I banditi del petrolio

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.

Oil driller Frank Duncan has an idea to steal oil worth millions. He goes through nightclub singer Zoe Crane to recruit Houston mobster Paul Atlas for the scheme. Atlas intends to double-cross him but Duncan intends to win in the end.

This is a functional crime noir. I don't recognize any of the faces. The acting is fair. It's good that the lead character is a bad guy but still one worth rooting interest. The slap fight is kinda funny but I get the reason. The production looks good and the style is mostly fine.

The Houston story stars Gene Barry in this 1956 film directed by William Castle.

Barry plays Frank Duncan, who works as an oil driller by day. By night he's working on a way to divert oil from various oil fields and sell it. If he can accomplish this, it will be worth millions. However, he needs financing.

It doesn't take him long to convince a local mobster Paul Atlas (Edward Arnold) to bankroll him. Atlas is part of a huge operation known as the Combine. Duncan's plans don't go smoothly.

This is a good B, and it has a blond Barbara Hale as a singer doing "Put the Blame on Mame." She plays the cheating wife of Duncan's former oil foreman, who faked her own death and now lives under another name. Imagine Della Street as a femme fatale! Jeanne Cooper of The Young and the Restless plays Duncan's girlfriend, who has no idea what he's about.

Formulaic, derivative, but okay.

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??)

Oil slick Gene Barry (as Frank Duncan) endeavors to siphon millions of dollars in Texas crude, but needs financing from organized crime. After platinum blonde "Put the Blame on Mame" singer Barbara Hale (as Zoe Crane) leads Mr. Barry to powerful mob boss Edward Arnold (as Paul Atlas), success is assured. So, will these characters learn that crime does not pay? This predictable, production-line crime story has more spark than the story suggests. As ably directed by William Castle, Barry injects his characterization with all the life he can manage; watching his amoral "Frank Duncan" steadfastly steer his own descent into depravity is somewhat fun. With nice girl Jeanne Cooper (as Madge) and others in the mix, "The Houston Story" adds up.

***** The Houston Story (2/56) William Castle ~ Gene Barry, Barbara Hale, Edward Arnold