a doctor and a policeman in new orleans have only 48 hour to locate a killer infect with pneumonic plague . an effective and and classy and little thriller direct by elia kazan that blend documentary realism with a race against time pulpy heartbeat . set and film in and around new orleans and panic in the street be take from the story quarantine and some like em cold by edna and edward anhalt who win an oscar for original story . it also boast a fine ensemble cast that deliver top rate performance for their director . in turn and richard widmark { bring the method a year before marlon do for kazan in a streetcar name desire } and paul douglas and jack palance ( a walter jack palance ) and the wonderfully name zero mostel and all get sweatily moody a the pursuer chase the pursued to halt the onset of a potential black death epidemic . where the film score it main suspense point be with kazan astute ability to cut back and forth between the protagonist without alter the flow and mood of the piece . from widmark public health doctor and with hypodermic needle in hand and run around try to locate the bad guy so he can do good while to the bad guy themselves who be bemuse a to why there be such a wide scale hunt for them while the tension be stack up to fever break point . to which thankfully the final thirty minute become a crack piece of cinema . with palance excel a a nasty villain that ironically put one in mind of widmark own tommy udo from kiss of death three year prior . it an imaginative and intelligently write story and one that cunningly link rat and criminal to be carrier of disease . a blight on society a it be . it noirish element and such a paranoia and blend nicely with it basic procedural thriller be . while some memorable scene be suitably cloak by the stifling atmosphere that kazan have create . although some of the early character psychologizing threatens to steer the film down some over talky base alleyway and this definitely be a film worth stay with to the end . not essential film noir and and maybe not even essential kazan and but certainly a highly recommended film that beg to be discover by a new generation of film lover and reappraise by the old guard who may have miss it back in the day . 7 . 5/10 .