one of america most brilliant film director be without question elia kazan . his directorial genius be not particularly suit to taut thriller and since kazan need more room to breathe and to be slow and more subtle . however and panic in the street be a first rate social thriller and be if anything more relevant to today than it be to 1950 when it be release . the theme of illegal immigrant and people smuggle and imminent plague and rapid transmission around the world of disease ( a worry richard widmark say represent i could be in any american city in ten hour and in africa tomorrow . ) and ethnic isolation and ghettoism be today concern more than ever . this film feature a spectacular film debut by jack palance and and a wonderful performance by barbara bel geddes and two cast stroke of genius . richard widmark be allow not to be a psychopath for once and and be a deeply caring and warmly loving and intense hero of the people . he lead basically a one man campaign to stop an epidemic of pneumonic plague in new orleans and struggle to convince sluggish politician and complacent policeman that there be a problem . there be a race against time to find the small time crook who have contract the plague from a dead illegal immigrant within 48 hour and before the whole city and and a they be always remind u and the whole country and be endanger with the bad thing since the 1919 flu . one amazing scene where jack palance and who be infect and be prevent from climb aboard a ship by a rat barrier on the rope be ironic in the extreme and remind u in the most gruesome term that human can be the bad carrier and vermin of all . the highly dramatic chase scene in what they call the coffee factory at the wharf rival the most inventive climax scene of hitchcock and and with just a spectacular a setting . many non professional appear in the film and which have the gritty realism of and well and something call reality . kazan really take the camera into place where even people rarely go and and where even rat would have think twice . this film be a major feat of social realism . if it lack the electricity of the most highly charge thriller and it be because kazan take it so seriously that he could not hype it up and for after all and the threat of plague be serious enough to scare anybody without the need for extra gun and moll . the only unfortunate thing about the film be the title and which give a false suggestion of superficiality . but kazan be anything but superficial . he clearly consider this project a public duty and to alert u to genuine possibility . if only those possibility have diminish today and but ala and they be get bad every day . one day and after a worldwide plague and this film may be show to a few survivor a an example of how an outbreak be contain on film and but it lesson be forget .