Critic Reviews

Panic in the Streets (1950) Rank 5 Reviews

Expert Review Summary

Movie critics combined give Panic in the Streets (1950) a score of 2.7883 out of 4

based on (23) reviews

Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating

Excellent

(2)

Very Good

(17)

Good

(4)

Fair

(0)

Poor

(0)

Reviews by Score:

filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

In swampy New Orleans, a harried government health officer (Richard Widmark) tracks down two thieves (the inimitable Jack Palance and Zero Mostel) who are carrying a form of bubonic plague. A series of encounters lead our hero closer to the duo while ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)

Empire Magazine [UK]

An underrated cracker. ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at Empire Magazine [UK]

filmcritic.com

UpcomingDiscs.com (David Annandale)

Feeling deathly ill, an illegal immigrant leaves a poker game, only to be ambushed and murdered by three of the other players (the most notable of whom are Zero Mostel and a young and scary Jack Palance, here appearing as Walter Jack Palance). When his ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at UpcomingDiscs.com (David Annandale)

DVDBeaver.com (Gary W. Tooze)

directed by Elia Kazan USA 1950 Elia Kazan's 'Panic in the Streets' has Richard Widmark playing Dr. Clinton Reed of the US Public Health Service who is chasing down a 'carrier' named Blackie (typical Jack Palance roles). He is one of a ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at DVDBeaver.com (Gary W. Tooze)

Fulvue Drive-in

Panic in the Streets is a fairly tight film noir taking place in the streets of New Orleans and directed by reputable director Elia Kazan, best known for his classic film On the Waterfront, which would be shot a few years after this film. Foxâ��s DVD ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at Fulvue Drive-in

Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)

Benefits immeasurably from a menacing turn by Jack Palance. ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)

DVD Times

An unidentified man is fished out of the New Orleans harbour and is discovered by the coroner to have symptoms of pneumonic plague, a highly contagious disease just as deadly as bubonic plague, capable of killing within 48 hours of incubation. The cause ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at DVD Times

KQEK DVD Review (Mark R. Hasan)

After handling the social dramas "Gentleman's Agreement" and "Pinky," director Elia Kazan returned to the docu-style of "Boomerang," this time relishing the tension of a city manhunt for a handful of possibly infected plague carriers. Kazan's use of ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at KQEK DVD Review (Mark R. Hasan)

Entertainment Insiders (Rusty White)

Controversial director Elia Kazan directed this Film Noir thriller just before his greatest period of creative output. "Panic in the Streets" involves a navel medical officer (Richard Widmark) searching the killers of a man found murdered on the New ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at Entertainment Insiders (Rusty White)

digitallyOBSESSED.com (Jon Danziger)

Elia Kazan was a titan in not one but two realms: he was as celebrated a director on Broadway as he was in Hollywood (where, of course, he was later widely reviled for naming names). In New York, it seems as if every major American play of note from the ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at digitallyOBSESSED.com (Jon Danziger)

Reel Film Reviews (David Nusair)

Panic in the Streets marked the beginning of Jack Palance's (then credited as Walter Jack Palance) cinematic career, and not surprisingly, the actor delivers an effectively sinister performance despite receiving a relatively small amount of screen time. ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at Reel Film Reviews (David Nusair)

DVD MovieGuide

What with SARS, anthrax and other similar concerns, threats to the public health have been prominent in the news over the last few years. Understandably, few things freak out people quite like the possibility of highly contagious diseases. Modern flicks ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at DVD MovieGuide

DVD Savant (Glenn Erickson)

Panic in the Streets is a terrific noir thriller in the Fox studio's docu-drama style of the late 1940s. It's also powerfully directed by Elia Kazan, who extends his superior dramatic staging to the new use of authentic settings. The effort to stem an ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at DVD Savant (Glenn Erickson)

Michael D's Region 4 DVD Info Page

A man smuggled into the port city of New Orleans carries a contagious disease: pneumonic plague. He is killed by some criminals after a card game. When the local authorities discover the man's body and realise that he was suffering from the deadly ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at Michael D's Region 4 DVD Info Page

Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

"Realistic medical noir thriller." Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz One of Elia Kazan's ("On The Waterfront"/"A Streetcar Named Desire") great but neglected films is this realistic medical noir thriller, set in New Orleans (filmed on location) about an ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

DVD Verdict

A low-stakes poker game goes bad when a newcomer to the group, Kochak, claims the winnings and decides to leave because he isn't feeling well. Kochak is an illegal immigrant brought stateside by his cousin, Poldi (Guy Thomajan). Along with Fitch (Zero ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at DVD Verdict

Film Freak Central Review (Travis Mackenzie Hoover)

Did Elia Kazan really direct Panic in the Streets? Nothing in his grandstanding filmography--not the staring-at-particle-board virtue of Gentleman's Agreement, not the prosaic rationalizing of On the Waterfront, not the great but still morally show-offy ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at Film Freak Central Review (Travis Mackenzie Hoover)

VideoVista

Panic In The Streets, made before some of Kazan's greatest and best-known films like A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), On the Waterfront (1954), and East Of Eden (1955) is more modest but still impressive fare. Taken from the Oscar winning story ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at VideoVista

Slant Magazine - DVD Review

Elia Kazan's 1950 film noir, in which the noir element refers not to the darkness at the heart of humanity (or at least the female of the species) but instead a potential outbreak of pneumonic Black Death plague in New Orleans, Panic in the Streets is ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at Slant Magazine - DVD Review

Senses of Cinema

I could exercise the techniques I'd decided I lacked. I'd make a 'silent', a film that a deaf man could follow, make it with people, or with 'my own' actors, who looked like people (1). Kazan's statement about the 'method' of Panic In The ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at Senses of Cinema

Boxoffice Magazine

Obviously enjoying considerable success from their "Studio Classics" line, Fox has smartly introduced another specialty line in "Fox Film Noir." The first three titles -- "Laura," "Panic in the Streets" and "Call Northside 777" -- are definitely worthy ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at Boxoffice Magazine

Brilliant Observations on 1173 Films (Clayton Trapp)

If they're supposed to be in New Orleans, why does everyone sound like they're from Brooklyn or Tenafly? Elia Kazan has a European eye for what makes the city unique-not the famous landmarks, but streets and wall structures and kitchens-but it's not ...read the complete Panic in the Streets movie review at Brilliant Observations on 1173 Films (Clayton Trapp)

from $8.91