The Phenix City Story

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.

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!

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.

"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

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.