 1.99 "[7], Ray Jenkins, one of the two reporters who covered the Phenix City story for the Columbus Ledger, whose coverage won the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service, has contended that the film departed significantly from reality. Based on a sensational news story, this film looks at the murder of Albert L. Patterson (John McIntire), who hopes to win the an attorney general's job in Alabama. 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. The Phenix City Story Par Phil Karlson. When a woman he meets is murdered, a soon-to-ship-out sailor has until dawn to find the killer, aided by a weary dance hall girl. The Phenix City Story (1955) A crime-busting lawyer and his initially reluctant attorney father take on the forces that run gambling and prostitution in their small Southern town. 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. 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. Wicked Phenix City Alabama. The Phenix City Story (1955) In Phil Karlson's documentary-styled, taut and graphically-violent film noir - a muckracking crime docu-drama, based upon real-life events leading to the National Guard's martial law takeover of an organized crime-ridden Southern town in 1954: Subsequent indictments and trials demonstrated beyond doubt that the assassination was politically motivated. A crime-busting lawyer and his initially reluctant attorney father take on the forces that run gambling and prostitution in their small Southern town. Film-Noir, Certificate: Passed 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. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Was this review helpful to you? Kiley died in 1999. The Phenix City Story II Slide Show - Duration: 4:37. There are very few Alabamians left who remember the 1950’s story of Phenix City, Alabama. THE PHENIX CITY STORY. This FAQ is empty. 4:37. 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. Also, the film depicts an inflammatory scene in which the mob kills a young black girl and tosses the body onto the lawn of the Patterson home as a warning. THE PHENIX CITY STORY, screen play by Crane Wilbur and Dan Mainwaring; directed by Phil Karlson and produced by Samuel Bischoff and David Diamond for … Parting company with her on-stage partner Professor Orco partly due to the job being potentially hazardous to her health, streetwise but kind-hearted vaudeville performer Maisie Ravier, in ... See full summary », In wartime 1944 in California,defense plant workers Rosalind "Rosie" Warren and her friend Vera Watson must share, on a rotating schedule, the town's last available rental-room with Charlie... See full summary ». Patterson finally agrees to get involved in reforming the town, but as soon as he is elected nominee, he is killed. John Malcolm Patterson - Wikipedia Other films include The Texas Rangers (1951), The Phenix City Story (1955), 5 Against the House (1955), Gunman's Walk (1958), The Young Doctors (1961) and Walking Tall (1973). The Phenix City Story. The Falcon and reporter Ann Riordan try to solve a string of murders after an ex-wrestler, released from jail, goes looking for his girl friend. Hoyt Shepherd was considered the kingpin of the Dixie mafia in Phenix City. The film The Phenix City Story (1955) was based on these events, and actor Richard Kiley portrayed Patterson in that film. Some prints of the film include a 13-minute newsreel-style preface including newsman Clete Roberts interviewing many of the actual participants. Production mostly hews to provable incident, with some coloring or rearrangement for dramatic emphasis. [11], Warner Bros. released the film on DVD on July 13, 2010, in its Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. After being visited by an old friend, a woman recalls her true love, the man she met and lost years ago. Based on a true story, but departing from the truth in some places, The Phenix City Story tells of Phenix City, Alabama, where gambling and organized crime run the city. 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. "Film Noir Classic Collection: Volume 5." Certificate: Passed After World War II, a good many of the military soldiers, enlisted men, stayed on for a while. "[6], 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. To watch this film is to endure a crucible of agony and fury. Credits preceded by a "newscast" containing spoilers. Posted on June 8, 2015 by jaycluitt. In a corrupt Alabama town near the Army's Fort Benning, the law can do little to stop the criminal activities of Rhett Tanner, particularly in the wide-open "red-light district" area known for prostitution, taverns, and crooked gambling. The film follows an American captain searching for sunken treasure who becomes entangled with criminals and is arrested by the Dutch police. DVD Currently unavailable. John gets caught in the middle when Clem Wilson, a thug who works for Tanner, and others assault innocent citizens. The entire state was embarrassed by the Phenix City story. July 20, 2010. