panic in the streets

1950



Panic in the Streets is a semidocumentary film noir directed by Elia Kazan shot exclusively on location in New Orleans, Louisiana and featuring numerous New Orleans citizens in speaking and non-speaking roles. The film tells the story of Clinton Reed, an officer of the U.S. Public Health Service (played by Richard Widmark) and a police captain (Paul Douglas) who have only a day or two in which to prevent an epidemic of pneumonic plague after Reed determines a waterfront homicide victim is an index case. Co-stars include Barbara Bel Geddes (as Reed's wife Nancy), Walter Jack Palance (in his film debut) and Zero Mostel, the latter two play associates of the victim who had prompted the investigation.

This film is available online as a free download.