The Houston Story (1956)

In Houston, a man working as an oil driller comes up with a scheme for stealing millions of dollars worth of oil from the fields. He insinuates himself with a local mobster in order to get ... See full summary »

Director:

William Castle

Writer:

Robert E. Kent

Stars:

Gene Barry, Barbara Hale, Edward Arnold

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gene Barry	...	Frank Duncan
Barbara Hale	...	Zoe Crane
Edward Arnold	...	Paul Atlas
Paul Richards	...	Gordon Shay
Jeanne Cooper	...	Madge
Frank Jenks	...	Louie Phelan
John Zaremba	...	Emile Constant
Chris Alcaide	...	Chris Barker
Jack Littlefield	...	Willie Lucas (as Jack V. Littlefield)
Paul Levitt	...	Duke
Fred Krone	...	Marsh
Pete Kellett	...	Kalo

Storyline

In Houston, a man working as an oil driller comes up with a scheme for stealing millions of dollars worth of oil from the fields. He insinuates himself with a local mobster in order to get financing for his scheme.

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Plot Keywords:

oil | murder | texas | swindle

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Taglines:

Terror Over Texas!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alarm am Ölturm 3

Company Credits

Production Co:

Clover Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lee J. Cobb was to star. After rehearsing, he had a heart attack and was not able to film. Producer Sam Katzman wanted to keep going, so director William Castle played Cobb's character in long-shots. After it was sure Cobb couldn't return, Gene Barry stepped in.

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Connections

Referenced in Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007)

User Reviews

Flawed but entertaining film

The Houston Story is a slightly formulaic yet very entertaining film from William Castle of The House on Haunted Hill and The Tingler fame. The movie is about a young, ambitious oil-driller who involves himself with organized crime and double crosses his way to the top of his respective racket. Gene Barry turns out a solid performance as well as Perry Mason veteran Barbara Hale, who plays the femme fatale to a tee, always following the money and the man in charge. Hale is introduced in a very enjoyable song act that did the job of conveying her character as well as,if not better than, the writing did.

Despite a few predictable scenes and some forced writing, The Houston Story is a thoroughly enjoyable film worth viewing.

Also, watch for a few entertaining performances from Edward Arnold and Paul Richards.(remember Beneath the Planet of the Apes??)