Similar to many 1950s crime/message movies, THE PHENIX CITY STORY distinguishes itself with a raw and unflinching look at violence that was uncommon for the era. Based on the true story of Phenix City, Alabama, the film chronicles the men who stood up to 100 years of organized crime in an effort to clean up their town.
The film begins with a very dated documentary segment, which interviews some of the real life people involved in the story. Because it is completely separate from the fictionalized narrative, its weakness can be quickly forgotten. It’s like a bad newsreel was just tacked onto a good movie.
John Patterson (Richard Kiley, BLACKBOARD JUNGLE) is a young lawyer, who after working in Germany, has returned home to Phenix City. His father, Albert (John McIntire, PSYCHO), is the town’s lawyer, who has stayed out of the way of organized crime, which is run by Rhett Tanner (Edward Andrews, TORA! TORA! TORA!), a portly fellow who hides his dark streak behind a genteel southern demeanor.
Ed Gage (Truman Smith, TV’s SERGEANT BILKO) and his son Fred (Biff McGuire, 1968’s THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR) are organizing the people of the town to fight the corruption, which leads to beatings and deaths. Ed tries to convince sweet Ellie Rhodes (Kathryn Grant, THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD) to stop working at Tanner’s gambling club, but the pay is too good for her to leave. When John decides to get involved in fighting Tanner and his men, the situation for him and his family gets dangerous and his wife Mary Jo (Lenka Peterson, DRAGNET) has a hard time copping.
With stale interviews starting the film off, one would expect the film to be a preachy, sanitized version of the story. However, director Phil Karlson (WALKING TALL) and writers Daniel Mainwaring (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) and Crane Wilbur (HOUSE OF WAX) infuse the story with brutal violence. This isn’t the sugarcoated mob where violence happens off screen — this is a film where the mob throws little girls from moving cars to make their point. Karlson doesn’t flinch when filming the violence either. One character in close-up gets shot point blank in the face.
Kiley brings a raw anger to his performance that is unnerving when it comes to his confrontation with Tanner. McIntire brings dignity to his role as he reaches the point when he can no longer look the other way. It’s a B-movie, but that’s not a bad thing. It has the grittiness that some of the best B-film noirs have. With the black & white cinematography matching the film’s tone, THE PHENIX CITY STORY tells a true life crime story with brutal honest and dramatic power.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
