“You got your smallpox outbreak movie in my jewel smuggling film!”

“YOU got your jewel smuggling movie in my outbreak picture!”

Anti-vaxxers will absolutely hate this movie’s message about getting your shots, so it definitely has that going for it.

In the same year Jack Palance was spreading pneumonic plague in New Orleans in Panic in the Streets, jewel thief Evelyn Keyes unknowingly spreads the smallpox virus in Manhattan. Law enforcement and public health officials race against the clock to stop a burgeoning deadly epidemic - but the biggest slap in the face to 2020 pandemic fatigued audiences is that amongst the drama there’s already vaccine - but it’s run out and there’s a four, count ‘em four, day wait!!! Fairly decent noirish item.

An unusual film noir/medical drama that combines a romantic triangle of jewel smugglers (Evelyn Keyes, Charles Kovin, Lola Albright) with a potential smallpox epidemic that one of them introduces to the city. Doctors, local police and US Treasury agents work separately at first, then join forces to track down the highly contagious and near-delirious woman who's trying to stay alive long enough to kill the man who betrayed her.

Dialog is occasionally weak and the semi-documentary/public service style does disrupt the flow in places, but for the most part this is a suspenseful and satisfying (if lesser-known) noir, thanks to Henry Hathaway's direction, the unusual plot, some wonderful NYC locations and Joseph Biroc's cinematography. Also features an appearance by character actor Celia Lovsky (T'Pau in "Amok Time," Star Trek TOS).

BTW, if you're a fan of film noir, check out my list:
letterboxd.com/bobhoveyga/list/bobs-film-noir-master-list/

How strangely eerie, a mass vaccination campaign, contract tracing plays a large part in the story, and the general worry of a disease like small pox getting completely out of control in a city like New York. There is a bit of anti-vax stuff, but only for a few moments. If this film was made today it'd be almost nothing but trying to vaccinate the hordes of anti-vaxxers and their refusal and what that means for society at large.

They did make the mass vaccination campaign seem somewhat easy, but to a point as there's a vaccine shortage! Seems familiar, especially with all the procurement problems currently happening here.

Still, it's mostly just a feature length PSA that has some solid shot on location black and white cinematography that makes it a pleasure to look at.

Roy Roberts and his massive shoulders looking like a significantly less busted version of Bill de Blasio is the craziest part of this movie by far.

A virus epidemic scare film that never really works that also happens to be a film noir that works better. Not great, not terrible more of a watch it and forget it type film.

Total pulp fun.

A diamond thief wanders New York hoping to find the husband that double-crossed her, all while spreading the smallpox she doesn't know she has.

You get narration that almost makes it feel like a docudrama and enough plague-spreading paranoia to make this a fun, if ultimately insignificant, flick.

Honestly, I could see a remake of this working if the right filmmakers maintained its pulp roots but updated it for our post-Ebola, post-Bird Flu era.

Very poignant for the time, of course. A story of smuggled diamonds between a criminal wife played by Evelyn Keyes and her philandering husband(Charles Korvin), meeting a citywide spread of Smallpox with Keyes unknowingly passing the virus around. With the two tight-nit stories jumping back and forth between the criminal plot and doctors trying to investigate and stop a mega-super viral spread in New York(sounds familiar...) of epidemic proportions. Where this becomes unwound is along the 3/4ths point, when were spending too much dilly-dallying around with the virus stuff. Not that these moments are even duds, but for far too long we're wondering where the other half of our plot and characters went - when it leaves them completely off the map. Still there's a good amount of intensity and Evelyn Keyes delivers the performance goods as a betrayed wife and carrier, showing perfectly her desperation and drive.

A PSA disguised as a detective story. Not very good, but it was certainly prophetic!

Interesting as a curio, particularly now. I wish we could have had more of Evelyn Keyes. This and Panic in the Streets is a perfect 2020/2021 double bill.

hits different in 2021

Silly vaccine propaganda film slipped into noir. Other than the vaccine propaganda, not much is very interesting in this one.

Non-offensively didactic and mildly educational movie about a smallpox epidemic in NYC. Inspired direction usually derailed by its clumsy script. I wish I saw this one in 2020, but it's still eerie to see it 2021. A lot great moments throughout. And I always enjoy seeing Dorothy Malone with her natural hair color--very fetching.

Don't miss Evelyn Keyes in 'The Prowler' as well.

Am inventive way to do noir with a satisfying result.

This film is a little too eerie now and I watched it in 2020.

Patient Zero: The movie. Interesting noir /PSA crossover all more timely these days for obvious reasons.

Interesting how it became significant with the corona virus.

Film noir for COVID times.

A film noir about a competent government response to a pandemic. Talk about fiction!