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Panic in the Streets 1950 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Elia Kazan
NR, 96 min. |
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Starring: Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jack Palance, Zero Mostel, Dan Riss, Tommy Cook
Producers: Sol C. Siegel
Screenplay: Richard Murphy, Daniel Fuchs
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Released: 1950 |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
Although Gentlemen's Agreement is widely considered the best of director Elia Kazan's early works, it's the creativity and
attention to detail that make Panic in the Streets his first true masterpiece. He would go on to make several more
classic films, including A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront, but it's here that he begins to sharpen his craft.
Filmed entirely in New Orleans, the film chronicles the efforts of a public health officer to track down several people who
have been infected with bubonic plague before they ignite a national epidemic. Kazan uses intimate settings and claustrophobic
environments to heighten tension while smoothly transitioning from one scene to the next. This is one of the more fluid films,
especially for the material, that one can see from the early 1950s. It's taut yet restrained, frantic but subtle.
Dr. Reed (Richard Widmark), a public health officer, discovers that an illegal immigrant's murdered body carried a form
of bubonic plague into New Orleans, threatening an epidemic if not quickly contained. Soon city officials give wide-ranging
power to Police Captain Tom Warren (Paul Douglas), and, with the assistance of Dr. Reed, begin to piece together a complex
puzzle of who is infected and where to find them in the city. With the press hot on the heels of the outbreak story, the duo
have only 48 hours to eliminate the threat. Meanwhile, shady criminal Blackie (Jack Palance) is convinced the police
crackdown must be due to his victim's bringing in a priceless artifact or money. He believes one member of his gang knows
the whereabouts of this item, and, even though the gang member becomes very ill (infected), ignores the truth (an infectious disease)
and proceeds to find it at all costs. The result is a showdown between Blackie and the duo of Dr. Reed/Captain Warren.
Panic in the Streets has been called a film noir, with a hero who feels trapped in a seedy society. Kazan was
careful to make the film wonderfully atmospheric - thereby enhancing the feel of a storyline that simply takes the viewer
from point A to B without unnecessary gimmickry. The film examines the lives of characters who begin to feel the weight
of their actions and inactions, especially when faced with a potentially devastating disease. These characters, notably
Dr. Reed and Captain Warren, cope by confiding in each other their own fears while putting up a good face to the public.
Eventually they begin to accept their shortcomings after acknowledging their strengths. Kazan juxtaposes these dissimilar
elements into one congruent and fascinating film, one that lingers in your mind for a while afterwards.
Where the film excels is in its attention to locale details. New Orleans is a city known for excesses of food and pleasure,
and Kazan establishes many scenes in restaurants, bars, and small apartment dwellings to impart a sense of what the
city ebbs and flows on a normal day. There is almost a sense of apathy among the people who are informed of the threat
of plague - as if nothing can touch them in their own small, well-defined worlds. It makes the inevitable leak to the press
an afterthought, with the consistent affront and denial to a deadly crisis almost surreal. Kazan is clearly stretching his
talent here, communicating metaphorical messages with each successive scene.
Maybe the film's most important scenes are between Dr. Reed and his wife (Barbara Bel Geddes). Reed is torn between
a difficult job and the demanding tone that carries over to his wife - he rarely just talks to her; instead, courtesies and
affable conduct replace real connection. It's Geddes' performance that is critical to help brings things together for the
audience. She establishes balance for Reed to hold onto, allowing him to do his job effectively. Kazan also uses her
character to portray the bigger picture - that tensions can be eased and lives saved.
Panic in the Streets won an Oscar for Best Writing, but it's Kazan's direction that makes the film memorable.
There are also clear indications of what was about to come about for Kazan in the aforementioned A Streetcar Named Desire,
another film that examined intense relationships in close-knit quarters. This film is important because it's a highlight in
the career of a great director - a career that has been diminished by many who consider his testimony to the
House Un-American Activities Committee in the early 1950s unforgivable in the light of many ruined careers. His public
life aside, there's no denying his films helped revolutionize the movie industry during a transitory period.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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| Masterpiece - Classic; Movie perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See; One of the year's best films |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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