"Oiltown, U.S.A." begins with men toiling on a drilling rig and transitions to an image of the Houston skyline circa 1953.

All the while, a chorus bellows: "It's the pride and joy of the Lone Star State, that's Oiltown, U.S.A.!"

Though never mentioned in the same vein as other Houston-focused films like "Rushmore" or "The Thief Who Came to Dinner," the melodrama is a time capsule of upper crust, oil-wealthy 1950s Houston.

At center is the story of oilman Les Manning. Rich and powerful, his only god is black gold and extracting as much of it from the Texas soil as he can.

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Though "Oiltown, U.S.A." was not created by a big Hollywood studio, it did have one heavyweight name backing it: Billy Graham.

As such, the story is not a celebration of Manning's wealth and business acumen but rather the path he takes to Christ. Along the way, aspects of Houston, some obvious, some not, pop up in the film.

Viewers will easily spot the Shamrock Hotel and Rice Stadium, where Graham brought his five-week crusade to thousands the year before. Gowns in the film came from Sakowitz, and Oshman's provided the western wear. Exteriors of the Manning home were filmed at the residence of oilman Earl C. Hankamer in the 3700 block of River Oaks' Willowick Drive. A fictional explosion in Texas City — using color footage provided by Bob Bailey of the real Texas City disaster -- makes up the climax.

A standing-room-only crowd of more than 12,000 turned out for the first of three world premiere screenings at the Sam Houston Coliseum on March 3, 1953.

"Last night's huge throng came from as far as Dallas and Fort Worth to renew their acquaintance with the evangelist and his team, and to see the film epic. And they came from as near as the fire station next door," wrote the Houston Press the following day. "First arrivals were in their seats at 3:45 – four hours before the [premiere] got under way – laden with sandwiches and coffee."

"The picture the huge audience saw is crude in places and ragged at the edges, but it packs a terrific emotional wallop," Houston Post reporter Jack Harwell wrote.

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"Oiltown, U.S.A." was produced by World Wide Pictures, a subsidiary of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. His earlier film, "Mr. Texas," used footage from the evangelist's 1951 visit to Fort Worth. Both films followed a familiar formula in that our protagonist finds faith through Graham's words.

Graham, who will be laid to rest Friday, gave a brief speech before each of the screenings. Apparently he felt not everyone had taken his sermons to heart in the year since he first appeared here.

"From what I read in your newspapers, I think you need another revival in Houston," he said to applause.

(It's possible Graham was referring to a high-profile case involving an East End woman abducted while walking to church and gang raped. The story, just days old, was front-page news at the time of Graham's arrival.)

The film's message must have gotten through to some though. Hundreds at the coliseum came forward after the first screening to accept Graham's invitation to follow Christ.

J.R. Gonzales, a third-generation Houstonian, covers local history with an eye toward the people and events that have mostly been forgotten to time. Follow him through Bayou City History on Facebook and Twitter. He can be reached at 713-362-6163 or john.gonzales@chron.com.