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When
the victim of a gangland killing is found to be riddled with
a pneumonic plague, New Orleans medical officer Dr. Clinton
Reed is pitched into a race against time to stop the deadly
epidemic from desecrating the city. To do so, Reed must form
an initially unlikely alliance with police chief Tom Warren
to hunt down and exterminate the infected murderers...
Panic
in the Streets from
1950, is a master class in how to produce a timeless film
noir. The movie is basically a gritty manhunt to track down
everyone that has come into contact with a murdered man who
is riddled with a plague.
The
tension builds well as Dr. Reed scours the streets looking
for anyone who came into contact with the dead man. He must
balance casting the net as wide as possible when asking the
public, without alerting the press to his motives. The last
thing he wants is for there to be panic on the streets.
The
end chase sequence, where Dr. Reed and police chief Warren
are hot on the heels of Blackie and Raymond, is an incredibly
long and drawn-out affair. It could have been half as long,
and still as effective. I also found it amusing that the unfit
Raymond always seemed to be a few steps ahead of the more
energetic Blackie.
While
Richard Widmark is believable as Dr. Reed, it's Paul Douglas's
performance as police chief Warren that really stands out.
Both
Barbara
Bel Geddes (Vertigo, Dallas) and Jack
Palance
(Shane, Sudden Fear, Batman) turn in fantastic supporting
roles.
Extras
are very thin on the ground. All we get are the original movie
posters and some stills (there aren't even any subtitles for
the hard of hearing).
Panic
in the Streets is an entertaining film. And while it delivers
few surprises, it's still a fine example of Hollywood's film
noir era.
Nick
Smithson
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