ABSTRACT
Panic in the Streets was director Elia Kazan’s sixth feature film, sandwiched between his better known, Oscar-winning landmarks Gentleman’s Agreement, A Street Car Named Desire, and On the Waterfront although it too won an Oscar for Best Motion Picture Story. Dr. Reed’s comments about pneumonic plague could come right from current headlines about COVID-19 and how it is transmitted. Bubonic plague swells the lymph glands, and septicemic plague blackens the skin, causing high death rates; but pneumonic plague attacks the lungs and is the only form that spreads directly between people. It is 100% fatal if not treated quickly, justifying Reed’s urgency in finding infected individuals. Panic in the Streets depicts the reality that disease does not stop at borders. While Panic in the Streets is a gripping fictional story, the science is real and accurate.
