Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

Panic in the Streets (1950)

Director: Elia Kazan

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

A classy thriller, much less laden with significance than most Kazan movies. Film noir and the Method go remarkably well together as the panic-stricken manhunt gets under way when a victim of a gangland killing is found to be riddled with pneumonic plague. Explicitly identified as rats to be exterminated, the menace - two killers (Palance, Mostel) who may be plague-carriers - is tracked through a pullulating garbage dump marvellously conjured out of some sweaty dockland locations in New Orleans. Some awkward psychologising early on about the police chief (Douglas) and his obstructive attitude as Widmark's Public Health Service officer tries to get things moving, otherwise it's all go, heightened realism, and first-rate performances.

Author: TM

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

A holiday guide to movie dystopias

A holiday guide to movie dystopias

‘Going anywhere nice this summer, sir?’ To celebrate the release of Pixar’s sublime post-apocalyptic robo-romance ‘Wall-E’, Time Out offers a tour guide of the best future worlds in film

Eddie Murphy's Crimes Against Cinema

Eddie Murphy's Crimes Against Cinema

We all remember the comic highs of 'Beverly Hills Cop' and 'Bowfinger', but Eddie Murphy has been in a fair few stinkers as well. Time Out to presents a handy rundown of his ten darkest cinematic hours...

Olly Blackburn meets Nic Roeg

Olly Blackburn meets Nic Roeg

Nic Roeg is the director of ‘Performance’, ‘Don’t Look Now’ and, most recently, ‘Puffball’. Olly Blackburn is the man behind ‘Donkey Punch’, a thriller about a holiday gone wrong. We sent Olly to meet his legendary colleague

The nine rules of ’80s fantasy

The nine rules of ’80s fantasy

Unpack the VCR and fire up the soda stream as Time Out celebrates a golden age of Hollywood family filmmaking