Panic in the Streets (1950)
In this Elia Kazan police drama, murder is the least of everyone’s worries. It seems impossible, doesn’t it, that finding out the murderer isn’t the priority when a dead body is found? But when Doctor Richard Widmark diagnoses the body as having the bubonic plague, the cops are much more motivated to find out who the victim had contact with before he died, rather than just finding out who killed him. Teamed with policeman Paul Douglas, Dick scours the streets to solve the mystery. Dick and Paul don’t see eye to eye or get along, and their antagonism motivates the movie far more than the imminent threat that’s supposed to captivate the audience. Dick insults Paul, saying he’s proved his mother’s theory of goodness in human nature wrong; Paul quips back, “My apologies to your mother. That’s the second mistake she made.”
“Walter Jack Palance” makes his screen debut as a scary villain. It’s pretty cute to see his full name in the credits, as well as some of his famous strength. He doesn’t do any one-armed push-ups, but he does do quite a bit of acrobatic climbing in this one. If you like him in this movie, check him out in Sudden Fear, where he plays another great bad guy. All in all, the movie has a lot of tense moments, action scenes, and time-sensitive motivation to make it very entertaining.
There’s a very small subplot in which Richard Widmark and Barbara Bel Geddes have marital problems because he wants more children and she doesn’t. In old movies, we know the code behind their argument, especially since Dick is seen sleeping on the sofa. When she finally says, “Tommy shouldn’t be an only child,” Dick gets a sexy grin on his face and says the only thing the Hays Code allows him to say: “You son of a gun. . .”
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Paul Douglas movies here!
“Walter Jack Palance” makes his screen debut as a scary villain. It’s pretty cute to see his full name in the credits, as well as some of his famous strength. He doesn’t do any one-armed push-ups, but he does do quite a bit of acrobatic climbing in this one. If you like him in this movie, check him out in Sudden Fear, where he plays another great bad guy. All in all, the movie has a lot of tense moments, action scenes, and time-sensitive motivation to make it very entertaining.
There’s a very small subplot in which Richard Widmark and Barbara Bel Geddes have marital problems because he wants more children and she doesn’t. In old movies, we know the code behind their argument, especially since Dick is seen sleeping on the sofa. When she finally says, “Tommy shouldn’t be an only child,” Dick gets a sexy grin on his face and says the only thing the Hays Code allows him to say: “You son of a gun. . .”
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Paul Douglas movies here!