Feature Film | Thriller | USA | English | 1h36m
Dir: Elia Kazan | Scr: Richard Murphy | Adaptation: Daniel Fuchs | Story: Edna Anhalt & Edward Anhalt | Ph: Joe MacDonald | Prod: Sol C. Siegel | Mus: Alfred Newman | Ed: Harmon Jones | AD: Maurice Ransford & Lyle Wheeler | Snd: W.D. Flick & Roger Heman | Cast: Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jack Palance, Zero Mostel, Dan Riss, Tommy Cook
When it becomes apparent that a murder victim had been suffering from pneumonic plague prior to his death, the New Orleans public health authority and police department begin a desperate search for his killers, hoping to find them before they become contagious and potentially spark an epidemic, in Kazan’s stylish, but vaguely mechanical, thriller. Striking photography, dynamic direction, and strong characterisation just about make up for some uninspired performances and predictable plotting.
