Not every black and white melodrama from the Fifties needs to be considered a noir film; that designation doesn't work for me here. Nor does the title actually, because there's really never any panic to speak of except in the feverish race by authorities to find the source of pneumonic plague brought into the country by a stowaway on a cargo ship. For what it is though, there are some intermittent thrills as Dr. Clint Reed (Richard Widmark) and Police Captain Tom Warren (Paul Douglas) combine forces to methodically pinpoint the the cause of the infection and bring those responsible to light.
The one to keep your eyes on here is gangster Blackie, 'Walter' Jack Palance in his big screen debut. Almost gangly in comparison to his later film roles, Palance brings a hostile malice to his character that seethes in every scene he's in. Which made it almost comical to me why he seemed so determined to pin down subordinate Poldi (Guy Thomajan) for some undetermined loot that he thought cousin Kochak smuggled into the country (it turned out to be perfume!). You knew Blackie could play rough, but I never expected to see him throw Poldi over the stairwell with his mother watching - yikes!
Richard Widmark's character takes charge right from the start after he's called in from his day off as a naval medical officer. The picture juxtaposes his high pressure job requirements with a serene home life, but he always exhibits an intensity throughout, even as his wife tries to keep him grounded in family responsibilities. Funny, but every time I saw Barbara Bel Geddes I couldn't help thinking of June Cleaver waiting for Wally and the Beaver to come walking through the door any minute.
The finale was a pretty realistic nail biter considering how Palance, Mostel and Widmark had to maneuver their way around those slick pilings under the warehouse dock. I was expecting one of them to lose their balance and go completely in the drink, and had to wonder whether they did that all in one take. I never doubted Palance's athleticism though, after watching him maneuver his way up the tow line of the docked ship in port. The film makers really put him through the wringer for his very first picture.
The one to keep your eyes on here is gangster Blackie, 'Walter' Jack Palance in his big screen debut. Almost gangly in comparison to his later film roles, Palance brings a hostile malice to his character that seethes in every scene he's in. Which made it almost comical to me why he seemed so determined to pin down subordinate Poldi (Guy Thomajan) for some undetermined loot that he thought cousin Kochak smuggled into the country (it turned out to be perfume!). You knew Blackie could play rough, but I never expected to see him throw Poldi over the stairwell with his mother watching - yikes!
Richard Widmark's character takes charge right from the start after he's called in from his day off as a naval medical officer. The picture juxtaposes his high pressure job requirements with a serene home life, but he always exhibits an intensity throughout, even as his wife tries to keep him grounded in family responsibilities. Funny, but every time I saw Barbara Bel Geddes I couldn't help thinking of June Cleaver waiting for Wally and the Beaver to come walking through the door any minute.
The finale was a pretty realistic nail biter considering how Palance, Mostel and Widmark had to maneuver their way around those slick pilings under the warehouse dock. I was expecting one of them to lose their balance and go completely in the drink, and had to wonder whether they did that all in one take. I never doubted Palance's athleticism though, after watching him maneuver his way up the tow line of the docked ship in port. The film makers really put him through the wringer for his very first picture.