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Panic in the Streets

1950 · Movie · NR · 96 min · ★ 6.9 · 92% critics

ThrillerCrime

After a routine case, a medical examiner realizes a shooting victim carried a deadly contagious disease. With just 48 hours to prevent an outbreak, public health and police quietly join forces to track down the people exposed, pushing into the New Orleans waterfront’s criminal underworld as the clock runs out.

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Details
Years
1950
Release date
1950-07-27
Language
English
Rated
NR
Runtime
96 min
Critic score
92/100
TMDB rating
6.9/10 (166 votes)
Budget
$1,400,000
About

You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a tight, time-pressured crime thriller that mixes public health urgency with an underworld manhunt, in the vein of Cry of the City or The Window; Not for you if you dislike disease themes or procedural chases.

Pros: tense race-against-time; gritty New Orleans setting; strong villain presence | Cons: occasional slow stretches; some talky domestic scenes; uneven cast chemistry

Themes

  • race against time
  • new orleans, louisiana
  • outbreak
  • film noir
  • black and white
  • public health
  • plague
  • tense

Awards & recognition

  • Academy Award — Best Story · 1951
  • National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
  • Academy Award — Best Story · 1951 · nominated

Cast & crew

Directed by Elia Kazan