A tense, clock-ticking experience from Elia Kazan. The story follows a doctor and a policeman working in New Orleans as they race against time—just 48 hours—to find a killer spreading pneumonic plague. Panic In The Streets is an effective and well-crafted thriller directed by Kazan that combines documentary realism with the exciting pace of a pulp adventure. Filmed on location in and around New Orleans, it's based on the story Quarantine, Some Like 'em Cold by Edna and Edward Anhalt, who received an Oscar for their original screenplay. The film also features a strong cast delivering excellent performances under Kazan’s direction. Richard Widmark (pioneering method acting a year before Marlon Brando did for Kazan in A Streetcar Named Desire), Paul Douglas, Jack Palance (as Walter Jack Palance) & the creatively named Zero Mostel all portray characters who are intensely moody while pursuing those responsible for what could be an outbreak of a potential Black Death epidemic. The film’s suspense largely comes from Kazan's skill at shifting between the main characters without disrupting the overall feel of the story. We see Widmark as a Public Health doctor, armed with a hypodermic needle, frantically searching for the perpetrators so he can do some good—and we also witness those same perpetrators who are puzzled by the large-scale hunt they’ve triggered. The tension builds to a fever pitch, and thankfully the final thirty minutes deliver an outstanding cinematic experience, with Palance standing out as a particularly unpleasant villain that brings to mind Widmark's own Tommy Udo from Kiss Of Death three years earlier. It's a clever and well-written story that links rats and criminals as carriers of disease—a societal ill, essentially. Its noir elements, such as paranoia, work well with the basic procedural thriller aspects. While some memorable moments are appropriately shrouded in the oppressive atmosphere Kazan establishes, there were times when early character development seemed like it might lead to overly talkative scenes; however, this is a film that’s definitely worth seeing through to the end. It may not be essential film noir in my view, nor even an absolutely necessary addition to Kazan's filmography, but I highly recommend it—a film deserving of discovery by new viewers and reconsideration by those who might have overlooked it previously. 7.5/10

Source on TMDB