LGM Film Club, Part 305: Panic in the Streets
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Many years ago, I watched Panic in the Streets, the 1950 Elia Kazan film starring Richard Widmark and Jack Palance. I remembered thinking it was a pretty good film but honestly had kind of forgotten the plot. So I decided to watch it again.
Now, I want you to put away your reality for a minute and imagine a REAL fantasy movie. See, there’s a epidemic of plague about to break out in New Orleans. A man is murdered and it turns out he was a criminal stowing away on a boat. Can the Public Health Service doctor (Widmark) save the city before it spreads and then infects the entire country? The answer is of course—YES! Wait, what? There’s a supply of vaccines around and so Widmark orders all the cops to get the shot. They grumble, ask what’s in it, Widmark just tells them to take the shot, and they do. And then our hero isolates everyone and controls the disease.
And you thought Star Wars made no sense!
Oddly, the title ends up making no sense because our hero saves everyone before panic does erupt in the streets.