Panic In the Streets (1950)

PANIC IN THE STREETS  (1950)  ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢
    D: Elia Kazan
    Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, Jack Palance,
    Barbara Bel Geddes, Zero Mostel, Dan Riss
A stowaway just off the boat in New Orleans falls in with some gangsters and ends up being shot. The police report says the bullets killed him, but a public health officer (Richard Widmark) finds something more disturbing: The man had pneumonic plague. Now it's a race to track down everybody who had contact with the guy, before the disease becomes an epidemic. A good, tight thriller, filmed on location, with mostly local non-professionals in the supporting roles. In the age of Zika, Ebola and who knows what's next, a movie like this gives you something to think about. You'll remember it the next time you're out in a public place and somebody closeby sneezes. Menacing performance by Jack Palance in his first screen role.