In the year 1950, director Elia Kazan was at the top of his game. He had achieved a reputation as a filmmaker who had a way with actors (he helped pioneer the Method) and who wasn't afraid to tackle controversial themes. He tackled racial relations in "Gentleman's Agreement" and "Pinky", and also social injustice in "Boomerang!" He was also a top stage director on Broadway of such plays as "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Death of a Salesman". His reputation had yet to be undermined by his HUAC testimony in 1952.

Kazan however was not satisfied. He felt he was simply directing filmed stage plays. He didn't feel confidant in his abilities as a filmmaker. So when the chance came to direct a film on location without sets and with a loose script, he jumped. "Panic in the Streets" was, he said in retrospect, the film in which he truly became a film director.

The setting: New Orleans. The time: the early fifties. A recent illegal immigrant is playing poker with a trio of gangsters in the slums of New Orleans. The young immigrant is on a winning streak, but suddenly starts to feel ill, sweaty, and dizzy. The immigrant decides to walk out on the game, which does not sit well with Blackie (Jack Palance), the gangster who had been losing. Blackie orders his goons Fitch (Zero Mostel) and Poldi (Tommy Cook) to retrieve the money. The immigrant is shot twice, then dumped into the water.

The next morning, the body is recovered floating in the docks off New Orleans. Dr. Clinton Reed (Richard Widmark) of the Public Health Service is called in on his day off to conduct what is believed will be a routine autopsy. It turns out to be anything but routine.

It seems the immigrant was carrying a highly contagious form of pneumonic plague, the same disease that wiped out up to half of Europe in the fourteenth century. Even if he hadn't been shot, he would have been dead within a few hours. Dr. Reed holds an emergency meeting between the health officials and the police in which he tries to convey the severity of the situation. As the pneumonic plague has an incubation period of 48 hours, all persons who came into contact with the man must be identified and inoculated before they become contagious.

The problem is, several of the people who came into contact with the man were the killers. If the story gets to the press, the killers could flee the city and spread it anywhere in the country. Dr. Reed and New Orleans Police Captain Tom Warren (Paul Douglas) have a window of two days to catch the killers in order to avert the next Black Plague.

"Panic in the Streets" is an exciting fast-paced action film, sort of a combination of 'film noir' and medical thriller. In these days of SARS, AIDS, flu pandemics, and other infectious diseases the idea of a contagious plague doesn't seem very farfetched at all.

Despite though being ostensibly about pneumonic plague, this is probably just an allegory for the Red Scare that was sweeping across the US in the wake of the Cold War. People were afraid communist spooks were infiltrating the country, as a result they rallied behind their government officials in the hopes of keeping them safe. The scenes of police officers dragging people of the street and interrogating them for information certainly brings to mind the feel of the McCarthy era. The film also takes on an extra meaning these days amidst the paranoid xenophobia of the war on terror.

Kazan does a superb job in the director's chair. You can sense he's really enjoying himself, shooting entirely on location throughout New Orleans. The location shooting helps give the film an authentic feel, what with the slums, the gangsters, the prostitutes, and the warehouses. Certainly not the lighter side of New Orleans, but then this is 'film noir'.

Despite the location shooting, Kazan doesn't forego his duties directing his actors. I liked some of the more human moments Kazan captures in the interplay between Dr. Reed and his family. Reed likes to spoil his son Tommy by overextending him on his allowance. That is, if his wife Nancy doesn't catch him in the process. There are also some intimate moments between husband and wife as when Reed comes home after being awake for over twenty-four hours. The two chat a bit, then Nancy puts the overworked Dr. Reed to bed.

I also enjoyed watching the developing relationship between Reed and Police Captain Warren. At first the two are wary of one another. Reed feels he doesn't understand the severity of the situation with his laid back attitude. Warren feels he is doing the best he can, but that the chances of finding their men is negligible. In the end though Warren slowly awakes to the danger and Reed comes to respect his determination.

Jack Palance offers a standout performance as Blackie, a cold-blooded gangster, leader of the trio, and unbeknownst to him, incubator of a deadly contagion. Palance had received serious facial scars during World War II and had to undergo extensive reconstruction surgery. As a result, his gaunt face makes him look extra menacing. Blackie is an utterly ruthless sociopath who terrifies even his associates. As he witnesses the frantic police search for him across the city, Blackie becomes increasingly paranoid, suspecting even his closest friends as traitors. During a police chase, he even ruthlessly shoots down an innocent bystander and friend without showing the least bit or remorse. Reportedly, Palance also did most of his own stunts. A truly fantastic performance.

Zero Mostel also stands out as Blackie's gangster partner Raymond Fitch. Fitch is almost Blackie's complete opposite, a rotund cowardly man who caters to Blackie's every whim. Towards the end he becomes almost as paranoid and hysterical as Blackie. According the Kazan's autobiography "Elia Kazan: A Life" Kazan kept Mostel on edge during the climactic chase by keeping him in constant motion, running around the warehouse. Yet when it came to doing his final scenes around the water underneath the warehouse, Mostel was fine while Palance kept moaning about how Kazan was trying to drown him.

"Panic in the Streets" is an enjoyable gangster thriller from the 1950's. Diverting entertainment for anyone who likes to be thrilled without being bogged down by excessive dialogue and plot. Unfortunately like a lot of Kazan's lesser known films (Wild River, A Face in the Crowd) it is not yet available on DVD nor widely on VHS, so you'll have to scour your local library shelves. It's nevertheless worth seeking out.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older