---
title: 'The Phenix City Story (1955)'
type: 'film'
director: 'Phil Karlson'
released: '1955-01-01'
runtime_minutes: 100
genres:
  - 'Drama'
  - 'Crime'
countries:
  - 'United States'
canonical: 'https://cinepixo.com/movies/the-phenix-city-story-1955'
review_count: 0
imdb: 'https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048488/'
publisher: 'CinePixo'
---

# The Phenix City Story (1955)

1955 · 100 min · Drama, Crime · United States


## Synopsis

The Phenix City Story is a 1955 American crime film noir directed by Phil Karlson for Allied Artists, written by Daniel Mainwaring and Crane Wilbur and starring John McIntire, Richard Kiley, and Kathryn Grant. It dramatizes the 1954 assassination of attorney and politician Albert Patterson in Phenix City, Alabama, and the subsequent declaration of martial law. Although the film presents Albert Patterson's son, John Patterson, as a reform figure opposing corruption, his later political career complicates this image; as governor of Alabama (1959–1963), Patterson was a staunch supporter of segregation and ran on a campaign heavily supported by the Ku Klux Klan. During his tenure as governor, John Patterson fought against desegregation, particularly in schools, and clashed with the John F. Kennedy administration over the handling of Freedom Riders.

## Credits

- **Director:** [Phil Karlson](https://cinepixo.com/people/phil-karlson)
- **Screenplay:** [Daniel Mainwaring](https://cinepixo.com/people/daniel-mainwaring), [Crane Wilbur](https://cinepixo.com/people/crane-wilbur)
- **Original Music Composer:** [Harry Sukman](https://cinepixo.com/people/harry-sukman)
- **Producer:** [Samuel Bischoff](https://cinepixo.com/people/samuel-bischoff)
- **Director of Photography:** [Harry Neumann](https://cinepixo.com/people/harry-neumann)

## Cast

- [James Edwards](https://cinepixo.com/people/james-edwards)
- [Edward Andrews](https://cinepixo.com/people/edward-andrews)
- [John McIntire](https://cinepixo.com/people/john-mcintire)
- [Kathryn Crosby](https://cinepixo.com/people/kathryn-crosby)
- [George Mitchell](https://cinepixo.com/people/george-mitchell)
- [Richard Kiley](https://cinepixo.com/people/richard-kiley)
- [Meg Myles](https://cinepixo.com/people/meg-myles)
- [Helen Martin](https://cinepixo.com/people/helen-martin)
- [Otto Hulett](https://cinepixo.com/people/otto-hulett)
- [Lenka Peterson](https://cinepixo.com/people/lenka-peterson)
- [Biff McGuire](https://cinepixo.com/people/biff-mcguire)
- [John Larch](https://cinepixo.com/people/john-larch)
- [Jean Carson](https://cinepixo.com/people/jean-carson)

## Criticism on CinePixo

No reviews published yet.

Source: https://cinepixo.com/movies/the-phenix-city-story-1955
Film facts: Wikidata (Q7756877); synopsis from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Reviews, themes and notes are the work of this site's members.