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I saw it when I was very young on TV. Caught it again on the big screen several years ago. I know what you mean about the impact, but it wasn't just in that one scene you mention, of course. Practically EVERYBODY is murdered in this film, and it hurts all the more because it's based on a true story. One of a kind, head and shoulders above other films of that era in its hard-hitting real-life horror.
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Oh, I'd say you can rest assured without any doubt that PHENIX had its heart in the right place. Like WALKING TALL, based on a true story, and it's all about crusading D.A.'s sacrificing themselves to combat evil through the ballot box. Couldn't get more kosher than that.
(Speaking of the truth aspect, if memory serves, many prints of the film begin with a pure documentary segment, and the widow of the John McIntire character appears in an epilog as herself -- which explains why throughout the movie her character is spoken about but never appears on camera.)
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(Speaking of the truth aspect, if memory serves, many prints of the film begin with a pure documentary segment, and the widow of the John McIntire character appears in an epilog as herself -- which explains why throughout the movie her character is spoken about but never appears on camera.)
The 13-minute documentary sequence was offered to exhibitors at no extra charge, and did not have to be included when showing the picture. The film ran 87 minutes without the newsreel, and 100 minutes with it. In the documentary sequence, noted reporter Clete Roberts interviews several of the townspeople involved in the actual incidents that occurred in Phenix City, AL. They included reporter Ed Strickland, who, along with fellow reporter Gene Wortsman wrote a book about Phenix City; townsmen Hugh Bentley and Hugh Britton, who fought against the organized crime that controlled the city; and the widow of Albert L. Patterson, the Alabama State Attorney General nominate who was murdered by the crime syndicate opposed to his reforms.
As noted by Roberts, Patterson was killed on 18 June 1954 and was succeeded by his son John Patterson, a fellow lawyer and World War II veteran. (John Patterson went on to serve as governor of Alabama from 1959 to 1963.) The town, which was dubbed "Sin City, U.S.A." by the national press, had long been controlled by gambling, prostitution, drugs and racketeering syndicates, which catered to tourists and soldiers from nearby Columbus, GA.
After the film's credits roll, a written statement reads: "There is no other place in the world as Phenix City, Alabama. For almost one hundred years it has been the modern Pompeii where vice and corruption were the order of the day. Unlike Pompeii it did not require a Vesuvius to destroy it, for Phenix City is now a model community--orderly--progressive--and a tribute to the freedom loving peoples everywhere."
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Posted: |
Mar 6, 2015 - 12:28 PM
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By: |
filmusicnow
(Member)
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(Speaking of the truth aspect, if memory serves, many prints of the film begin with a pure documentary segment, and the widow of the John McIntire character appears in an epilog as herself -- which explains why throughout the movie her character is spoken about but never appears on camera.)
The 13-minute documentary sequence was offered to exhibitors at no extra charge, and did not have to be included when showing the picture. The film ran 87 minutes without the newsreel, and 100 minutes with it. In the documentary sequence, noted reporter Clete Roberts interviews several of the townspeople involved in the actual incidents that occurred in Phenix City, AL. They included reporter Ed Strickland, who, along with fellow reporter Gene Wortsman wrote a book about Phenix City; townsmen Hugh Bentley and Hugh Britton, who fought against the organized crime that controlled the city; and the widow of Albert L. Patterson, the Alabama State Attorney General nominate who was murdered by the crime syndicate opposed to his reforms.
As noted by Roberts, Patterson was killed on 18 June 1954 and was succeeded by his son John Patterson, a fellow lawyer and World War II veteran. (John Patterson went on to serve as governor of Alabama from 1959 to 1963.) The town, which was dubbed "Sin City, U.S.A." by the national press, had long been controlled by gambling, prostitution, drugs and racketeering syndicates, which catered to tourists and soldiers from nearby Columbus, GA.
After the film's credits roll, a written statement reads: "There is no other place in the world as Phenix City, Alabama. For almost one hundred years it has been the modern Pompeii where vice and corruption were the order of the day. Unlike Pompeii it did not require a Vesuvius to destroy it, for Phenix City is now a model community--orderly--progressive--and a tribute to the freedom loving peoples everywhere."
It's on the D.V.D..
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