The Houston Story

Every time I see this movie, I can't prevent myself to think of another thriller from the 50's: "711 Ocean Drive", a little masterpiece directed by Joseph M Newman.

The topic is nearly the same. A "honest" worker becomes greedy, ambitious, ruthless and implicates himself with gangsters, planning to take over crime syndicate. In this case, it concerns stealing oil.I find it unusual. A man who is not a thug at the beginning, that's the most interesting. Of course, what happens next is predictable.

Gene Barry gives us a pretty brilliant performance.

I recommend it. Catch it if you can.

Gene Barry works in the Texas oil fields but he's got other plans... He's come up with a plan to steal oil from the fields and sell it on the grey market. To get the plan financed, he identifies a jane doe suicide as the former name of torch singer Barbara Hale, who knows the local underground. Not wanting trouble, she gives in, and Barry meets up with local boss Edward Arnold and his #1 man, Paul Richards. They agree to the plan, and soon Barry is rolling in money. But Barry wants to climb higher in the organisation, while Arnold and Richards want to get rid of him.

Lee J. Cobb was originally planned to play the lead role, but I really can't imagine him in this role. Barry ('Naked Alibi') does a great job and also has nice chemistry with Hale ('The Clay Pigeon'), who is an almost unrecognizable platinum blonde femme fatale here. The rest of the cast are good, but it's Barry and Hale who excel here. Hale even pulls off a convincing 'Put The Blame On Mame', altho she's no Rita Hayworth.

A bit of a derivative story (and title), but who cares when it's executed this well. This was director William Castle's last noir ('Johnny Stool Pigeon', 'New Orleans Uncensored') and he keeps things interesting, aided by some nice cinematography by Henry Freulich ('Chicago Syndicate', 'The Miami Story'). I was more than pleasantly surprised by this late noir. Recommended! 8/10

Though he will doubtless be remembered as a master of creepy schlock for the pubescent audience which emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s, William Castle directed half a dozen noirs. His first, and probably his best, was Betrayed, aka When Strangers Marry, but Johnny Stool Pigeon and Undertow have their admirers, too. His last noir, The Houston Story, doesn't number among his best, but it too has its moments.

Wildcatter Gene Barry has ambitions that go beyond collecting his paycheck for working on the oil rigs. He dreams up a scheme for siphoning off oil from the big pipelines and selling it to fly-by-night distributors or foreign interests. He approaches Edward Arnold, local boss of a sinister "combine" based in St. Louis, who goes for the plan (meanwhile planning to dispose of Barry once the oil and the money start flowing). It turns out Barry is a bit smarter and more ruthless than he seemed; forty years later, he would have been a vice-president (at least) of Enron.

Along with his slithering around to evade the various minions of the complicated syndicate, he finds romantic complications as well. On the right shoulder sits good-gal Jeanne Cooper, waitress in an eatery called The Derrick. But on the left side is Temptation, in the person of Barbara Hale. Identified almost entirely with her television role as Perry Mason's loyal and efficient Girl Friday Della Street, Hale displays an unsuspected side to her talents. Gussied up in strapless gowns and a platinum "Italian" crop, she plays a shantoozie kept by a racketeer. Of course, she falls for Barry (well, sort of) and he for her (again, sort of). She's also the most memorable thing in this watchable but confusing and derivative film.

The Houston Story is a slightly formulaic yet very entertaining film from William Castle of The House on Haunted Hill and The Tingler fame. The movie is about a young, ambitious oil-driller who involves himself with organized crime and double crosses his way to the top of his respective racket. Gene Barry turns out a solid performance as well as Perry Mason veteran Barbara Hale, who plays the femme fatale to a tee, always following the money and the man in charge. Hale is introduced in a very enjoyable song act that did the job of conveying her character as well as,if not better than, the writing did.

Despite a few predictable scenes and some forced writing, The Houston Story is a thoroughly enjoyable film worth viewing.

Also, watch for a few entertaining performances from Edward Arnold and Paul Richards.(remember Beneath the Planet of the Apes??)

Houston Story, The (1956)

*** (out of 4)

Gene Barry plays an ambitious oil worker who gets involved with a Mob boss (Edward Arnold) because he hopes to work his way up. Barry comes up with a way to steal about $5 million in oil each year but he soon learns there's always a way to get yourself knocked off. Here's another gem that rarely gets talk about and even though the thing starts to get dragged out towards the end, this is still highly entertaining. Castle is best known for his horror films but this is perhaps the best directed film I've seen from him. He does a great job with the visual style of the film and I'd also add that he handles all the action quite well. It certainly doesn't hurt that Barry turns in a remarkable performance. He is so incredibly good in the role and believable because you can't help but feel his desire to succeed in not only his body language but also his voice. You can even look into his eyes and see his passion for making money. Arnold is also very good in his supporting role of the Mob boss. Barbara Hale, Paul Richards and Jeanne Cooper are also good in their work. Apparently Lee J. Cobb started out in the lead role but suffered a heart attack so he can be seen in a few of the medium shots. Apparently Castle filled in for him during the long shots before Barry eventually took over the role. When people mention film noir this film often gets overlooked and while it's not a masterpiece of the genre it's still a very entertaining little gem that's worth checking out.