Le gang de l'or noir

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.

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

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

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.

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.