The Phenix City Story

Released just one year after the political assassination it depicts, the film is sensational enough that the filmmakers felt obligated to prove its accuracy by opening with a preface nearly 15 minutes in length that sends newsman Clete Roberts into the field to interview the actual locals. Once it transfers to fiction, the film is tough and grim, but also suffers from a stiff single-mindedness that's all too characteristic of docudramas. The characters don't develop much beyond ciphers.

Tough, angry and cynical. It's not unusual for noirs to take on a semi-documentary style, but this one actually begins with 12 minutes of interviews. Whether this prologue was necessary is debatable, but I found it interesting and it helps the verisimilitude of the film. Despite being a low-budget production with no-name actors, it has a gritty realism, enhanced by the liberal use of location shooting. It's a gripping, brutal piece of work, with some of the most shocking violence of its time.

Unfortunately actual dramatic facts aren't enough, you also need dramatic characters for a good story. The opening spoilers don't help.

Not on par with Karlson's best noirs ('Kansas City Confidential' and 'Scandal Sheet'), but solid.

It works because of Edward Andrews bland, Rotarian looks and attitude. To increasingly realize that he's not just a crook but a killer is interesting. Otherwise, it's just a second-rate docu-drama.

Don't let the caption fool you. This is about as much a semidocumentary as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. It may be based on a true story and filmed on location, but it is still a poorly scripted and poorly acted melodrama. It gets gritty and you'll really want the bad guys to pay, but after all this is so much an anti-vigilante film that even a non-vigilante conclusion is denied us. It ends self-righteously and unsatisfyingly, squandering even what cheap thrills it may have offered.

A good sense of place and a good heart, this film is oriented toward civil action in the face of profound injustice. The implication here is strong: people will put up with just about anything, until they are confronted with actual loss of life. Only then does change come from within. In this, the film chastises our tendency to retreat toward our comforts (even if they're not all that comfortable), and in the process, give safe harbor to injustice.

Reminiscent of films like *On the Waterfront* and *Mr. Smith Goes to Washington*, but the B-level element of the film like the acting and the overall quality served to highlight Kazan and Capra's skill as filmmakers. (The film also reminded me of *Defiance* (1980), with Jan Michael Vincent and Danny Aiello.)

For a film that starts off with documentary style interviews and a rather detached and analytical style it sure gets brutal. A noir told from a different perspective, it works well to overcome its limitations and raise itself above the fray.

Karlson is one underrated director.

One of the great semi-documentary noirs. Superb location photography and fine performances from John McIntire and Edward Andrews.

Politically relevant whether I agree with the moralizing is a different story. Passionate flick. Karlson is one of the better genre directors. That shot of the fight taken from underneath that table...oh yeah that's the stuff.

Based on actual historical events, The Phenix City Story at first comes across as a low budget crime drama. But as the story progresses, the brutal violence unnerves and fascinates at the same time. I can see why this film had a tough time getting by the production code, it's gritty realism was quite new for movie audiences in 1955.

Phil Karlson's excellent docu-drama about the popular revolt against the syndicate-controlled town in Alabama in the mid-50s. Filmed on location shortly after the real-life events transpired, and preceded by an interview segment with of the actual participants, the film achieves a level of authenticity that adds bite to the dramatization. A great gallery of faces were cast and the film really feels Southern --neither patronizing nor denigrating.

This ultraviolent Western influenced crime film with poorly written shrill women is a personal favorite of Martin Scorsese. Cinematically, it starts with a dull 15-minute documentary on the actual events. It goes downhill from there via casually uninventive racism and a segregationist Southern politician as the hero. But the ending is unforgivably horrendous, as a Black character avoids righteous self-defense by saying it's something Jesus wouldn't want. Vastly overrated and should be avoided.

"The Phenix City Story" begins with a measured, newsreel-inspired introduction, emphasizing its roots in actual events. As the narrative unfolds, escalating violence leads to the anticipated climax revealed in the opening. The surprise comes from who becomes the voice of reason during the finale.

Powerful both in style and content. Preachy, for sure, but modest in execution and the documentary-style format gives it a distinguishable vibe rarely seen.

Interesting noir that dramatizes a real story that I didn't know a lot about. The first 10-15 minutes are a documentary to introduce the subject, where they talk to people who lived in Phenix City and experienced the essentially total rule of the mob, who ran a 100 million dollar vice operation there despite it being a pretty small town. Acting is a bit mixed. There's one scene from Lenka Peterson that was very strong. Some of the "violence shouldn't beget violence" stuff is a bit heavy handed.

I'm not the biggest fan of the docu-drama style; the 10min introduction is unnecessary, but understandable, considering this was made soon after the actual events. Basing the characters on real people also keep them pretty much one note. That said, the location shooting adds realism and Karlson's direction is effective. There are some pretty shocking scenes, especially one involving a black child which was apparently invented for the movie. The final third feels rushed after a lengthy setup.