Panic in the Streets

source: Panic in the Streets

I wonder what audiences of the day thought when first laying eyes on Walter Jack Palance (Blackie). Certainly he looks like no one else of the time, that skull-like face, flattened nose, and elongated body-- even now he remains an unsettling presence. And what could be more appropriate than his emergence out of those dingy New Orleans slums that appear to fester like the plague Blackie is loosing on the city. I'm just sorry he didn't have more scenes. The movie itself is very skillfully assembled— the morgue's black humor, the Widmark- Douglas interplay, the un-touristy locations, the battles among officials—all are woven into a tensely realistic thriller with a menace unlike others of the time. Even Widmark's domestic scenes that put a woman (Bel Geddes) on the marquee manage not to be too disruptive. Director Kazan certainly shows his aptitude for helming a studio (Fox) product, no matter how he may have felt about the commercial aspect. Widmark does a solid low-key job as the public health officer. But my money is on the one- and-only Zero Mostel. Was there ever a sweatier performer who could squeal louder or get pushed around more than the bulky fall guy (e.g. The Enforcer, 1950). That scene with Mostel, where Palance argues with Mostel's shrewish wife (Liswood), is a gem of frantic subservience as Mostel tries to pacify each like some berserk pinball. Too bad he lost so many years to the blacklist. (I wonder if it was the voluble Kazan who named him.) But it's not only the professionals that add color. The locals add both character and authenticity, especially the two Asian guys interviewed by the cops. That whole scene has an improvised air, as if Kazan recognized their potential and fashioned a nifty little scene on the spot. Then too, that colorful hiring hall with all the deck hands is pure inspiration. And what about those flea-bitten coffee shops that have me running to the nearest Denny's. Anyway, the movie is still a well-staged, riveting thriller with an apocalyptic air that oddly foreshadows many of today's mega-hits.

Think the media is full of lying prostitutes to the truth, controlled by corporate America? Then the fight between the police captain, the public health officer and the reporter will be of interest to you. Interesting counter-play between the right of the public to know the plague is loose and the attempts by Widmark and Douglass to contain the panic. Unfortunately, that also causes more deaths, since they don't get the co-operation they would have had if they had told some of the people, and a woman dies. A Little irrational, since many people were waylaid by the plague-carrying human rats and you don't get the feeling they were all inoculated, but it was definitely well-staged. New Orleans has never looked seedier. Jack Palance has never looked more menacing, and Widmark was a nice guy, for a change. The acting is top notch, and Kazan, not my favorite human being because of his own 'rat-like' qualities, naming names before the witch hunting McCarthy Commission, did a good job of directing. Too bad he ruined the careers of so many good actors, Zero Mostel included (and this was his last picture for many years because of it). Check this one out. The DVD has a lot of interesting information.

As I'm writing this review, pretty much the entire world is in some sort of lockdown due to the Covid-19 virus. This modest film-noir classic, that incidentally also turns 70 (!) years old in 2020, also handles with the outbreak of a highly contagious virus - the pneumonic plague - in a big & crowded city. It's downright astonishing to see how very few things have changed in seventy years, in fact. Notably the sequences near the beginning, during which Dr. Reed desperately tries to persuade the local politicians and authorities about the seriousness of the menace while they are minimizing it, is shockingly relevant today! Moreover, numerous aspects in "Panic in the Streets", such as the increasing fear, the concept of contact tracing, the gradual spreading of virus and the feeling of helplessness when the first victims decease, feel frightfully familiar these days. Purely talking cinematically, "Panic in the Street" is also a very solid, tense and sophisticated film-noir gem, which can - of course - more or less be expected from a director like Elia Kazan, and a cast that includes names like Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas and Jack Palance (in one of his first, but nevertheless most memorable roles). When, in the docks of New Orleans, the corpse of a criminal execution victim is discovered and diagnosed with the pneumonic plague, a manhunt-against-the-clock must urgently be set up. Military Doctor Reed and police Captain Warren have 48hrs. to find the murderers, as they are undoubtedly plague-carriers as well, before they will start infecting new and numerous victims. The performances and atmosphere are great, though admittedly the pacing occasionally slugs and the plot shouldn't have focused so much on the interactions between Dr. Reed and Capt. Douglas. The towering Jack Palance is massively intimidating as the killer with the silly name ("Blackie").

