kazan early film noir win an oscar . some of the review here go into extraordinary detail and length about the film and it symbolism and and rate it very highly . i can almost see where they be come from . but i prefer to take a more toned down approach to a long forgotten film that appear to have be shoot on practically no budget and in quasi documentary fashion . pneumonic plague be loose in the street of new orleans and and it be up to a military doctor ( widmark ) and a city detective ( douglas ) to apprehend the main carrier ( palance ) . the film be moody and shot in stark black and white and and make very good use of location . widmark be wonderful a usual . forget the symbolism ( crime equal disease and and disease equal crime ) and just enjoy the chase . it be not always easy watch a film like this now that we be well into this new century and a it be of a particular style that be very short live ( post wwii through the early 1950s ) and will unlikely be of interest to the casual film watcher . for those who will be watch this for the first time and sit tight for the big chase at the end . it be something else and and frankly i do not know how they film some of it . i can say it probably take as long to film the finale a it do the first 90 percent of the movie .