Panic in the Streets (1950)

An interesting black and white thriller that has been recently released by Fox under its "Film Noir Classics" line is Panic in the Streets, directed by Elia Kazan (A Streetcar Named Desire) and starring Richard Widmark, cast against type as a good guy for once, and featuring a bravura performance by Walter Jack Palance in his first screen appearance as the low level thug who sets all the machinery of government in motion.

What is the panic? Well, a body is found floating at the New Orleans waterfront. The immediate cause of death is lead poisoning from a pair of slugs administered at close range, however, autopsy reveals that the corpse had been infected with plague and had only hours to live anyway.

As the story unrolls we learn the plague had mutated from bubonic (spread by flea bites) to pneumonic (spread by breathing on you), therefore anyone who had been in contact with the floater had a good chance of contracting the highly communicable disease. This brings US Public Health Officer Clint Reed (Richard Widmark) into the picture. It becomes Reed's job to determine how to deal with the crisis without creating a "panic in the streets."

The movie has a trio of story threads that are covered more or less equally; first, we have Widmark in his home life, dealing with his family problems that mainly center around money, or the lack of money, actually. His wife (Barbara Bel Geddes) and son (Tommy Rettig) seem nice and Widmark wants to eschew a second child Bel Geddes wants due to the expense.

Secondly, we have Widmark as the Public Health Officer taking charge and dictating the course of action he and the police will take. He is paired up with Police Captain Tom Warren played by the phlegmatic Paul Douglas (Clash by Night). Douglas plays like Widmark's concern is a waste of time, yet unhesitatingly puts his job on the line when it comes to putting a muzzle on an uppity reporter. The two spend most of their time in the dives looking for lowlifes that may have known the deceased.

Finally, we have the trio of lowlifes that killed the floater and were exposed to the disease. We spend time with them and learn that one of them has started to exhibit symptoms of infection. It is a treat to watch how Jack Palance handles the situation. Since the floater was an illegal immigrant brought in on a ship, he thinks he brought some contraband along with him and is searching for it.

The interest is sparked by what the various parties know - and what they don't know. The authorities know that the corpse was highly infectious but not who killed him; the killers believe the corpse had something valuable and spend their time trying to find the swag but not that he was diseased.

I thought the movie had its moments but was not as good as if Kazan had concentrated on fewer story threads than he did. The tension between the manhunt for the killers and the killers trying to find what valuable thing he had on him is the best part of the movie. The final showdown between the good guys and bad guys is well done and worth waiting for.

Elia Kazan was a "message" director and the story is highly symbolic. Just for one example, the disease originates with rats and the gangsters are compared to rats verbally and in fact Palance is thwarted by a device intended to keep rats from entering and leaving ships via the mooring cable. There are plenty more comparisons you will spot for yourself.

The Fox DVD is released under its "Film Noir" label. The movie is black and white, in excellent condition, and runs 96 minutes. There is a commentary by film historians James Ursini and Alain Silver that fills in a lot of interesting lore about Elia Kazan and the stars as well as a scene by scene discussion of the film.

Fans of the stars Richard Widmark or Jack Palance and thrillers will be the best audience. It is not hard boiled film noir, but it is a decent thriller with a happy ending.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV