''The Phenix City Story'' is a 1955 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Phil Karlson Phil Karlson (born Philip N. Karlstein; July 2, 1908 – December 12, 1982) was an American film director. Karlson directed '' 99 River Street'', ''Kansas City Confidential'' and ''Hell's Island'', all with actor John Payne, in the early 1950s ...

for Allied Artists, written by

Daniel Mainwaring Daniel Mainwaring (February 27, 1902 – January 31, 1977) was an American novelist and screenwriter. Biography A native of Oakland, California, Mainwaring began his professional career as a journalist for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' and enjoy ...

and

Crane Wilbur Crane Wilbur (November 17, 1886 – October 18, 1973) was an American writer, actor and director for stage, radio and screen. He was born in Athens, New York. Wilbur is best remembered for playing Harry Marvin in '' The Perils of Pauline''. He ...

and starring

John McIntire John Herrick McIntire (June 27, 1907 – January 30, 1991) was an American character actor who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replaced Ward Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in Novem ...

Richard Kiley Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A Musical. Kiley ...

, and Kathryn Grant. It had an unusual "triple premiere" held on July 19, 1955 in

Phenix City, Alabama Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 38,817. Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee R ...

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

, and

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(th
AFI
incorrectly lists the date as July 9).

Plot

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. Most of the police do not even try, since they are on Tanner's payroll. 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. He is content to welcome home his son John from military service. However, soon violence breaks out trying to silence the reform-minded citizens committee. John gets 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 wins the Democratic nomination for state attorney general, he is killed. It is up to John to avenge his father, but his own family ends up at risk.

Cast

Production

The film depicts the real-life 1954 assassination of

Albert Patterson Albert Love Patterson (January 27, 1894 – June 18, 1954) was an American politician and attorney in Phenix City, Alabama. He was assassinated outside his law office shortly after he had won the Democratic nomination for Alabama Attorney Gener ...

, who had just been nominated as the Democratic candidate for

Alabama Attorney General The Attorney General of Alabama is an elected, constitutional officer of the State of Alabama. The office of the Attorney General is located at the state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. Henry Hitchcock was elected Alabama's first attorney general ...

on a platform of cleaning up

Phenix City Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties in the U.S. state of Alabama, and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 38,817. Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee ...

, a city controlled by organized crime. Patterson was murdered in Phenix City, and the subsequent outcry resulted in the imposition of martial law by the state government. Some prints of the film include a 13-minute newsreel-style preface including newsman

Clete Roberts Clete Roberts (February 1, 1912 – September 30, 1984) was an American broadcast journalist. He began his career in radio news, then transitioned to television, working for stations in California. In later years, he portrayed himself and f ...

interviewing many of the actual participants.

Reception

Critical response

When the film was released in 1955,

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

, film critic for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 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 ''On the Waterfront'' is a 1954 American crime drama film, directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando and features Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning, and Eva Marie Saint in her film debut. ...

''--or, for a more appropriate comparison, that of the memorable ''

All the King's Men ''All the King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. The novel tells the story of charismatic populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Depression-era Deep South. It was inspired by the real-life story of U.S ...

''--scriptwriters Crane Wilbur and Dan Mainwaring and director Phil Karlson expose the raw tissue of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

and terrorism in an American city that is steeped in

vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

. 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." 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 The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

setting better than almost any other fact-based movie of its era."

Accuracy

Ray Jenkins Ray Howard Jenkins (March 18, 1897 – December 26, 1980) was an American lawyer, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the surrounding region, throughout much of the 20th century. He is best known for his role as special counsel to ...

, one of the two reporters who covered the Phenix City story for the ''

Columbus Ledger The ''Ledger-Enquirer'' is a newspaper headquartered in downtown Columbus, Georgia, in the United States. It was founded in 1828 as the ''Columbus Enquirer'' by Mirabeau B. Lamar who later played a pivotal role in the founding of the Republic of T ...

'', whose coverage won the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service, has contended that the film departed significantly from reality. Jenkins writes, "For starters, the film was a rush job intended to capture public interest while the story was still unfolding. As a result, the film leaves the impression that the local mafia that ran the vice industry in Phenix City killed Albert Patterson. Subsequent indictments and trials demonstrated beyond doubt that the assassination was politically motivated. 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. Nothing remotely like this episode actually happened."

Legacy

In 2019, the film was selected by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

for preservation in the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...

for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

In other media

It was also featured in the 1995 documentary film ''

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies ''A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies'' is a 1995 British documentary film of 225 minutes in length, presented by Martin Scorsese and produced by the British Film Institute. In the film Martin Scorsese examines a se ...

''.

DVD release

Warner Bros. released the film on DVD on July 13, 2010, in its '' Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 5''.Abrams, Simon. "Film Noir Classic Collection: Volume 5." SlantMagazine.com. July 20, 2010.
Accessed 2011-11-19.

References

External links

* * * * * (John Patterson's speech)
Scorsese Curates: The Phenix City Story
on

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phenix City Story, The 1955 films 1950s crime thriller films American black-and-white films American crime thriller films Crime films based on actual events 1950s English-language films Film noir Films about elections Films directed by Phil Karlson Films produced by Samuel Bischoff Films scored by Harry Sukman Films set in Alabama Films set in 1954 Russell County, Alabama United States National Film Registry films 1950s American films Films set in the 1950s Films about racism