The Houston Story Film Locations

[devonhart]

The open title shows the Houston equestrian statue. Ordered the DVD, not expecting great drama, but hoping to see some 1956 Houston,

[Specwriter]

I never knew this film existed. The trailer seemed a bit corny but not out of the ordinary considering the time. In the opening scene an aerial view of the Sam Houston statue is shown, ostensibly I believe, to let the viewer know that he is indeed in Houston - makes sense given there was no Astrodome in 1956.

[Earlydays]

There were a number of crime movies done in the 50's set in different cities with the city name in the title......

[FilioScotia]

Earlydays is right. The Houston Story is your garden variety cookie-cutter crime flick with nothing to recommend it, except for some shots of Houston you will recognize. The Sam Houston statue, Hermann Park, the circle now occupied by the Mecom Fountain, the pool at the Shamrock Hilton, HPD at 61 Riesner, and a couple of other places. It has just enough exterior shots of the lead actors in Houston to make you think the whole thing was filmed in Houston, but it wasn't. Most of it was filmed on one of the studio backlots in Hollywood.

 

It's about an overly ambitious oil field worker - Gene Barry - who hits on the idea of working with an organized crime boss to steal crude oil from tanks in the oil fields and selling it on the black market. Some trivia: Lee J. Cobb was originally cast as the lead, but he had a heart attack early in production. When it became clear that Cobb couldn't return, the producer hired Gene Barry.

 

It's also interesting to note some of the other actors. Edward Arnold as the crime boss, Barbara Hale, and Jeanne Cooper - whose baby boy Corbin Bernsen was just two years old at the time. Barbara Hale. who played Perry Mason's hardworking legal secretary for years, plays a hot night club singer in this one and proves that she was a very good singer. Who knew?

 

Like a lot of those fill-in-the-blank city crime movies of the 50s, The Houston Story was based on actual events. The late and legendary Houston Chronicle City Editor Zarko Franks covered the oil field theft story in the early 50s, and later helped write the screen play for the movie.

Edited July 20, 2014 by FilioScotia

[Ross]

Looks like it was made in 1955, not 1956. At least the copyright notice is 1955. I love how the police manage to shoot out the tire of a moving car from another moving car, from behind. Yeah, right, like that's going to happen. Barbara Hale lights up the screen, though.

[devonhart]

Looks like it was made in 1955, not 1956.

You're probably right, it was released in February 1956.

[Subdude]

Cool clip though.  At about 1:45 you can see the tower of the old City Hall out the window.  Barbara Hale is so not Della Street!

 

 

 

[FilioScotia]

More trivia:  Barbara Hale was married to B-movie actor Bill Williams, who played Kit Carson on TV in the early 50s.

 

His real name was William Katt. He and wife Barbara had a son they named William Katt Jr. in 1951. Junior was five years old when his mommie made The Houston Story.

 

William Katt Jr. grew up to be a TV actor in his own right, most remembered for playing Sundance in the short-lived series Butch and Sundance: The Early Days in 1979, and the equally short-lived series The Greatest American Hero in 1981.

 

Interestingly, starting in 1985, Katt Jr. played the role of investigator Paul Drake Jr. in a string of TV movies that kept the legend of Perry Mason alive. Katt played opposite his own mom Barbara Hale reprising her role of Mason's long suffering secretary Della Street. Katt Jr is still busy acting in movies and TV, and doing some writing and directing, but not anything memorable.

Edited July 21, 2014 by FilioScotia