1950’s Panic in the Streets is a noir about trying to stop a possible epidemic of pneumonic plague. That is an interesting idea for the genre, and the only other film I can think of that did this is the same year’s The Killer That Stalked New York. But that one was about smallpox, as if that makes much of a difference.
The man difference between the films is Panic is a much livelier affair. In its best moments, it is an energetic police procedural, like the first half of any episode of Law & Order (which, let’s face it, is always the best half of any episode). Although a murder kicks off the plot, this investigation is more concerned about tracking anybody who had been in contact with the deceased, the carrier of the disease.
Richard Widmark plays the medical officer trying to stem a potential pandemic. Paul Douglas is a police captain who is initially ruffled the man, mistakenly believing the health officer is accusing the police of failing to apprehend the killer of the plague carrier. Soon, they are working together as a team, and I the investigation intrigued me. The deceased is discovered to have entered the country illegally, which makes tracing the path of his journey here even more difficult.
The path will eventually lead to Jack Palance. This was his first film, but he is already fully formed. With his intimidating presence, he commands every scene he’s in. Alas, those scenes hurt the momentum of the parts that focus on the investigation. These moments weren’t as interesting to me, and sometimes feel like they wandered in from a different film.
Then there’s what feels like a third film worked in, and those are the scenes of domestic drama between Widmark and Barbara Bel Geddes, playing his wife. It is nice seeing Bel Geddes in something other than Vertigo, and she’s decent here, but these scenes only dropped the energy level further. It felt like the movie was biding its time until it could get back to the investigation.
Another actor here I was surprised to see was Zero Mostel, in the first non-comedic part I have seen him in. He’s one of Palance’s thugs, and it was strange to see the large man do so much running. At one point, Palance tells Mostel, “Don’t get sweaty.” Doesn’t he know that’s the man’s natural state?
Most of that running is in an exciting foot chase through a couple of warehouses. The film makes use of some great waterfront locations in New Orleans. It was interesting to see the actors really doing some of the stunts. I never thought I would see Mostel do anything remotely resembling parkour.
One of the most interesting elements of the plot is our heroes decide to undermine freedom of the press by jailing reporter Dan Riss. They do this to prevent him from running a story about the potential outbreak, for fear it will make readers flee the city and potential worsen the spreads of the disease. Though presented as a hard decision to make, I thought it was interesting our protagonists would resort to something so unethical. Then again, this is a film from Elia Kazan, who would go on to name names in the House Un-American hearings, so he was no stranger to making questionable decisions.
Like his other films, Panic in the Streets is excellent films, though a bit dry and pedantic. Still, it is worth checking out for the frantic investigation, great black-and-white noir photography and solid performances from Widmark, Douglas and Palance.
Dir: Elia Kazan
Starring Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jack Palance
Watched on blu-ray