297. The Phenix City Story (1955)
Directed By Phil Karlson
Synopsis
Phenix City, Alabama is a lawless town, full of mobsters, gambling joints, rape, murder, intimidation and all things nice. The Pattersons rise from apathy to take on the system!
Review
As my wife says this is a very B film. That means several things, on the one hand it is low-budget with all the problems that come with it, some of the acting is less than stellar, as are some of the lines and effects. On the other hand the fact that it is B lets film directors of this time get away with quite a bit more violence and lets them land a more visceral punch than otherwise would be possible as well as being weirdly more politically conscious.
There were not many films at this time where a little black girl could be picked up from the street only for us to see a car throwing her dead body into the main character's yard, and then gives us a good look at her body while children scream. And then you get to see the police completely dismissing the case as a "dead nigger kid". This is Alabama in the 50s after all.
The way in which the film portrays police and state forces helping out the mob is one of the most interesting things in the film. This leads to a sense of claustrophobia, there are no good guys to turn to, even the guys with good intentions resort to vigilantism and are infiltrated by mobsters. Ultimately it is not an amazing film because of some bad acting and general shortcomings of its low-budget which were not that skilfully overcome, but it is still an interesting watch. It is a particular pity that it is a very hard to get film, I watched a downloaded version recorded from Spanish TV with subtitles in Spanish... which are more than a bit annoying.
Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
The drama depicts the real-life 1954 assassination of Alabama attorney general Albert Patterson in Phenix City, Alabama, a city controlled by organized crime, and the subsequent imposition of martial law. Some prints of the film include a 13-minute newsreel-style preface including interviews with the actual participants.
Clip:
Synopsis
Phenix City, Alabama is a lawless town, full of mobsters, gambling joints, rape, murder, intimidation and all things nice. The Pattersons rise from apathy to take on the system!
Review
As my wife says this is a very B film. That means several things, on the one hand it is low-budget with all the problems that come with it, some of the acting is less than stellar, as are some of the lines and effects. On the other hand the fact that it is B lets film directors of this time get away with quite a bit more violence and lets them land a more visceral punch than otherwise would be possible as well as being weirdly more politically conscious.
There were not many films at this time where a little black girl could be picked up from the street only for us to see a car throwing her dead body into the main character's yard, and then gives us a good look at her body while children scream. And then you get to see the police completely dismissing the case as a "dead nigger kid". This is Alabama in the 50s after all.
The way in which the film portrays police and state forces helping out the mob is one of the most interesting things in the film. This leads to a sense of claustrophobia, there are no good guys to turn to, even the guys with good intentions resort to vigilantism and are infiltrated by mobsters. Ultimately it is not an amazing film because of some bad acting and general shortcomings of its low-budget which were not that skilfully overcome, but it is still an interesting watch. It is a particular pity that it is a very hard to get film, I watched a downloaded version recorded from Spanish TV with subtitles in Spanish... which are more than a bit annoying.
Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
The drama depicts the real-life 1954 assassination of Alabama attorney general Albert Patterson in Phenix City, Alabama, a city controlled by organized crime, and the subsequent imposition of martial law. Some prints of the film include a 13-minute newsreel-style preface including interviews with the actual participants.
Clip:
posted by Francisco Silva @ 12:00 AM
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