The Phenix City Story
Directed by Phil Karlson
1955/USA
Allied Artists Pictures
First viewing
#297 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] Albert L. Patterson: Rhett, I’m not stickin’ my neck out. Why should I? Phoenix City has been what it is for 80, 90 years. Who am I to try to reform it?[/box]
This semi-documentary film tells the story of a crusade to fight a vice racket that had run Phenix City, Alabama for the better part of a century. While it is well-regarded, I could not get past some pretty bad acting and overblown writing.
The film was made during the murder trial for the assassination of Alabama Attorney General-elect Albert Patterson. The version I watched began with a segment in which newsman Clete Roberts interviews many of the real participants in the events portrayed. Rhett Taylor (Edward Andrews) is the boss of an organized crime racket that runs gambling, prostitution, and other criminal activities in Phenix City, which is near a U.S. Army Base. He holds on to power through brutal strong arm tactics, including open murder, while the police look the other way. Former Senator and local lawyer Albert Peterson (John McIntyre) is content to defend Taylor’s men in court, figuring that nothing can be done about the situation. Peterson’s son John (Richard Kiley) comes home from service as an Army lawyer in Germany and soon is determined to fight the mob, spurred on by the violence and injustice he sees. After several more murders, Albert is persuaded to run for Alabama Attorney General on a reform ticket.
The male leads in this are pretty good but a lot of the acting, particularly by the women, is terrible. Even the men over-emote at times. I was just not impressed.
Clip – in the vice den