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Phenix_City_Story&oldid=1000174073, United States National Film Registry films, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 13 January 2021, at 23:26. As many of you know, Columbus, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama are essentially the same city. The Phenix City Story 1955 DVD John McIntire Richard Kiley (film noir) Phil Karlson. Jenkins writes, "For starters, the film was a rush job intended to capture public interest while the story was still unfolding. (1955). He played a teacher in Blackboard Jungle (1955), Film-Noirs Pickup on South Street (1953) and The Phenix City Story (1955), The Little Prince (1974), Patch Adams (1998), and a voice role in Jurassic Park (1993). 4.5 out of 5 stars 38. Here are the movies we're most excited for in 2021. ‘Purple Rain,’ ‘Last Waltz,’ ‘Clerks’ Added to National Film Registry, ‘A New Leaf,’ ‘Purple Rain,’ ‘She’s Gotta Have It,’ and More Added to National Film Registry, National Film Registry Adds ‘Purple Rain’, ‘Clerks’, ‘Gaslight’ & More; ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ One Of Record 7 Pics From Female Helmers, Century of Cinema: A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies. [9][10], It was also featured in the 1995 documentary film A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies. The lifestyle of a person can become a testimony to the reality of life hard knocks. Patterson won the statewide race due to his stance. Fortune seeker Barry Storm stumbles onto some clues that may lead him to the fabulous Lost Dutchman Mine, but others have tried and been murdered. The Phenix City Story (1955) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Karlson wants to strip away the squeaky-clean "Leave it to Beaver" image of an America free of social conflict and political malfeasance and examine, up close, the process of absolute power corrupting absolutely. [12], the imposition of martial law by the state government, Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service, A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies, "Raw Headlines Box Office Bait, Per 'Phenix, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ray Jenkins dies at 89|Ledger-Enqurier, "See the 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry, From Purple Rain to Clerks", 'Purple Rain', 'Clerks', 'Old Yeller' among National Film Registry's class of 2019 - The Chicago Sun Times, Worshippers at the church of cinema|Film|The Guardian. Use the HTML below. Directed by: Phil Karlson Joker. As a result, the film leaves the impression that the local mafia that ran the vice industry in Phenix City killed Albert Patterson. It had an unusual "triple premiere" held on July 19, 1955 in Phenix City, Alabama, Columbus, Georgia and Chicago, Illinois (the AFI incorrectly lists the date as July 9). The Phenix City Story (1955) is so “ripped from the headlines” that it begins with 14 minutes of real newsman Clete Roberts interviewing witnesses of a political murder from the year before the movie. The Phenix City Story The syndicate responds with escalating violence: is no one safe? Title: Brad Wheeler 4,189 views. The Phenix City Story is available to watch, stream, download and buy on demand at Amazon and Apple TV. It is up to John to avenge his father, but his own family ends up at risk. Nothing remotely like this episode actually happened. 2019 | R | CC. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Phenix City was known as the "Sin City" of … Once you see gangsters send a message to the Patterson family in broad daylight by dumping the body of a friend's young daughter on the lawn, you know nothing is off the table. 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. A Phenix City Story, The Confession of Bertha is a motivational book depicting the childhood story of a famed aunt living a vivacious yet sinful lifestyle in the setting of a small historical town. The Phenix City Story Ian McDowell, Greensboro, North Carolina The Phenix City Story is a crime film based on the assassination of Alabama politician and attorney Albert Patterson in June 1954 in Phenix City, Russell County. The Phenix City Story does not hold back in showing audiences a raw and real picture of what was happening during this troubled period. The next ten minutes depicts the local vice industry with startling verisimilitude. 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. The Phenix City Story is a 1955 crime movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 40 minutes. Bertha was the belle of the town in South Phenix City of Alabama. There is a long history of murder, violence, and injustice. It has received poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.2. Where to Watch. The Phenix City Story is not a film for the weak at heart or the fragile of temperament. SlantMagazine.com. Abrams, Simon. 1955; 1 hr 40 mins Drama NR Watchlist. This post was originally written as part of my USA Road Trip series over at French Toast Sunday. The syndicate responds with escalating violence: is no one safe? 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