The Phenix City Story



Film Noir comes to Alabama in this ripped-from-the-headlines tale in The Phenix City Story, a film based on notorious real-life 1954 events. Albert Patterson is an attorney trying to clean up his mob-controlled town — Phenix City, aka "Sin City, U.S.A." — and is killed while running for state attorney general.

Tight, tense and graphic for all 100 of its minutes, the film has been lauded for being both stylish and for its semi-documentary style. Noted B-movie director Phil Carlson crafted this low-budget, violent shocker, using innovative camera work, which unnerved audiences not accustomed to seeing so much on-screen violence. In real life, the infamous murder quickly led the state to break up the crime syndicate, and Patterson's son eventually became state attorney general and the governor of Alabama. The 87-minute film was also released in a longer version, which included a 13-minute newsreel.

The Phenix City Story was added to the National Film Registry in 2019.