Directed by:
William CastleScreenplay:
Robert E. KentCinematography:
Henry FreulichCast:
Gene Barry, Barbara Hale, Edward Arnold, Jeanne Cooper, Frank Jenks, Brick Sullivan, Chris Alcaide, John Zaremba, Mickey Simpson, Paul Richards, Roy Engel (more)Plots(1)
One of the many "exposes" of corporate corruption filmed in the 1950s, Houston Story was ground out with stingy efficiency by Columbia Pictures. Gene Barry plays Frank Duncan, a laborer who figures out a clever way to sneakily siphon gasoline and oil from major corporations and sell it as his own. Then he makes an absurd and foolish decision by taking his discovery to the mafia, and before long he's in boiling hot water. Houston Story is of interest for its cast of TV stars-to-be: Future "Bat Masterson" and "Burke's Law" headliner Gene Barry, daytime-drama leading lady Jeanne Cooper, and "Perry Mason" costar Barbara Hale (in a blonde wig). Edward Arnold (The Devil and Daniel Webster), he of the wicked laugh and deadly glare, co-stars as a mob-boss. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Gene Barry
USA
Best movies:
Prescription: Murder (1968) (TV movie)
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
War of the Worlds (2005)
Barbara Hale
USA
Best movies:
Airport (1970)
The Window (1949)
The Clay Pigeon (1949)
Edward Arnold
USA
Best movies:
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
Jeanne Cooper
USA
Best movies:
The Redhead from Wyoming (1953)
The Boston Strangler (1968)
The Man from the Alamo (1953)
Frank Jenks
USA
Best movies:
Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)
Woman on the Run (1950)
Brick Sullivan
USA
Best movies:
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Love Crazy (1941)
Chris Alcaide
USA
Best movies:
The Big Heat (1953)
Illegal (1955)
The Wild One (1953)
John Zaremba
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Columbo (1971) (series)
Human Desire (1954)
Mickey Simpson
USA
Best movies:
Giant (1956)
King Rat (1965)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Paul Richards
USA
Best movies:
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
War Paint (1953)
Pushover (1954)
Roy Engel
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Spartacus (1960)
Frank Sully
USA
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
Two Girls and a Sailor (1944)
Captains Courageous (1937)
Clark Howat
USA
Best movies:
Prescription: Murder (1968) (TV movie)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Airport (1970)
Claudia Bryar
USA
Best movies:
Giant (1956)
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
The Wrong Man (1956)
Jack Stoney
USA
Best movies:
Rear Window (1954)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
Charles H. Gray
USA
Best movies:
Sleeper (1973)
Tales of Manhattan (1942)
One Desire (1955)
Fred Krone
USA
Best movies:
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
Arizona Raiders (1965)
Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966)
Pete Kellett
USA
Best movies:
Spartacus (1960)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)