AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Winifred The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

foggybottom4447 For a more accurate account, read the book. The movie leaves out the Shepard name. Hoyt Shepard was a huge character to the story.

davidcarniglia An incredibly intense true-crime drama, let down somewhat by the drawn-out prologue. The violence is more pervasive than anything in its era, except perhaps for war movies. Maybe the social relevance of The Phenix City Story allowed for scenes that otherwise wouldn't become commonplace in movies until the 60s or 70s.The great thing about the documentary focus, with its real-life edge, is that there are no Rambo-like supermen cutting a swath through Phenix's dens of iniquity. We're dealing the Pattersons and Gages against Rhett Tanner and his underworld cohorts; some strong personalities, and some strong men. But just men. There is a danger, though, in true-crime adaptations, to reduce the conflict to a melodramatic contest of good vs. evil.Most of the characters have some subtlety. Even the ringleader Tanner initially allows the Pattersons some slack, hoping that they'll cooperate, or at least look the other way at his Phenix City mayhem. He doesn't overtly threaten and attack them until it's obvious that they will oppose him. I find myself thinking that the Pattersons are almost too good; by the time that their supporters gather at their front door, I wish John McIntire's character would assent to their desire to attack the gangsters.Something that's handled very well is the seamless inclusion of the black family. They are involved in some of the more memorable incidents: the little girl's body thrown from the gangster's car; the subsequent reporting of which the policeman casually tosses off as "somebody dumped a n**ga kid's body in a front yard" (paraphrased here). Then, near the end, the girl's father persuades Albert not to drown his nemesis. Having important and sympathetic roles for black actors was unusual for the time, especially in a movie set in the South.The sin-city locale is a lightning-rod for film noir, whether in a fictional El Paso of 1958's Touch of Evil, or an actual small Alabama town. But Phenix City also has elements of a horror or a sci-fi monster film. A malicious entity at large in a small community, the unwillingness of many citizens to recognize or take action against it; and the courageous ones who do oppose the evil. Calling out the Army is certainly the go-to solution to deal with most monsters (even those monsters of the human variety). As much as I liked The Phenix City Story, I couldn't stand the initial ten-minutes with the reporter. Why tell the viewer what's going to happen, when you're going to show us? We're given more than enough introductory material with the textual commentary and the very effective narrated scenes. Showing the mundane assembly of all the tools of the racketeer's trade was a unique experience. It's also the perfect lead-in to the first scene at one of the gambling clubs. I now realize that there's a version without the reporter's bit. I'd give that a '9'. A very good movie in any case.

david-546 We saw this film as a part of Vol 5 of Film Noir. Thus far this is the best of the bunch. For the most part the 8 films in Vol 5 are a collection of B thrillers. While the Phenix City Story was not an A film its influence has certainly been.This is definitely a film that packs a punch. Interestingly enough it came out the same year as Kiss Me Deadly another Noir classic. And both pack a punch. This is not what you would see on television at the time for sure. Absolutely no resemblance to Father Knows Best.So while I was about 9 years old when this film came I never saw it as B films such as this often wound up at a rather seedy theater that showed them. And my parents never took us there. And of course it definitely did not play the A films of the day.Making the film all the more fascinating was that it was based on real events. The narration at the beginning had us wondering what we were getting ourselves into but as the film played out it made sense to show it. And it help give it that docudrama feel. Oh for sure some of it was probably a bit overblown but the fights, the violence and yes the assassinations all happened. That they turned John Patterson into a man sympathetic to the black man was offset by some clear racial prejudice the most vicious been the killing of the young black girl by the local thugs to dramatize what they would do if you got in their way. It was followed up by words and action of the police that today of course would be considered extremely politically incorrect. But back then that was a part of packing a real punch.This film is worthy and should be seen by not only noir fans but one that should be studied in school. Sure it is uneven and its B qualities stick out but this is a gem that packs a punch.

MartinHafer Before the actual film begins, there is a 13-minute newsreel-style preface hosted by Clete Roberts in which he interviews the actual participants. Interestingly, this was done while the criminal cases discussed in the film were actually still being prosecuted.This film is a film noir-like film that dramatizes the actual story about the town of Phenix, Alabama--a city run by gamblers and organized crime. It seems that in the 1940s and 50s, all kinds of vice was ignored by cops and city officials who were paid to look the other way. As a result, the soldiers in nearby Fort Benning were routinely cheated and had little, if any recourse. Eventually when local citizens tried to stand up for law and order, the mob resorted to threats and even murder to hold on to their power.Unlike the typical film of the day, the scenes are quite brutal and violent. The only sour note is the scene of the child being tossed onto the lawn--it's obviously a dummy. There is also a lot of brutal and frank language--some of which might offend you, though it does lend the film an authentic sound. And, despite having mostly smaller caliber actors, they generally did very well. An odd note was having Richard Kiley of all people playing a tough action hero--he just wasn't the sort of guy you'd expect to see acting with his fists. Overall, this is an excellent low-budget film--well worth seeing.The only question I have about all this is how much is true and how much was changed for the film? According to IMDb the Attorney General was not quite the saint you see in the film, but what about the other facts? I'd sure like to know more.