Strongly recommended. Cowering in place - - and those who don’t - - isn’t a new concept. Seventy years ago, Elia Kazan directed this little noir gem, set in New Orleans. A petty criminal runs from the law, unknowingly carrying pneumonic plague. This is the same microbial disease that pops up every so often in northern New Mexico. Richard Widmark (Kiss Of Death), three years past Tommy Udo, this time plays - - with equal ferocity - - a good guy trying to contain the potential epidemic. This was Jack Palance’s (Shane) opening as a waterfront mobster and he paints a grimly blood-soaked portrait. Zero Mostel (The Producers) is wonderful as Palance’s gunsel. The always delightful Barbara Bel Geddes (Vertigo) is Widmark’s wife, creating yet another sharp-talking mother hen. The cinematographer was Joe MacDonald (Niagara) and he effectively uses all of the classic noire camera angles and lighting set-ups to grime up the belly of the NOLA demi-monde.
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