Panic in the Streets – Review

Tense and loud music blasts you in the face immediately riling you up before smooth jazz cools you down and the New Orleans stage is set. A man pushes open the windows of a second story apartment where a poker game is being played. This is Kolchak and he feels sick. He is cold, has a bad headache and has to quit the game much to the ire of the other players. This is Blackie’s (Palace) game, and he is not happy to end early with players scattering.

As Kolchak stumbles away through the trainyard he is greeted by Blackie’s goons Fitch (Mostel) and his own cousin Poldi (Cook). This is the end of Kolchak as Blackie pops him with a few slugs. Well, a dead body so quickly? Shouldn’t be a big deal for a film noir! But… what was that whole ‘sick’ thing?

As Dr. Clinton Reed (Widmark) is called into examine the corpse, things take a turn. He slowly gets away from his wife and children in order to finally get the plot going again. As he takes his turn with the microscope, danger is in the air and Panic in the Streets. The body is sterilized, but is it too late, as a suspected pneumonic plague (a variant of the Black Death) is spreading?

Panic in the Streets is a pretty good take on an outbreak and contamination story with mostly intelligent characters and decent plotting. It is presented fairly straight forward and includes police investigation, medical science, urgent chases and tense debates. Can a killer be found before a possible epidemic begins?

This presentation is interesting as it is a period piece but gives a fairly deep look into the psychology of society of its time. As the discussions heat up, the real motivations of the men involved show through. A ticking clock and dangerous disease raise the stakes higher than a typical murder investigation. The acting is a bit of its time, but mostly the parts are played well and the situation taken seriously.

“If the killer is incubating pneumonic plague, he can start spreading it within 48 hours.”