In New Orleans, Blackie (Jack Palance) and his thugs attack and kill a sick man who walked out of his game after winning his money. The coroner finds something suspicious and calls in Dr. Clinton Reed (Richard Widmark). He declares it the extremely contagious pneumonic plague. He faces opposition as he tries to raise the alarm. This is a rough and meandering thriller. The most compelling thing about the movie is the title. It's a lot of cop and robber procedural. Jack Palance is a good ruffian when he's on the screen. I like the dark gritty opening. Richard Widmark is a solid tough guy. None of the other actors are quite as striking. I don't find the investigation that compelling. It would be better if lots of people start dropping dead. The real world locations are great but the movie isn't terribly thrilling.

PANIC opens brilliantly with two sequences that set out its stall as a noir-melodrama: the poker game gone wrong, and the strained conversation of a doctor with his wife and son: the first is rich in metaphysical horror, the second in social and emotional power, and both are told with rare cinematic Kazan skill. It is distressing, therefore, to see the film taking the dullest of its many options, offering an entirely predictable buddy-buddy chase-the-gangster movie, which is probably about Reds Under The Beds, but certainly isn't about excitement and invention. There is too much talk, although you've got to see Jack Palance throwing a dying man off a stairwell in front of his mother.

When plague breaks out in New Orleans, it's Richard Widmark to the rescue in "Panic in the Streets," one of the lesser-celebrated films of the great Elia Kazan. Kazan keeps the pace brisk, and there are lots of marvelous touches - the scenes between Widmark and Barbara Bel Geddes, who plays his wife and the scene in the police station show family life and work life and the relationships of average citizens, which is in sharp contrast to the lives and relationships of the low-lifes, portrayed by a menacing Jack Palance, his weak yes man, Zero Mostel, Tommy Cook, and Louis Charles. There are also some interesting visuals - Palance has a couple of scenes with actors who seem to come up to his knees in height. The acting is marvelous and the dialogue sharp if the story isn't quite up to the direction and performances. It has a few questionable aspects which will be spotted by the viewer quite easily. That aside, it's well worth viewing. Kazan was a masterful director.

Having seen Barbara Bel Geddes and Paul Douglas in 'Fourteen Hours', I was keen to learn more about Barbara's track record prior to 1951 by watching this film. Don't bother watching this poorly made offering which doesn't even come close to the quality of 'Fourteen Hours'. Although Barbara gives a good performance, good acting does not necessarily make a good film. Richard Widmark is not engaging, even though he is a good actor. Paul Douglas was far superior in 'Fourteen Hours' than this film. Jack Palance is despicable and painful to look at. For Richard Widmark fans I say stay away from this film and watch 'Full House' instead. For Barbara Bel Geddes fans I say stay away from this film and watch 'Fourteen Hours'.

Refreshing `lost' gem! Featuring effective dialog combined with excellent acting to establish the characters and involve you enough to care what happens to them. The Douglas and Widmark characters are realistic heroes. Palance is his usual evil presence. Widmark win the fisticuffs fight scene, a car chase of less than 60 seconds with a `logical' end, and a lengthy chase on foot that shames the overdone chase sequences of contemporary Hollywood. You know how it will likely end, but the suspense and interest are sustained throughout. The end of the chase is one of the most realistic you will ever see. The film seems to slow a little past the middle, but stay with it for the rewarding conclusion.

Kazan's early film noir won an Oscar. Some of the reviews here go into extraordinary detail and length about the film and its symbolism, and rate it very highly. I can almost see where they are coming from. But I prefer to take a more toned-down approach to a long-forgotten film that appears to have been shot on practically no budget and in quasi-documentary fashion. Pneumonic plague is loose in the streets of New Orleans, and it is up to a military doctor (Widmark) and a city detective (Douglas) to apprehend the main carrier (Palance). The film is moody, shot in stark black and white, and makes very good use of locations. Widmark is wonderful as usual. Forget the symbolism (crime equals disease, and disease equals crime) and just enjoy the chase. It is not always easy watching a film like this now that we are well into this new century, as it is of a particular style that was very short-lived (post WWII through the early 1950s) and will unlikely be of interest to the casual film watcher. For those who will be watching this for the first time, sit tight for the big chase at the end. It is something else, and frankly I don't know how they filmed some of it. I can say it probably took as long to film the finale as it did the first 90 percent of the movie.